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Icy-Neck-2422 t1_jbo45wq wrote

You can pay by credit card, debit card, mailed in check, in cash at Walmart, money order, walk-in-centers or by phone.

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LvnLife2019 t1_jbo96yr wrote

Pay by debit or credit card charges a fee. Pay by phone charges a fee. Going to Walmart is not convenient. Paying by mail in check results in major delays on their end. screws with account.

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ThunderySleep t1_jbpup99 wrote

> Pay by debit or credit card charges a fee.

Lot of utilities do this now. Super annoying, their payment processor should be factored into the price IMO and I seriously doubt it costs them the $2-5 they all charge for it, but the situation you're describing isn't unusual.

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Jay_Derkin t1_jbobb2c wrote

Sounds like a you problem honestly. You’re given a plethora of alternative methods to pay and you bitch about all of them.

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kanid99 t1_jbogo7z wrote

All those other methods are arguably anti consumer, designed to provide additional revenue to the company via processing fees or late fees(possibly). The only non fee method requires the consumer go out of their way to a retail location, in person which let's be honest, most people in 2023 won't do. That they removed the more convenient, fee free, consumer friendly option says everything to me and I agree with the op.

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LvnLife2019 t1_jbph21e wrote

Yep, banks build revenue from late fees..utilities want to do the same. Racket.

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kanid99 t1_jbpibf4 wrote

Im not opposed to fees in general - only when a business model is shaped in a way that makes it difficult to avoid paying late fees even as a responsible customer. Some banks handle it responsibly, some banks are predatory with fees.

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LvnLife2019 t1_jbpk0tz wrote

Completely agree.

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kanid99 t1_jbpk9kt wrote

Xfinity is my fave for this. When the "additional" unavoidable fees make up more than 1/3 of your bill, something is very wrong imo.

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valleyman02 t1_jboi9c8 wrote

Yep I just read a report last month I thought posted in this sub. but I can't find it.

That electric customers using a third party electricity vendors pay a premium of 4.8% or so in NH for electricity. That the predatory practices some electricity vendors use cost customers more. Sound like a good deal but the total cost of ownership is higher.

Vulture capitalism at its finest.

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New_Sun6390 t1_jbojb88 wrote

OP has an excellent point. Utilities should offer convenient, free payment options for customers. Payments should be posted immediately. Even the country's (allegedly) most hated utility in Maine offers free, convenient payment directly from a customer's checking account.

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AKBigDaddy t1_jbort46 wrote

Liberty does offer this- he's griping that this is the only free option. I see his point, you shouldn't charge me extra for paying you.

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ZacPetkanas t1_jbpoipy wrote

> I see his point, you shouldn't charge me extra for paying you.

I understand when a vendor passes along the costs of using a credit card and don't really have a problem with that. But if they were to make that the only method and then try to pass the costs along it would be a problem.

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Devtunes t1_jbpro7q wrote

Anything more than a few cents(unless it's a extreme rewards card) is just an excuse to screw the customer for profit.

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AKBigDaddy t1_jbpot1b wrote

> I understand when a vendor passes along the costs of using a credit card and don't really have a problem with that.

I don't, it's the cost of doing business. If you don't want to accept cards, you don't have to. But you will have an unhappy customer base as a result.

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