fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Yea... I agree as well.. and was on record for saying that charging for the internet or automated system was out of line...
My general opinion has been that with the explosion of CHECK CARDS (which really caused the incredible rise of what people call "Credit card payments" in the first place) more people began using that method to pay their bills. At that time, the internet and automated phone payment systems were not readily available.. so yea, operators were taking payments... but, now that just about every provider takes payments on their website and phone systems, people should use those and let the live operator get back to doing what their job was originally intended to be.
And again, I think it is worth repeating... "communications companies" , as Karl likes to beat up for this specific topic, weren't the evil companies that started these fees.. I do believe power and gas companies did this first AND their fees were up to about $15.. I can also point to a number of credit card companies that still charge to make any payments OTHER than checks in the mail.. and some charge you to have your payment simply POSTED in anything less than 4 days of making your payment.. a fee of about $10... Personally, I find cable and phone companies that charge $3 or so on average to take a payment via a live person really to be a "convenience" fee.... is it NOT a convenience to the consumer? I personally find writing out checks and mailing them IN-convenient. |
