If mthly payment has for two yrs. always been on time via internet bill pay & now the payee charges $5 each month to "process" the internet payment or else I will also get late fees for non-payment of $5 process fee EACH MONTH, can they legally do this?
by 
Casper
ANSWERS: 6
-
Its probably in your contract, hidden somewhere in the small print. find and read the contract. If the five dollars is working a strain on your budget, why not send them a check, post dated to date of your payment. Whats the difference?
-
They can pretty much do whatever they want and it's legal. The finance/banking industry is one of the very few that get away with re-writing an agreement with only one party's interest in mind (sorry about the bad pun.) Your card-holder agreement says that you agree to any changes they make 'from time to time.'
-
My aunt got a similar charge to pay her cell bill by mail. She called the company and complained. They said that that was how they charged. She said that she didn't believe that it was legal and could she speak to someone in the legal department. They immediately put a manager on the phone and he took it off of her bill and said she would not have to pay it any more. You could do the same in this case. Either way it turns out you will know if it is a fair charge.
-
I used to be a bill collector on house mortgages and the answer is yes; in most cases. The internet pay is a convienience that they provide, and they are totally within their rights to charge you for it. The only exception to this is if your state actually has an law that prohibits it, I don't remember which do and which do not, but it is about half and half. Some states have regulations that say you cannot charge, and others only limit the amount that is charged. Another option that you might consider is that many banks will allow you to setup the online payment through them without the fee.
-
You must look at your contract with the company. Most consumer contracts (i.e., credit cards, service providers) state that they can raise rates and add fees by giving you 30 days notice.
-
yeah i'm pretty sure that LEGALLY they can do it... but i know from experience (with my bank though) that if you call and complain and threaten to take your service somewhere else, they're likely to waive that fee for you. if you talk to someone important (as high as you can go) and tell them that you're a good customer that any one of their competitors would be happy to have, they should listen.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC