[Rainger99]

If you have been paying your Leesburg utility bills by credit card, please note that Leesburg is now charging a service fee.

Starting March 1, 2024, the City of Leesburg will begin charging a transaction fee for all utility payments made by electronic means.

Electronic processing fees will be encountered by customers for the following transactions:

ACH/eCheck utility payments will have a $1.00 convenience fee
Credit/debit card utility payments will have a $3.50 convenience fee
Utility customers can avoid the fees by using the auto-pay option linked to a checking or savings account, paying in person at City Hall with cash or a paper check or paying with cash at AMSCOT locations.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Another reason why I still keep checks around. T Mobile used to let you pay in person (no fee), now it’s $5 for that. The only way to push back is to send a check. Not a big fan of giving every entity my CC info. Certainly not if a fee is initiated doing so. Some would say it’s only a couple of bucks...but if other utilities follow suit which they are, it adds up. Not to stray from the point but when was the last time someone got their identity stolen or account hacked using cash?

[asianthree]

Pay with bank app, no fees directly into that business, unless it’s a person, then bank mail a check

[shut the front door]

They are late to the party. Convenience charges have been around for a long time. Credit card pmts cost them money. I'd pass that along to the customer, too.

[Shipping up to Boston]

I would agree with the prior post if he was talking about a small business. We’re talking about conglomerates and multi million/billion dollar outfits that could absorb these fees.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

Another reason why I still keep checks around. T Mobile used to let you pay in person (no fee), now it’s $5 for that. The only way to push back is to send a check. Not a big fan of giving every entity my CC info. Certainly not if a fee is initiated doing so. Some would say it’s only a couple of bucks...but if other utilities follow suit which they are, it adds up. Not to stray from the point but when was the last time someone got their identity stolen or account hacked using cash?

Originally Posted by asianthree

Pay with bank app, no fees directly into that business, unless it’s a person, then bank mail a check

Reading the original post, I don't see an option to mail a paper check? If you are using a paper check, it looks like you need to deliver it in person. Maybe the OP can clarify.

[JGibson]

If folks buried them in paper checks taking up many man hours they would quickly drop the $1.00 fee

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Reading the original post, I don't see an option to mail a paper check? If you are using a paper check, it looks like you need to deliver it in person. Maybe the OP can clarify.

The bill says

Payments can be mailed to:
City of Leesburg
P.O. Box 491286
Leesburg, Florida 34749

But it didn't say whether there was a charge.

I asked them whether I could mail a check in without a "convenience fee." She said that she had to check with her supervisor. After a few minutes, she told me that they would accept a check in the mail without any additional charge.

I will let you know next month if she was correct.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by JGibson

If folks buried them in paper checks taking up many man hours they would quickly drop the $1.00 fee

True! Plus, the "convenience" (ease/convenience) is for them more than us. So, imo we should be getting a discount instead of being charged.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

If you have been paying your Leesburg utility bills by credit card, please note that Leesburg is now charging a service fee.

Starting March 1, 2024, the City of Leesburg will begin charging a transaction fee for all utility payments made by electronic means.

Electronic processing fees will be encountered by customers for the following transactions:

ACH/eCheck utility payments will have a $1.00 convenience fee
Credit/debit card utility payments will have a $3.50 convenience fee
Utility customers can avoid the fees by using the auto-pay option linked to a checking or savings account, paying in person at City Hall with cash or a paper check or paying with cash at AMSCOT locations.

Fees = tax or way to run up bill.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Fees = tax or way to run up bill.

True! Like charging extra if you pay early. It only benefits them. The boss wants a new car and someone has to pay for it.

[vintageogauge]

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston

I would agree with the prior post if he was talking about a small business. We’re talking about conglomerates and multi million/billion dollar outfits that could absorb these fees.

They'll get the money one way or another.

[shut the front door]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

True! Plus, the "convenience" (ease/convenience) is for them more than us. So, imo we should be getting a discount instead of being charged.

I don't know what world you live in where it's more convenient to write a check, buy a stamp, and take it to a mailbox than it is to sit in your house at a computer and make a payment in 30 seconds.

[Shipping up to Boston]

Thankfully, there are many who still choose principle over convenience. Convenience usually means more fees. Prior poster was correct, some people don’t get that a fee is a tax.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

hmmm, i suspect that those visa fees charging the customer, though small, are all adding up to big bucks. And the credit card company game is to stick higher fees to vendors, and enticing their customers with higher rewards back! Remember, its about a duopoloy, and they have to grow, and if volume doesn't change, then vendor fees must go up. And if the marketing departments are battling for customers with higher cash back, then the vendors take the hit.

And last time I checked, Leesburg utilities, wasn't a commercial company, but a government entity, with a fixed tax based budget. So convenience has a profit motivated free enterprise cost over free, who would have thunk it?