The only issue I remember with auto bill pay is the customer sometimes
doesn't appreciate the delay inherent to the process. They would set it
up to be "paid" on the due date and the bank will deduct it from their
account on that day, but we don't get the check for two more weeks so
we'd be calling them about their late payment.
I bet the banks love this arrangement more than anybody. If they deduct
from the customer's account immediately but don't have to send the funds
to the payee for a few more weeks then they could be holding that cash
in their own interest bearing fund in the meantime.
On 11/11/2015 12:56 PM, Ken Hohhof wrote:
I love auto bill pay, where the customer sets up for the bank to
automatically mail a check each month to arrive on or before the
payment due date. I stress to customers that unlike other bills with
phony fees and taxes, our bill is exactly the same each month so they
can use auto bill pay. We often get an envelope full of these checks,
they always scan correctly, and they seem never to bounce (I think the
bank deducts them from the customer’s account before mailing them). I
know some of the folks here don’t like processing them, but I just
don’t understand that, it’s minimal work.
This method saves the customer a stamp, and given our rural area, a
customer mailing a check by putting it out for the mail carrier
involves lots of risks. Like soaked by rain, chewed by mice, or lost
somewhere between their mailbox and the post office.
We did for awhile have ACH indirectly through a third party payment
portal, and I was surprised to discover exactly what you described, I
did not realize an ACH payment could bounce just like a check.
It is always the problem customers who want special payment methods.
I reluctantly set up payment via PayPal for one problem customer to
pay, and I guess if PayPal accepts ACH that would be a way to accept
ACH. I assume though if the ACH payment bounced, Paypal would claw
back the money from you. Or maybe delay availability to make sure it
cleared. I hate the Paypal method anyway because we have to finagle
the payment manually in our billing system and then either get a check
periodically from Paypal or use it to buy stuff on eBay.
Unfortunately, no one seems to understand budgeting anymore, except
the seniors on Social Security. They want to see how long it takes
for their Internet to be turned off, then look in the couch cushions
for change or see if they have any gift cards with money on them. But
somehow when you go to their house to repo the radio, the power is on,
their cellphone works, they have food on the table and gas in the
car. Internet is at the top of life’s necessities, except when it
comes to paying bills.
I always wonder at the lines in front of the RedBox kiosks. Who pays
$1 to rent a movie when you can get a Netflix subscription? I assume
it’s the pay-as-you-go economy. You go to the grocery store, and at
the end if you have a dollar bill in your pocket, you rent a movie.
If not, no movie. It’s too hard to know if you can afford $9 each and
every month. And if your job is driving for Uber, maybe I can
understand how you just can’t plan your income.
*From:* Jeremy <mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent:* Wednesday, November 11, 2015 10:41 AM
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Steer customers to ACH (vs CC)?
I originally loved ACH, for the cost savings. Now I have realized
that it is the only way that a customer can defraud us with our
current billing method. They login and run an ACH on a delinquent
account, get it turned back on automagically, and then it bounces, we
add a fee, they repeat the process, we turn it off, add another fee,
rinse, lather, repeat. Finally we give up and go get the equipment
and now we're out like $250. Being a prepaid service we usually shut
them off after 20 days and so that would be the most that anyone could
possibly hit us for (20 days of service). With checks they can bounce
the install and then play the re-activation game for two months before
we get frustrated and pull out.
We have yet to start sending customers to collections. For those of
you that are, how does it work out? Are the reclamation of these
minor amounts worth the slanderous hate speech that is sure to come
from that customer for life after you hit their credit? We have been
eating the cost, cutting ties, and moving on.
As far as how we push them toward ACH, I simply explain how bad bill
pay sucks. It is like sending cash in the mail and it goes through a
third party. If they are late mailing it then service gets shut off,
and late fees get added. I also tell them that credit cards cost us
more to process than checks. I basically just tell them that we
prefer ACH, but we will take anything. I regularly question whether
ACH is a good idea or not. We have more problem customers on ACH than
any other payment method.
On Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 8:41 AM, Ken Hohhof <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Our bank wants a $25/mo minimum fee for us to process ACH
payments, so we don’t accept ACH. The per transaction fee is not
bad, but the minimum is a problem.
*From:* Justin Wilson - MTIN <mailto:[email protected]>
*Sent:* Wednesday, November 11, 2015 9:29 AM
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Steer customers to ACH (vs CC)?
Give them a discount. Much of it depends on the bank. We had
folks who absolutely hated ACH because their bank would charge an
overdraft if the ACH failed. They like the CC, even if it was a
debit card, because if the money wasn’t there it just declines
it. No $30 fee or whatever. But, it depends on the bank. This
is what wasn’t attractive to us was banks treated it different.
Credit card either runs or it doesn’t. ACH typically is not as
smooth for a variety of reasons.
Justin Wilson
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
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On Nov 11, 2015, at 10:21 AM, Christopher Gray
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
wrote:
For the people who accept both ACH and CC payments, do you do
anything to promote the use of ACH (to reduce your costs)?
Thanks - Chris
