Community Chat

[wilma]

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@Nonametoday wrote:

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@wilma wrote:

There are a few places in our mid sized city that are charging a fee to pay with a credit card. We always write a check or pay cash for those services. 

ETA: We've never had a check compromised. We use gel pens for checks which prevent check washing. We had a credit card number stolen twice and used for purchases by thieves. We don't use debit cards.

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@wilma 

Thieves are getting slick.  Any time my credit or debit card has been compromised it was after using at a gas station.  I was told by the bank teller that thieves know how to go behind you at the pump and get your information.  She explained it in detail but I dan't recall all of that.  The only thing I remembered is to pay for gas in cash, which was our bank's recommendation.

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@Nonametoday 

I've heard of people getting credit card numbers from gas pumps.  Not sure how ours was stolen. Might have also been an unscrupulous waiter. This was back in the day when you had to give your credit card to the server. Fortunately, our bank notified us of suspicious purchases made in another state. Once we confirmed we didn't make the purchases, they cancelled the card and sent us a new card with a new number. 

[NYCLatinaMe]

@Tinkrbl44 @deeva   I think banks don't want us to write checks to save processing fees, and that is where the fearmongering comes from.  I have placed stop payments on lost checks and never had a problem.  I have been writing checks since I went to college in the 1980s and never had a problem.  I mail them too.  I do prefer a credit card for most situations, which are indeed safer, but sometimes I like to write a check.

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@Icegoddess wrote:

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@SaveTheTurtles wrote:

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@NYCLatinaMe wrote:

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@SaveTheTurtles wrote:

This is nothing new. Many small businesses have had to pass the cost of accepting credit cards onto the consumer. I recently discovered that AT&T charges a $5 "convenience fee" for using a credit or debit card on their website for paying your bill. However, if you use your ach information or pay via your banks website there is no added charge. And they are a HUGE company, obviously.

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@SaveTheTurtles  That is odd.  I had AT&T cell service for years and always paid with a credit card.  No surcharge.  December last year switched to T-mobile.  They offered a $5 monthly discount for customers that use electronic checks.  It was in the offer posted in the internet that prompted me to switch.  I have never allowed that, but I bit the bullet and did it. 

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I thought it was odd too but that's what they told me when I asked about it. Just another way to get money outta you. 😡

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Many years ago, I was trying to pay my ATT bill online but something was wrong with the website and it wouldn't let me do it.  This was before they had amy sort of chat option.  So, the only option I had was to call ATT. 

Sure, we can do that for you, but we charge a fee for paying via phone.  I was flabbergasted.  What, is this a choice between paying a fee to pay or paying a late fee because I can't pay online?  She ended up relenting and letting me pay via phone THIS TIME.  

FWIW, I have had the most problem over the years with ATT's website.  At one point, I was having to use a different browser than the one I normally use just to get on their website.  And, I don't use some obscure browser. 

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@Icegoddess   This goes with a comment I made earlier on a different thread, the companies offer different things to different people.  I did not pay AT&T online, never used the website.  When I signed up for the service a long time ago, they gave me a phone number I could dial to pay.  It is *729, maybe it works for you if you are still using AT&T.  It was an automated payment system, and there was no charge to pay by phone.  A voice prompted me through the payment process.  I had not changed my AT&T plan in years because I was under the impression the newer plans were worse than the one I had, but when I had problems with slow data, I found out they changed my service without telling me, and I was paying for a data plan they were not honoring.  So I switched.  I think T-mobile has a better data plan.  I feel like reporting AT&T to whatever governmental agency is appropriate, because it doesn't seem right to me that they could change my terms on me, but I am afraid it may be a hassle with an uncertain outcome.  I have been paying for my phones in cash (credit card, I mean in full) for a long time, to avoid signing up for a new lousy plan.  T-mobile is no commitment.  Did not change the phone.  Happy with my iPhone 12 Pro Max.  My electric company works as you describe, if I call and make payment to a person, they charge a fee, which I don't do, unless I have a customer service issue and then they waive the fee.  But the electric company also has an automated payment system with no charge that I use most of the time, pay with a credit card over the phone, no fee. 

[NYCLatinaMe]

@shoekitty I like Am Ex too, I use that most of the time.  Whenever I have a dispute, they stand with the customer.  I think that is why some companies don't like it.  They like the payment apps, which offer no recourse to the customer.  No thanks.  I would rather pay cash if I have to, because I control what I am paying.  But it has never come to that.  I have only had a contractor that would not take credit cards, but when I was ready to walk away, he said he would take Visa, which I used.  I ended up not using him, and he tried to keep my money!  Visa did help with that, and I was made whole.  I believe this is why contractors don't like credit cards, the credit card may not pay them if we are not satisfied.  I hired other contractors, they took my Am Ex, they charged less, and I was happy with their services.

[NYCLatinaMe]

Interesting to read people's stories with medical practices.  I have always paid doctors with cash or checks, never occurred to me to do otherwise.  No doctor has ever complained.  Medicines too I pay cash.  Credit cards companies track where we spend our money and I don't think it is any of their business when I feel sick.  I guess it's between me and Dr. Google... 

[NYCLatinaMe]

@Pink123 The Publix payment, was that a credit card or a debit card?  With debit cards and the convenience cash withdrawal machines, the typical scam is that the scammers attach some type of electronic device to the place where one inserts the card that can coolect the card number and the password that one enters.  The scammers collect the device later and make duplicates of people's debit cards.  I never use debit cards except at my bank or reputable banks, and make sure the card reader doesn't look odd.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@NYCLatinaMe wrote:

@Tinkrbl44 I think banks don't want us to write checks to save processing fees.  I have placed stop payments on lost checks and never had a problem.  I have been writing checks since I went to college in the 1980s and never had a problem.  I mail them too.  I do prefer a credit card for most situations, which are indeed safer, but sometimes I like to write a check.

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@NYCLatinaMe 

All I know is thieves have gotten very smart and checks are stolen and washed all the time.

If a thief steals the contents of a USps mail box, the OBVIOUS envelopes with checks in them are all utility bills ... and greeting cards.   Grandma sent somebody a check for his birthday.

[occasionalrain]

As more consumers pay with cash or check, the credit card companies will find a way to prevent companies from charging fees to use credit cards.

I'm not going to start writing checks or paying cash but, when possible, I'll avoid companies that expect me to pay their credit card fees.

[beckyb1012]

A couple of years ago my favorite baker started a charge for anyone using a credit or debit card.  It was cash or check only.  

[Love to Run]

There are more businesses in my area that don't take checks than those who charge more for electronic payments. There is one fish market we use that takes cash only, but if I had to pay more to use an electronic payment I would shop elsewhere. Particularly for large ticket items because I choose to use the consumer protections offered with a credit card. We would never pay cash or check for a major purchase, if something goes wrong we would have little recourse.