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perfimage
join:2005-12-13
Warren, MI
|  Pay to Pay?!?!?!
I recently paid my bill in person, with cash at local COMCAST payment center and was charged a $1.99 fee for the service. Upon calling Comcast this morning to inquire about this new policy, which went into effect July 1, I was told of a number of other "free" options, including, of all things, using the drop box at the payment center!! Now how much sense does that make?
It is time for the governments to step in and better control these ridiculous charges and fees that these companies keep wringing from their customers. What ever happened to CUSTOMER SERVICE?
Wake up comcast, you already get our money for subscribing to the service, why do you want to stick it to us for paying our bill?? | |
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wee96
Your Local Confederate
join:2000-04-12
Clinton Township, MI | Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! I've never understood why people goto the office to pay the bill...why dont you mail it? How bout online? I agree the fee is lame, but its very easily avoided. | |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Comcast
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by wee96  :I've never understood why people goto the office to pay the bill...why dont you mail it? How bout online? I agree the fee is lame, but its very easily avoided. Yes, I use BillPay thru my bank to pay about 90% of my bills. It takes all of 1 min to pay Comcast online and it doesn't even cost me a stamp.
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CableTool
Poorly Representing MYSELF.
Premium
join:2004-11-12
| said by perfimage :Yes, the subject says it all. Comcast is not charging it's customers to pay their bill!! The subject says it all... then your post contradicts it. Haha..
Anyway hasnt govt stepped in enough? Is 1.99 a lot of money to have someone personaly process your payment when other options have been made available?
Here are various Free and Convenient options.
Here is an inconvenient option that we must staff to offer.
Im my experience the only people that pay in the office in person are those that have been discoed for Non-Payment and do not want to wait to mail in their payment to have their service restored.
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CableFAQ.org/Technicians Unplugged
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| | rody_44
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA | could we see a link to this charge? around here we only get charged 1.99 if the box was soft discoed. we can pay at the office and no charge involved. | |
| | perfimage
join:2005-12-13
Warren, MI
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! First, I mis typed and the original post should have indicated that we are NOW charged to pay our bill. That being said Rody, this payment was at an actual COMCAST office, and again, in person, with cash.
Some folks do not like to pay things by mail and like the opportunity to get it done right there and then with a receipt in hand. Sure $1.99 is not really a big deal, but dammit anyway, like I said originally, comcast is already getting a butload of my money, and now they want want to charge me to give it to them, that's ridiculous. | |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by perfimage : this payment was at an actual COMCAST office, and again, in person, with cash. Some folks do not like to pay things by mail and like the opportunity to get it done right there and then with a receipt in hand. Some people like to pay in cash because they live off of the financial grid. They earn their money under the table in cash; don't have checking accounts or credit cards; and avoid paying anything to Uncle Sam. Not to mention illegal immigrants that don't want the scrutiny checking accounts create.
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Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by TKJunkMail :Some people like to pay in cash because they live off of the financial grid. They earn their money under the table in cash; don't have checking accounts or credit cards; and avoid paying anything to Uncle Sam. Not to mention illegal immigrants that don't want the scrutiny checking accounts create. I hope these people aren't driving on any roads, using the library or calling the police, sending their kids to public school, using social services, etc..
They can think of it as a 'stay off the financial grid tax'.
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kustomerservice.net | |
| | perfimage
join:2005-12-13
Warren, MI
| Attached is a scan of the notice attached to my receipt from paying my bill today. | |
| | | Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL
1 edit | Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! What about poor people who don't have checking accounts? I know the obvious is they shouldn't be buying cable tv if they can't afford it. But every time I've been to the payment center to exchange a box, there are people in front of me paying with cash.
It seems like this policy hurts them the most. | |
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58483323
Gurt me
join:2003-06-23
Normal, IL | Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! I don't understand this... what else is a payment center for? Whenever I've been in the office, all I see is people paying their bills and that's all I see the employees do is take payments. | |
| | | | Bloatware
join:2002-03-15
Pontiac, MI
| said by Zoder :What about poor people who don't have checking accounts? I know the obvious is they shouldn't be buying cable tv if they can't afford it. But every time I've been to the payment center to exchange a box, there are people in front of me paying with cash. It seems like this policy hurts them the most. Overstating the impact. They still accept money orders by dropoff with no additional fee, beyond what would be paid for a money order, which is around 50 cents. | |
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PloKoon
Bumper Sticker Doctrine
join:2002-01-06
Cherry Hill, NJ
| said by Zoder :they shouldn't be buying cable tv if they can't afford it.
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Real change happens when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. | |
| | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| What does being poor have to do with not having a checking account in the first place?
Judging from the area of the OP, I can only imagine the amount of payment transactions that are processed at the customer service center.
The phone company, for years, never had a payment center. You made all payments through the mail - period, where I was from. It wasn't until the early to mid 90's that they started to partner with businesses to accept payments for them like hardware stores or check cashing places. Many of those places charged a small convenience fee as well.
Companies realize it does cost money to process transaction payments, but just how much cost should they accept before they pass it on to the customer? I, for one, would rather they charge those that use the un-necessary resources to pay their bills rather than a blanket across the board rate increase. After all, if more people are making payments in person now, it IS costing them more money to accept payments and they do need to recoup that money.
I don't see the problem.
By the way.. I'd almost guess that it would be harder to find a bank that doesn't offer a senior free or regular free checking account that it would be to not find one.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| | | | | Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by fiberguy :What does being poor have to do with not having a checking account in the first place? ... By the way.. I'd almost guess that it would be harder to find a bank that doesn't offer a senior free or regular free checking account that it would be to not find one. Not all banks offer free checking accounts and will charge fees if the balance is below a certain amount. Statistics show that millions of low income households have no bank accounts at all. I can't answer you why but that just seems to be the way it is. Low income household can also have a checking account but the bank will hold the funds on the deposited check for several days. Since on average their balances will be lower, this can cause their checks to bounce.
I'm sure you have observed that there are check cashing stores in low income neighborhoods? If everyone in these neighborhoods had bank accounts and didn't need the money available without the bank holds, the check cashing stores wouldn't be in business. | |
| | | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! You're a bit off...
First off, I never said "all banks" have free checking.. I said that most all areas do... SOME bank if offering a free checking option. A lot don't care about balance either. And even if they do charge a monthly fee, it's about $7 or less.
Most people that are poor and don't have checking accounts is because they were poor... poor at managing them.. or, either screwed their banks by bouncing checks, over drawing, going hundreds in the negative and no longer deserve checking accounts. It's because they decided to live beyond their means and write checks that they couldn't handle...
If you want to know why check cashing places are there.. that's the reason.
I hate to say this too, but those people who screwed up that bad and have to use check cashing places were no angels to begin with and should be happy they at least have these options to them even at the cost.
Those that are irresponsible are part of the reason why fees to everyone else are so high.
And also.. money holds on deposits are the same no matter who you are. Most places/banks hold instate checks for 24 to 48 hours and out of state checks for up to 5 days. That has nothing to do with being poor.. or in poor neighborhoods.
I'd like to see a bank that has a policy based on your wealth vs state and federal banking laws.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| | | | | | | Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by fiberguy :And also.. money holds on deposits are the same no matter who you are. Most places/banks hold instate checks for 24 to 48 hours and out of state checks for up to 5 days. That has nothing to do with being poor.. or in poor neighborhoods. I'd like to see a bank that has a policy based on your wealth vs state and federal banking laws. I might not have been very clear. What I meant was that people living paycheck to paycheck usually won't pay their bills until they receive their next paycheck. So they have a higher chance of having their checks bounce because of the hold. If they pay in cash then they avoid that problem.
Personally, I could care less if Comcast charges a convenience fee. It just always struck me as ironic that the people most impacted by this fee are the customers who could least afford it. | |
| | | | | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! Well, the way you put it now is more respectable/understandable... however, if I can add to what you said "...the people most impacted by this fee are the customers who could least afford it." .. those are the same people that use more/cost these companies more money too. These are the people that use the more expensive routes to deal with a company and usually go past due, require collection actions, often require disconnects, generate more phone calls to said companies, and never pay anything close to the actual cost that it takes to deliver these resources.
Everyone else ends up paying the costs to handle this type of customer.
(FYI: back when I was doing in home services, I can tell you that a good portion of my routes were the cut off/restore game.. same people over and over and over.. it became a joke.)
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| | | rody_44
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA | that sucks. 1.99 to pay at the window is just wrong in my eyes. | |
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goober22
Resident Duh-Huh Member
join:2001-12-28
Panama City, FL
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by rody_44 :that sucks. 1.99 to pay at the window is just wrong in my eyes. Agreed. There would be CSR sitting there being paid regardless if anyone at all every came in. Do they charge $1.99 to setup an account? No. They usually have "free installation" promos running all the time.
Just like the cell companies, phone companies, etc., they are tacking on every little charge they can to get more money from ya.
Higher fuel, higher insurance, higher property taxes, higher dairy prices...
When can I go to my boss and say I need more money for all these increases?!
I can get a raise this year and still make less than I did last year after all these additional "fees"!
BTW, I no longer have Comcast but we still don't have online payments here. The only way to avoid it to mail a check. Folks that have poor credit and cannot get a checking account would have to send cash, get a MO (which costs) or just go ahead and pay the fee.
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
·Comcast
| The CSR is hired to man the phones, not take bills. I remember walking into a Call Center once, where the window is now shut, and you have to drop your bill in the drop box by day's end to be credited for your bill.
Call Centers are not Payment Centers. Matter of fact, when I go to drop off my power bill, the girl in the Customer Service Center is there to answer questions, not take payments. There is a drop box on the wall that is collected from during the day. | |
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goober22
Resident Duh-Huh Member
join:2001-12-28
Panama City, FL
1 edit | Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by Greg_Z :The CSR is hired to man the phones, not take bills. I remember walking into a Call Center once, where the window is now shut, and you have to drop your bill in the drop box by day's end to be credited for your bill. Call Centers are not Payment Centers. Matter of fact, when I go to drop off my power bill, the girl in the Customer Service Center is there to answer questions, not take payments. There is a drop box on the wall that is collected from during the day. I'm not talking a call center location but a standard office center. Both Comcast and Knology here have 2. The city side centers each have a 24hr drop slot. Comcast has an inside drop as well. They have 3 windows (usually 2 staffed) to deal with customers (call center staff is in the back). Knology also has 3 desk folks PLUS a drive-thru window for payments!
Now you say these folks that answer walk-in questions, connect new customers, cancel existing accounts, issue equipment, modify existing accounts, accept equipment returns... should now charge $1.99 for accepting a payment?! None of the other items are charged, other than the normal new install fee.
So far, here, there is no charge for changes or cancellations or payments. The install fee can usually be waived as long as the outlets are currently active with another provider or have been previously active with Comcast
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Certified Jenius! | |
| | | | | quatrix
Premium
join:2005-02-11
Davie, FL
| said by goober22 :Agreed. There would be CSR sitting there being paid regardless if anyone at all every came in. Do they charge $1.99 to setup an account? Wrong. If there weren't as many people walking into the service center, they'd have fewer CSRs (there were two at mine when I went to swap cable boxes) or cut down on hours. And "setup" is two words.
Sorry for not being politically correct, but anyone paying by cash is just plain dumb. Whether they don't have a checking account (there are plenty of free ones), they're paranoid about sending things by mail or using credit, same story. | |
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CableTool
Poorly Representing MYSELF.
Premium
join:2004-11-12
| My bank charges me to speak to a teller. Withdraw, add funds, whatever I need to do I am charged to speak to a teller. Of course there are other options available, wether Im "poor" or not that require no money whatsoever.
And those are the options I choose.
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CableFAQ.org/Technicians Unplugged
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SJC_Comcast
@sbcglobal.net | Average process time is about 90 seconds, that's $90 / hour per CSR, I would love to make that! | |
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CableTool
Poorly Representing MYSELF.
Premium
join:2004-11-12
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! said by SJC_Comcast :
Average process time is about 90 seconds, that's $90 / hour per CSR, I would love to make that!
My old office used to be in the same building as the payment center. 90 secs was no where near the "Average process time"
That math would work out if the software, health insurance, building, equipment etc were all free and if a counter agent processed a payment every 90 secs for an hour straight.
But since non of the above has ever or will ever happen... I fail to see your point.
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CableFAQ.org/Technicians Unplugged
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| | | bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! Personal attention by a human being is about the most expensive way of paying a bill. I definitely want companies to charge customers insisting on that level of personal attention to pay more for the privilege. | |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
·Comcast
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! That is what the Help line is for, not the person that is there to check in boxes, answer questions, add on services. Bill Gates has a book about how companies should enter the digital age, and not think 19th century. Comcast and a lot of other companies are doing just that.
Matter of fact, those that have Cingular, use a Self-Service Kiosk to process their payments, and the rep in the store never touches it. | |
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SJC_Comcast
@sbcglobal.net
| Well in the San jose offic 3 to 4 CRS are busy with lines until they close. The San Jose CRS tell you that you will be out the door in UNDER 2 minutes. I was not saying this was profit, My point is this represents an additional 400K gross income per year in JUST the San Jose office, 90$ per hour X 3 CSR X 6 hours per day X 5 days per week X 50 weeks, that provides credit for being closed holidays! Just another way for comcast to graft the customer!! | |
| | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! Your math is wrong and assuming that you are running tight as can be. Ignore the signs or what they say about under 2 minutes. (It's funny what people hold a company to vs. what they don't hold them to)
You also assume that every customer in the center is only there to pay their bill. What about box drop off, swaps, etc. Those take some time. Some people also go in there to set up and establish service.. etc. I've been in the service center plenty of times to see 1 person take 5 minutes of the person's time.. and that was just to pay their bill as well as argue about the very bill they were there to pay.. not to mention, they were late, the service was shut off, etc.
In your calculations, did you factor in the cost of the employee beyond the hourly rate? It costs a company to employ someone beyond their hourly pay.. and then there is a building, electricity, insurance, repairs, etc etc etc.
Graft the customer? Maybe today's customer is more expensive to have than the customer of years back when it was a lot easier.. ie: get a bill, you pay it by check in the mail.
Go to the post office, waste your own time in line there, grab an .89 cent money order, drop said payment in box for free. Done! Simple.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
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comcrap90
@comcast.net
| that sucks too..i go to the comcast office and did you notice at my comcast office . there are no chairs to sit down .have to wait in a line to process the bill . i guess thats why every one around me has satellite,,  | |
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See 6 replies to this post | |
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Why should comcast or any other business have to pay a staff of hundreds or thousands, nationwide, to stand in an expensive building to take your payment in the first place?
For years, people paid their bill through the mail with no problem. There are many options for paying your bill.
1) Pay by mail.
2) Pay on line - credit card or checking account.
3) Pay by telephone via the ARU (Automatic Response Unit)
4) Use a 3rd party BillPay service.
The options that require a customer service rep, who have ALWAYS been placed there for customer needs such as changing your service levels, getting help on using the service, helping you UNDERSTAND, ADJUST ERRORS ON or READING your bill or setting up repairs, installs, etc. It wasn't until the advance of credit cards in general that they now became "I want to pay my bill by phone"...
Customer service standards are being imposed by regulatory bodies all the time. This means they have to answer the phone in X amount of time or pay a fine.
Read other posts here alone. How many people complain of sitting in a que waiting for 30 minutes to get their repair issues solved, or trying to get help and have to wait while a slew of people are waiting to pay their bill with a live person.
The free options exist and shouldn't slow anyone down. So why should comcast or anyone else have to pay the staff to take your payment when they all have methods available for you as always?
Most people that need to pay their bill by cash are usually doing so because they are late on their bill or disconnected. That group of people tend to be the majority of the reason why companies have to staff these centers in the first place. It's never stops amazing me how some people won't pay their bills when they are due, or get the second bill with a balance forward, the late notice, or the disconnect notice. It's when the box goes POOF! or the tv goes to the all snow channel when they rush to the payment centers.
So, that $1.99 fee? A drop in the bucket. You could have simply dropped your payment int he pay drop box outside.. but wait, that requires a check or money order, and money orders usually cost about $1.00 +/- to get.. not to mention your time. See what I'm getting at? Time... how much is your time worth to you? Comcast's employees time is usually worth about $20+ an hour when you figure in ALL costs to put that person on the payroll.
In other words.. it's not free on ANY part to take a payment but when you use hard core resources to make it, I am behind any company that charges a small, REASONABLE fee to collect that payment.
(And so you know, they started taking credit card payments period and they pay about 1% to 2% of your payment just to take it.. it's a conveneince to you, but they still have to pay. The reason they eat this fee is it often offsets the cost associated with collections)
Good luck to you.. and hopefully you can find a way to save some of that $1.99 next time.
P.S. My power company charges me 8% of my payment to make a credit card payment no matter WHAT method I use!
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| rody_44
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA | i still dont think its proper to charge to pay with cash at comcast. no big deal tho since i pay with auto pay anyhow. | |
| TurboDan
join:2006-06-08
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
| I can't imagine taking the time to physically deal with going to the cable company to pay the bill, but at the same time, it is things like this that will cause so many people to dump Comcast out of spite alone when they get the chance.
Is Verizon any better to their customers? Who knows... but Comcast has pissed so many people off over the years, I really believe their spitting in the face of customers will cost them in the long run. At least, I can only hope it does. | |
| Insider101
join:2006-09-19
Brooklyn, NY
1 edit | This is an easy one. They are obviously joining the trend to attempt to minimize the amount of in-house staff used. They key here is automation. Cutting labor cost is a bean counters top priority. That and to discourage unionization.
Just to be a little more clear.
If they start to see a significant % decrease in the amount of customers being processed by the walk in rep's per day, they can start to minimize the amount of on hand reps per day. What is the point of having a bunch of employee's just sitting around doing nothing? If an employee leaves then they may not replace them. | |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
·Comcast
| Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! Has nothing to do with minimizing in house staff. It has to do with entering the Digital Age, and using the tools that are available to make things easier not only for the company, but for the consumer.
Why duplicate a task that can be done through automated processes (upgrade services, pay your bill, check account balances, reset receiver, schedule appointments). The telephone company has been doing this for some time, specifically Ameritech was big on it. | |
| | | Insider101
join:2006-09-19
Brooklyn, NY | Re: Pay to Pay?!?!?! Wrong.
We are already in the digital age. Welcome to 1999. THIS MOVE WILL RESULT in a reduction of reps needed. It has nothing to do with helping the customer thats why its called a FEE. | |
| | atticinsane
join:2000-06-27
Pasadena, TX | Time Warner started doing the same thing since Comcast is the one really implemented this.. Charging a $1.00 fee for paying your bill in person. It is said that it was done to discourage crowds. (If truth be told) | |
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See 9 replies to this post | |
AnnaS8
join:2005-05-26
Annapolis, MD
| Used to be if I wanted to pay my Comcast bill by credit card I would have to call them up and talk with a CSR and would cost me a $3.00 processing fee. The only options they had online was to setup automatic payment by credit card. Which I am not a fan since they take the money out before you even see your bill. I like to be able to look it over first. Not to mention it is easier to have them adjust what I owe then to get back what they already took.
I am happy to see now they have the capability to take one time credit card payments. It never made sense to me how I could pay all my bills online through their company websites but the one I couldn't pay online was my internet service provider. LOL Go figure... | |
| 
TOPDAWG
Premium
join:2005-04-27
Midland, ON | That is a retarded fee. I don't care WTF other options you got that is still a retarded fee no matter how you slice it. | |
| 
HappyBunny
Hi. Cram It.
Premium
join:2001-06-23
Long Beach, CA | You think that is bad, Chase Auto Finance charges me $15 to pay by phone and $10 to pay via the web! | |
| NHTracker
join:2002-05-12
Hutto, TX
| First off, yes, it is ridiculous that Comcast is doing this. Why should I pay a premium to see a human being in the flesh? Doing things online works well when it works, and when it doesn't the clueless folks in the call center are not much better. Sometimes it really helps to be able to explain things face to face with someone.
Second, don't give me that crap about poor people being poor because of mismanagement. You my friend have obviously never been piss poor so you are having a difficult time relating. Do you know what it's like to be poor and have your car break down? Now your out of money and have nothing to eat, so you write a check for $10 worth of food and pray that it doesn't clear before pay day. Woops, you forgot that banks are able to almost instantaneously post checks nowadays! At least back in the day you could write one on Wednesday and feel confident that it wouldn't clear until Friday. Yet what blows my mind is your bank can turn around and put a 5 day hold on your PAYROLL check. So they can almost instantly post your $10 check for groceries, yet they can't with your paycheck? BullS&%*! So now your $40 in the hole for your $10 check when you include the ISF fee. These fees only continue to hurt the people who can afford it the least. Do you honestly think these fees would ever even apply to the people who are well off? Of course not, they actually have money to budget!
Third, I am sorry but last time I checked Comcast, much like many other companies charging these fees nowadays, are not even remotely being hurt by the minimum wage salary of the people taking payments. The fact is these companies are charging them because they are GREEDY and simply just because they can. More and more big businesses like Comcast, BofA, etc., are sticking it to the poor people and senior citizens because they have absolutely no moral fabric. Anyone remember Enron? GEEZ! | |
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