<p>I have had an issue with a billing company that sends an email bill to my D, who is a college junior. I am listed on the account to receive a cc of the email because, while SHE is billed by them, I pay the bill.</p>
<p>Previous to this fall, I had this organization automatically charge my credit card. When my card got lost, I forgot to change it on the account and accrued a late charge for a bill. The late charge was exorbitant. I was upset because I had not been receiving email statements from them even though I was listed as a recipient on my Ds account. Had I received the email, I would have realized that there was a problem with the automated billing to my charge. The billing company claimed that they HAD been emailing me. They hadn’t. I asked them to forward me the last email that they sent me. Their response was that this was IMPOSSIBLE. After a one month *<em>**ing match between me and the billing company, I dropped it. Mostly because I just don’t have the time for it (which of course is what they count on). As a result of our “discussion” they tested an email to me, which I did receive. Since then I receive a billing statement every month .<br>
Fast forward to January. I receive a copy of a bill to my D that is due on Jan. 31 I pay it online on Jan. 14th. Balance was zero after payment. Yesterday, I get another billing statement saying that I have a 259.00 dollar charge and a late fee on that of 250 dollars. This statement says that it was due on Jan. 19th.<br>
I never received another bill after the Jan. one that was paid and the 259 dollar charge was not on that bill.
Because I have dealt with this company before, I am NOT looking forward to another debate with them. How do I prove that I didn’t receive an email from them? And how do I force them to prove they sent one? Now that they have scr</em>*ed me over twice, I am inclined to revisit the first problem from the fall and pursue getting that money returned to me. I am tempted to call the attorney general’s office if I don’t get any satisfaction.</p>
<p>I generally go with paper bills and statements because I want a record but some places don’t do paper or charge you for paper so I check their websites from time to time to look at whether or not I have a balance. I also check for fishy transactions because bogus transactions are another part of our electronic age.</p>
<p>In general, you usually can’t prove a negative. Businesses know that emails don’t always go through but they might make you responsible even if it didn’t go through. You might just check their billing website once a week.</p>
<p>I cannot help you, but I feel your pain. There was a minor discrepancy on one of our XM/Sirius satellite radio charges (we have 4) After way too much time & aggravation on the phone, I insisted they go in by phone number and verify each vehicles billing statement. Much to my horror, they have been charging us for 3 vehicles we no longer owned. Apparently the new owners simply reactivated the radio and since Sirius never took those cars off our account, they simply charged our credit card. Needless to say, they no longer have our credit card number and we receive a paper invoice. (that we have to pay extra for). Having your card on file can be either a positive or a negative.</p>
<p>$250 late fee on a $259 bill??? It’s only February. Do you still have the email from Jan showing the balance owed and a receipt from your online payment and your bank showing it was taken out of your account?</p>
<p>You can’t prove you never received an email. </p>
<p>However, if they tried hard enough they should be able to prove that an email was sent by going through the logs of their email system but they’re very unlikely to do this. It would likely need to be done by their IT department and the issue you’re having is with the billing department. Even for the IT department it can be tedious and take someone perhaps hours going through logs to find it. Again - they’re very unlikely to be willing to do this.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter though because not receiving an email isn’t an excuse to not pay the bill any more than not receiving the paper bill in the mail is. No place accepts that excuse. If for some reason the post office misplaced the paper bill or someone stole it out of your mailbox you’re still liable for paying the bill on time. This means you have to be aware of when bills are due and make sure they’re paid when due even if it means you have to track down why you never received a CC bill for some reason, whether email or snail mail or auto-deducted.</p>
<p>I don’t ever do automated payments and especially automatic deductions from a CC or a bank account and you just experienced one of the reasons I don’t do it. I also like to be the one in control and don’t want to forfeit that and on top of that too many people and business processes make errors.</p>
<p>You should be able to prove you wrote them a check for the bill January by determining when you wrote the check, what the check number was, etc. Of course, that doesn’t prove they actually received it - again, you’re always at risk of mail theft or an incompetent business although losing a check like that really doesn’t seem to happen very often.</p>
<p>Okay, they send me a billing statement every month on the first. I pen them and pay them. The Jan. 1 one was for 4,000 dollars (give or take). I paid it in full. Feb. 1st billing statement shows a bill for 259 dollars (dues) and a late charge of 250 dollars (***). There was no previous bill showing the 259 charge but I am anticipating that they will say they sent an e bill. Although, upon further reflection, it sounds absurd. Even if they had sent a bill between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1, how could it be late? Makes no sense. This establishment is a very large billing service and i think it is VERY sketchy. At this point I want to go back to when my chard was charged automatically and look at every receipt.
Stevema,
Yes, I have the receipt showing a zero balance after I paid the Jan. bill. Don’t know when this other charge was added and how I am supposed to know it is on there between billing cycles. Telepathically, I guess. Something is wrong with this and it makes me wonder how many times this kind of thing goes unnoticed when it is charged to an account automatically.</p>
<p>As far as the 100% late charge…I know! They charged me that on a late bill for 4000 dollars in the fall. Now the same late charge on 259 dollars.</p>
<p>I would suggest ceasing to do business with this company ASAP if at all possible. And definitely go to the attorney general and file a complaint.</p>
<p>Another way to go is to dispute the charges thru your credit card company. Advise the credit card company that you have tried to resolve it, to no avail. They will put a hold on the charge you are disputing and your credit card company will contact the company. If they do not respond, you credit card company will remove the charge. If they do respond, maybe you will get them to consider your problem. If not, I would stop doing business with this company if you can get the services elsewhere.</p>
<p>Thank you MaryBee,
I can try that. I don’t have it automatically charged anymore so they wouldn’t have to withhold payment. I have to go on the website to pay the bill. But maybe my credit card company can be of assistance.</p>
<p>I would also dispute the charges and call to talk with their retention department, explaining why you are cancelling your account with this company, bringing up the TWO huge, and unreasonable finance charges. The retention department DOES have the power to waive fees and make allowances to try to keep customers. I would also report to consumer protection and better business bureau if you don’t get complete satisfaction.</p>
<p>On the very few occasions I have had finance or late charges, I have ALWAYS gotten companies to waive them as a good-will measure. I would immediately cease doing business with a company that pulls the stuff you’re describing. They should be able to prove that they sent you the electronic bill. To date, I have never paid a late fee or finance charge for any credit card in the >30 years I’ve held them!</p>
<p>I have every company send me paper bills. I pay by phone AFTER I receive the paper bill and always resist their attempts to persuade me to stick with electronic billing. We do have a few automatic and credit card bills, but so far have not had the problems you describe.</p>
<p>I get paper bills from every source and pay through my bank. I would never depend on internet billing nor allow an automatic payment through my account. I do check every week or two to make sure the bank payments were credited, and have recorded the reference numbers on my bills so that I have proof of the payments.</p>
<p>Yes, I always ask for a confirmation number when I pay by phone and record it on my billing statement as well as in my checkbook, so I can produce it if there is ever any problems. Have NOT had problems using the pay by phone and have been doing it for years now. Am happy I can specify the exact amount we wish to pay (generally the outstanding balance).</p>
<p>I have always paid by paper. The complication came when this account was set up for my D because she is the actual customer. In the real world, WE pay it , as we do all of her college related bills, so the option was to have it set up automatically or count on my D to forward the bills to me in a timely fashion (eeeK!). I no longer have the auto pay going so I am cc’d on her billing statements which tells me that we have a bill or don’t have a bill. I then go to the website and pay using a credit card.</p>
<p>But I never got this particular bill! My balance was zero and then straight to a late charge for a charge she never received.</p>
<p>I would definitely complain and ask to speak with a supervisor and retention agent. Have had good results by being the squeaky wheel, especially if I can prove when I made payment and in what amount. They sometimes make me make the payment, INCLUDING any penalty and late fee and then refund the amount immediately because that’s the way their computer system works but have always gotten the full refund.</p>
<p>Sounds like you’re being scammed. It’s always a bit delicate when our kiddo is stuck in the system we’re being ripped off in. Good luck–I have complained to the system that my kids were in while they were at college and always got things straightened out and refunded to my satisfaction. I recommend it.</p>
<p>My mother complains that companies try to get her on electronic bill-paying systems. Her response is that she doesn’t have a computer. Well, she does have a computer. From the 1990s. That doesn’t have network access.</p>
<p>So are you saying you were charged a $4,000 late fee??? and you paid it??</p>
<p>It is hard for me to imagine what you are being billed for and who by… something college related, apparently. It is equally hard for me to imagine myself doing business with a company like this, whether college related or not. </p>
<p>I thought only the IRS could charge fees like that! :D</p>