Community Chat

[moto]

Same fee charged in my county when paying property tax online using any kind of bank/debit card, but no fee if paid via electronic check. 
My take on it is the fee charged is a pass through that the agency is charged from their bank and in essence it's coming out of the budget (meaning other tax payers funds now have to cover this from the budget). I'm ok with charging a fee in this example. Why should other tax payers funds have to pay for my choice of convenience?

[bikerbabe]

There is no way I am mailing a check for anything unless I have no choice.

CC companies are charging the vendor (in this case, the state) to use their services.

3.50 is cheap in exchange for having to go down to the DMV and wait in line.

[Mindy D]

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@Still Raining wrote:

I would think you could still go in person to the DMV and pay in person.  We can still do that even for property tax.

Might the world's cheapest person, but I do appreciate just paying a small fee to avoid the hassle.

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@Still Raining @I'm not cheap and I usually don't mind paying fees if I know in advance that I will have to pay them and under which circumstances I will be charged for them. Moreover, the giant use Quick Scan was like a ploy to get me to enter without seeing all the pages that point out the fees that the website has. I do think that $3.50 is a bit too high and that the fee they say I would pay on the website, which they have not updated yet, of $2.00, is more reasonable for this service. 

[ValuSkr]

While most retailers readily absorb credit card processing fees (which range from 1.5% to 3.5%) as a cost of doing business, government entities often do not and want to recoup the cost from you.

[KingstonMom]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Mindy D. If you think that's  bad (my state does the same thing), try getting a copy of something like a birth or marriage certificate.  States have contracted with commercial firms to provide these documents and they charge something like $25+ for what used to be a nominal fee.

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@Kachina624 

You're right, they sure do!

When my brother committed suicide, I had to provide an original (no copy) birth certificate for him and myself (proving I'm his sister) and a multitude of other documents that I had to mail a request for and all told it got quite pricey, just to get an autopsy report!

What a nightmare, in more ways than one!

[Bri369]

How is it a ploy?  No one was forcing you to renew right then and there this very minute.  I'm sure you could have taken the time to see what was the most economical way to renew your license.

[Trailrun23]

The processing fee is called an "online fee" in my state. If you do it by mail, it's just called a processing fee. They will tack on as many fees as they can, no matter how you pay. 

[spumoni99]

When I first read I thought you meant insurance renewal, for our registration I usually use the option of using our checking account info so there is no charge.

[Spacrazy]

@BunSnoop  That's a great idea ~ I would definitely pay cash (I always use cash for tips). Thanks for sharing.

[catter70]

@Mindy D , should have asked, but from what state are you located if you don't mind saying. I pay with a check, so not sure what they do here in PA. BTW, it stinks that they don't tell you about that fee up front so you make your choice whether to go that route or not.