Do You Pay Payment Fees?
May 8, 2008 by Karen Weideman
Filed under financial matters
I usually pay most of my bills through my credit union’s online bill pay service. It’s free and it’s easy. However, today I realized that my Duke Power bill was due yesterday. Oops.
I decided to call in my payment to Duke Power instead of using my credit union’s free bill pay. This would allow my payment to be received today rather than waiting until tomorrow for my bank to process it.
I called in to Duke Power, entered my account number, and selected the payment option. Do you know what they said? There would be a fee of $3.50! Hahahahaahahaaha. Gee, no thanks. Duke Power, you’ll just have to get your payment tomorrow. I also checked the back of my gas bill. Their fee is $4.95. No thanks.
Paying fees for quick bill pay would only be beneficial if the interest payment or late charge fee was higher than the bill pay fee. For example, if your credit card company is going to charge you a $29 late fee, then it might be worth paying their phone payment fee. It’s just another lesson in being organized (oops) and paying your bills on time.
Do you pay fees to make payments? What’s the highest fee you’ve ever seen?
LRN
I only pay those fees if the bill was due today and I’ll be assessed a late fee other wise. If I’m not getting penalized I just do it through my bank account.
Unfortunately we use to pay $15 for Western Union when we were behind on car payments, but I am happy to say those days are behind us!
I do use free online bill pay through my bank & some of my utility websites. Very rarely do I send bills in the mail anymore. I am also happy to say we do not receive $ in the mail either unless it’s a small rebate check.
I’ve had to pay them in the past, but I avoid them like the plague.
I think our credit card phone payment fee is 15.00. The cable company has theirs at 10.00, and the utility company has theirs at 4.00. No thanks.
I also consider that a late payment could increase my interest rate, on a credit card.
That rate increase plus a one-time fee is usually a higher risk than the immediate payment fees.
I’ve had to pay $14.95 for an online payment to be posted the day I was there, too.
That fee was enough to keep me more date organized, though.
I wish my utility companies all had online bill-pay. This is 2008, right? *smile* The joys of small town living.
~Heidi
Heidi: You’re right. Paying credit card payments late can increase your interest rate really quick. This is especially true for those that have a special introductory rate. One late payment could take your interest from 0% up to 21% or more. It’s crazy!
Thanks for dropping by and commenting!