[WiseSpender]

I noticed on my City Of Leesburg Natural Gas bill that "utility payments made with a credit/debit card will incur a transaction fee of $3.50. ACH/Echeck payments will incur a $1.00 transaction fee."

How can I avoid these "add-on fees"? I have never had any business charge me extra for using automatic payment features (whether it was automatically billed on my credit card or taken out of my bank account)!

Even paying the bill with a personal check and sent by USPS mail each month (which would seem to avoid City Of Leesburg's nasty transaction fees) would cost 73 cents for the postage stamp!

Anybody know how to handle this at the least cost? Please chime in!

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by WiseSpender

I noticed on my City Of Leesburg Natural Gas bill that "utility payments made with a credit/debit card will incur a transaction fee of $3.50. ACH/Echeck payments will incur a $1.00 transaction fee."

How can I avoid these "add-on fees"? I have never had any business charge me extra for using automatic payment features (whether it was automatically billed on my credit card or taken out of my bank account)!

Even paying the bill with a personal check and sent by USPS mail each month (which would seem to avoid City Of Leesburg's nasty transaction fees) would cost 73 cents for the postage stamp!

Anybody know how to handle this at the least cost? Please chime in!

The Villages utility billing system incorporated similar charges about a year ago. I believe the options available to me are:

• - Write a check - cost of check, envelope, and stamp
• - automatic withdrawal from checking account - NO fee
• - ACH initiated by customer (Echeck) - fee
• - Credit card payment - fee
• - Bill pay through bank services - No fee (EDIT: can be manual or automatic)

I use automatic withdrawal from my account, others have talked about using a bank's bill pay services.

Again, this is for the Villages utility billing system used in Sumter County. The fees for the Leesburg system may be different.

[retiredguy123]

I receive my Leesburg electric bill and my District water bill via email. I pay both bills using an ACH E-check directly from my personal checking account using the free Truist bill pay system. In the case of my water bill, I avoid the $0.95 charge assessed by the vender, Invoice Cloud. If Leesburg adds a vender to their online payment system, hopefully I will be able avoid any vender charges by continuing to use my personal bank bill pay system. Time will tell.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

The Villages utility billing system incorporated similar charges about a year ago. I believe the options available to me are:

• - Write a check - cost of check, envelope, and stamp
• - automatic withdrawal from checking account - NO fee
• - ACH initiated by customer (Echeck) - fee
• - Credit card payment - fee
• - Automatic bill pay through the bank (essentially the bank writes a check) - No fee

I use automatic withdrawal from my account, others have talked about using automatic bill pay.

Again, this is for the Villages utility billing system used in Sumter County. The fees for the Leesburg system may be different.

Note that I pay the water bill "manually" using Truist's ACH E-check bill pay system. There is no automatic withdrawal and no fee.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Note that I pay the water bill "manually" using Truist's ACH E-check bill pay system. There is no automatic withdrawal and no fee.

I believe you noted in the past that if you initiated an ACH from Invoice Cloud there would be a fee. It may have to do with where the transfer is initiated or there may be some other difference behind the scenes.

(I corrected my post above to remove "automatic")

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I believe you noted in the past that if you initiated an ACH from Invoice Cloud there would be a fee. It may have to do with where the transfer is initiated or there may be some other difference behind the scenes.

Yes, Invoice Cloud will charge $0.95 for every payment. But, I receive the bill via email, I write down the total amount due, and then I log in to Truist and make a bill payment directly to the District account. The money is sent via ACH E-check and there is no fee from Truist, Invoice Cloud, or the District. It takes less than a minute to make the payment.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Yes, Invoice Cloud will charge $0.95 for every payment. But, I receive the bill via email, I write down the total amount due, and then I log in to Truist and make a bill payment directly to the District account. The money is sent via ACH E-check and there is no fee from Truist, Invoice Cloud, or the District. It takes less than a minute to make the payment.

And I have Invoice Cloud configured to automatically withdraw from my bank account. I receive an email but I write nothing down, I log into nothing, and I don't have to watch for typos. It takes zero time and I'm confident the bill will be paid with absolutely no effort on my part.

I have never had a problem paying with automatic withdrawals whether from the bank or from a credit card. Others may have had a different experience. The next time I have a problem will be the first time I've had a problem and might change my mind.

To be fair, I do manage the withdrawal account carefully and keep the balance low just in case something unfortunate were to occur.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

And I have Invoice Cloud configured to automatically withdraw from my bank account. I receive an email but I write nothing down, I log into nothing, and I don't have to watch for typos. It takes zero time and I'm confident the bill will be paid with absolutely no effort on my part.

I have never had a problem paying with automatic withdrawals whether from the bank or from a credit card. Others may have had a different experience. The next time I have a problem will be the first time I've had a problem and might change my mind.

To be fair, I do manage the withdrawal account carefully and keep the balance low just in case something unfortunate were to occur.

If it works for you, great. I try to avoid autopay anytime I can. Old school.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Yes, Invoice Cloud will charge $0.95 for every payment. But, I receive the bill via email, I write down the total amount due, and then I log in to Truist and make a bill payment directly to the District account. The money is sent via ACH E-check and there is no fee from Truist, Invoice Cloud, or the District. It takes less than a minute to make the payment.

I do the exact same thing with many of my bills. It may take a few days - up to a week, but the Truist Bill Pay system works.

[WiseSpender]

Are Automatic Payments made through my checking account considered an "ACH/Echeck" payment, thus subject to the extra charge?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by WiseSpender

Are Automatic Payments made through my checking account considered an "ACH/Echeck" payment, thus subject to the extra charge?

No. You should be able to make ACH E-check payments for free if you have a checking account with bill pay. It sounds like Leesburg may have hired a vendor to process online payments like the District has done with the water bill. The vendor charges a fee if you decide to make your payments through the vendor.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Another option: find out what's good to eat in Leesburg, and once a month, GO there and pay your bill in person. And enjoy your lunch nearby.

[polirudb]

I printed your message to show a friend who lives in Leesburg. It cost me a new color ink jet cartridge.

[Rocksnap]

Originally Posted by polirudb

I printed your message to show a friend who lives in Leesburg. It cost me a new color ink jet cartridge.

And here I was thinking he was just being an LGTBQ++ warrior.

[PurvisT]

Originally Posted by WiseSpender

I noticed on my City Of Leesburg Natural Gas bill that "utility payments made with a credit/debit card will incur a transaction fee of $3.50. ACH/Echeck payments will incur a $1.00 transaction fee."

How can I avoid these "add-on fees"? I have never had any business charge me extra for using automatic payment features (whether it was automatically billed on my credit card or taken out of my bank account)!

Even paying the bill with a personal check and sent by USPS mail each month (which would seem to avoid City Of Leesburg's nasty transaction fees) would cost 73 cents for the postage stamp!

Anybody know how to handle this at the least cost? Please chime in!

use bill pay from your bank, no fee charged