<p>Lol, NJres,
No, The bill was for 4000 and the late charge was 250. I would have died of a heart attack if the late fee had been 4000.</p>
<p>However, oddly enough, this late fee on the bill for 259 is also 250 dollars. Go figure.</p>
<p>If I contact the retention agent, is that someone at the billing company (which is third party) or someone at the organization that is making the charge?</p>
<p>I did pay the first late charge because I had gone back and forth with them a dozen times and they wore me down. That charge was legitimate in the sense that my payment WAS late but the reasons that it was late were partly due to their negligence.
I am going to revisit that one now though. They have ****ed me off.</p>
<p>I am guessing this is for a sorority. (You don’t have to say.) If it is an organization that a number of your daughter’s friends are also part of, chances are some of them have also dealt with these usurious practices. Maybe you can find out and place some pressure on the organization to find a different billing service?</p>
<p>They type of account would make a difference. Is this for a credit card/revolving loan of some kind? If so, the $259 is probably interest accrued from Jan 1 to Feb 1. These cards are typical financing dental work or other medical work. If is for one of these, they accrue interest daily unlike a typical credit card where you get your statement and if you pay it in full you don’t owe interest. Also, if you only make minimum payments, these accounts only increase in the amount owed.</p>
<p>It is for a sorority and it seems to be a rather popular billing company that is widely used by frats and sororities. I even googled it and can’t find any negative reviews or warnings, etc. I don’t know or have contact with any other parents in her sorority. I will call them tomorrow and start the process of breaking them. I’m tenacious when it comes to this stuff and it is very unusual for me to drop something, like I did on our first tango in the fall. </p>
<p>I’ll keep you all posted! Thanks for the advice and the vent!</p>
<p>I have a feeling I know what company this might be (PM me if you’re curious), and if it is…I’ve dealt with them before when I was an undergrad. Said company accused me of not paying several times, were a pain in the rear, etc. and I had to produce the proof that they took my CC payment via bank statements and their own receipts.</p>
<p>Just Pm’d you, Soccergurl.</p>
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<p>WRONG when you opt into e-billing, you waive these rights when you accept their terms and conditions. It’s pretty standard language for all ebilling options.</p>
<p>Maybe I missed this answer, but did your D get the billing emails? </p>
<p>I can’t imagine not getting an email bill has any effect on responsibility for the bill. You can likely check the account online and see if there is anything owed. Receiving a bill or an email is considered more of a courtesy and is not what creates the responsibility to pay.</p>