Paying cash? That'll cost extra
Posted April 26th, 2008 by xntryk1
output
Posted: Friday, April 25 at 05:00 am CT
Paying cash? That'll cost extra
by Bob Sullivan
Rhonda Payne went to an AT&T Wireless store in Calhoun, Ga., recently to pay her phone bill in cash. She'd been hit by ID theft and was forced to close her checking account, so she was worried she wouldn’t be able to mail a check on time. But when she arrived at the store, she was in for a surprise.
Paying in person, she was told, costs extra -- $2 extra.
Payne objected to the "administrative charge" that was added to her bill but got no sympathy. Instead, she said, she was told she should consider herself lucky because the fee was about to go up to $5.
"I was told that it was a courtesy to take cash,” she said. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me?'”
It’s no joke. Beginning earlier this year, AT&T Wireless began to charge customers who pay their bills in their stores.
"It is a way of saving money ... it helps us keep our costs lower," said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel. "We want our associates to spend their time helping customers as they are thinking about their wireless plans or looking at phones."
There are multiple ways for consumers to pay their bills for free, he added -- in the mail, by electronic payment and on the Web. There are even kiosks in stores where bill payments can be dropped off for free. But having a sales clerk take the payment costs extra.
"If someone really wants to pay using the service of a representative, we think it's appropriate to assess this fee," Siegel said.
The fee might remind some of the "talk-to-a-teller" fee introduced by First National Bank of Chicago in 1995.
Siegel said such fees are routine in other industries, too, citing credit cards as an example.
In fact, most credit card issuers do charge a similar fee, called "pay-to-pay." Consumers who call up banks to pay their credit card bills -- often at the last minute to avoid interest charges or late fees – often are assessed "pay-to-pay" fees ranging from $5 to $15. The practice has recently drawn scrutiny in Congress, and a credit card reform bill introduced by Sen. Carl Levin , D-Mich., would ban the practice.
Hurts the poor most
Consumer advocate Ed Mierzwinski, director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said he's concerned about AT&T's new fee for another reason: It hits poor people hardest because they are most likely to pay in stores.
"It's targeted at people who don't have bank accounts,” he said. “...It's punitive and largely indefensible.
"It's just unfair to me and I'm shocked by it. People that have less money have to pay more to pay their bills. … It hurts people that really don't have a choice."
Studies show that 10 million to 12 million Americans don't have bank accounts and have to pay their bills in cash, he said. Some are undocumented workers; others are consumers who have bounced too many checks in the past and are ineligible for checking accounts. Sometimes called the "unbanked," consumers who live in this cash economy are finding it harder and harder to maintain basic services, Mierzwinski said.
"I think (AT&T’s fee) is going to lead to more companies charging more to people who want to pay with cash," he said.
Siegel denied that AT&T was targeting cash customers and said his company offers pay-as-you-go pre-paid phones that are better suited for consumers who want to pay in cash.
Payne has complained to state regulators and to the Federal Communications Commission, but hasn't received a refund -- or an explanation that satisfies her.
"This fee charged by AT&T is ripping off poor people," she said. "I've told everybody I know about this."
© 2005 MSNBC.com
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if I call up my cell phone
if I call up my cell phone provider and say that I want to cancel can I get a better deal then?
F#$K CREDIT CARDS!
I have a small business, in which I sell personally-made products directly to the public, and I do NOT accept credit cards as payment, for both financial and personal reasons --- mainly, because it would cost ME more to do so. I love seeing the looks on the mindless, credit-addicted sheep who lay down a credit card for payment (without even asking if I would accept it!) when I tell them "Sorry, I don't take credit cards". You'd think I had told them "All payments must be made in oxen"!
I HATE credit cards, and don't mind losing the 2 or 3% of business that I would have otherwise made using credit cards. People need to realize that the ubiquitous and mindless use of credit cards just feeds the BANKS and makes you more and more of a debt-slave every time you use them!
IMO, anyone who routinely uses credit cards in favor of cash has already willingly accepted "The Mark of the Beast".
I take it out in trade -- no credit cards here either.
I was able to "write off" my boob job and stilettos.
___________
Lisa C.
http://www.women4ronpaul....
Oh my!
And the black leather dominatrix outfit too?
Oh wait, my mistake, I was daydreaming about Hillary again.
Hillary...
I just got sick and ready to vomit, thank you.
Where Liberty is, There is my Country - Ben Franklin
The whole time I've been pregnant...
this is the first time I've seen a post that made me feel the same. (I have seen some links that have...)
Libera me, let the truth break, what my fears make--Leslie Phillips
"THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER
"THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE"
Isn't it illegal to attach conditions/fees to notes that are "legal tender"? If it's "legal tender" you must accept it, right?
I canceld my AT&T cell service
We are moving to an area that is poorly serviced by AT&T so I called to cancel. Of course they offered the world to me (discounts, better plans, bla bla bla). So I said it pisses me off that you did not offer these discounts to me before and that basically you were F*^king me all along. So I said just cancell my service! OK Sir, I am sorry were were not able to keep you as a customer, it will just take a second. I assumed he put me on hold and was coming back, but after a few minutes i looked at my phone at it was already out of service.....That little SOB made it out like he was returning, he could have told me he was switching me off right then and there. Little F#^ker.
I already gave up on AT&T Wireless
By far the worst cell provider (Chicago Area).
Sprint is a little better...
Where Liberty is, There is my Country - Ben Franklin
Similar Vein
I recently wished to downgrade my DishTV service from 250 channels to 100 channels, saving $25/month (with the added advantage that I would no longer have access to either Hannity or Olbermann).
The DishTV website allows customers to upgrade services online, but to downgrade one must call them on the phone.
The service representative told me that there was a $5 charge for downgrading. I was already a bit frustrated from not being able to complete this transaction online. I raised my voice.
"Well you know what, I think maybe I'll just cancel my service altogether, then." I told the rep. He noted that I was a long time customer and asked why I would want to cancel my service.
"I can't stand to look at it anymore!" I bellowed. "Hundreds of channels and there's never anything worth watching. And what's with all this "Paid Programming?" I thought that I was paying for the programming! Nothing comes out of that box but lies..."
"Sir, here's what I'm going to do for you," began the sales rep.
"You're going to downgrade my service and withdraw the $5 surcharge, aren't you." I said without an interrogative inflection.
"Yes, sir..." said the sales rep and when we had finished I sincerely thanked him and told him that he had been very helpful. No point in ruining that Indian fellow's day; he seemed a decent sort.
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine
You can downgrade further (on DishNetwork)
We're on the "Family Plan", $19.99/month - you get:
FOX - yes, they suck
HNN
SCIENCE CHANNEL
HISTORY INTERNATIONAL
FOOD NETWORK
DIY NETWORK
NICK, CARTOON, ETC
BLOOMBERG - only thing I watch on TV anyway.
Where Liberty is, There is my Country - Ben Franklin
When I read this kind of stuff
I think my blood pressure goes up a couple points. Peace
I read somewhere
that Visa will be the "chosen" card for all us to do business with. No more of that flat money - too hard to track everything!
Since they already have the money, it is all about control.
Because she offered to pay in cash
and they refused to take the payment she can consider the bill discharged..
It is in fact Legal Tender for all debts...
You almost got it right
Except they didn't refuse the cash. They gladly took it and charged her more.
Well,
She offered to pay the bill with cash, per her TOS.
This additional service charge is a separate entitiy.
We may go cashless
I will barter before I get chipped.
Davy C Rockett
http://www.thelibertypost...
http://screamfreedom.blog...
http://liberty-central.bl...
You and I both (and I speak for my hubby as well)
and they won't chip my children either, not on OUR watch!
Libera me, let the truth break, what my fears make--Leslie Phillips
Digg it
Digg it here:
http://digg.com/business_...
we are moving towards total paperless system
so much easier for big brother to watch our purchases and all aspects of our daily lives,,,,people who use cash are to be viewed as rebels...
Exactly!
And it's SO much harder for Big Brother to know how much to rob, er, 'tax" you, when all of your transactions are in cash...
http://groups.yahoo.com/g...
Wooden nickels and paper dollars.
As soon as they threaten to charge you $2.00 to pay your bill you should have asked to see the manager and be willing to cancel your account.
As long as we continue to be a part of this pyramid scheme it will continue to exist. We can take care of ourselves. We don't need a central government to make these decisions for us. All government is local.
grant
I'd pay the $2.00
I'd pay the $2.00 fee and the bill in pennies maybe even dropping some "by accident" behind the counter. Then I'd tell the clerk that i needed a reciept for each coin transfer.:)
It's a fun Idea..
and I would be sorely tempted to do it if I owed money to ATT. (although credit card companies would be another delightful target of such fun)
Libera me, let the truth break, what my fears make--Leslie Phillips
perfect
I remember reading an article on Lewrockwell about tearing the system apart through explicitly following the laws/rules/regulations. But making it painful for them in the process. The idea is to weigh them down in so much overhead that they crumble or drop the law/rule/regulation.
Paying this fee, and I would go as far as saying paying the whole bill, in pennies would be an awesome example of this. I use AT&T and normally pay online, but I might just start doing this myself :).
;)
.
My advise don't take any wooden nickels or paper dollars!
Celular phone are also great for locating people and tapping in on their conversations.
Hmm I have a home business
and I think I will now tell my customers they get a 5% discount for paying in silver.