One man's journey into the depths of insanity. [language] Wireless scs

[icantbelievethesepeople]

I just can't think of a single justification for it. Paying your bill in store wastes your own time, the reps time, any customers waiting for you while you prolong your bill pay time by 250 orders Of magnitude or so...you waste gas. It is fail in every possible way. Cash payers can get a prepaid debit card, there is literally no reason to so egregiously be willing to waste everyone's time.

[mathnerd]

If you're trying to stay off the grid for whatever reason, it makes sense to have a prepaid plan under an alias and pay cash only. I can think of many reasons why somebody might want to do that, not the least of which is one very important reason that pertains to me.

[icantbelievethesepeople]

One could buy visa gift cards and load them periodically, anonymously. Which takes far less time to do than pay a bill at the store. Also those wishing to stay off the grid are a minority fringe of the bill payers

[Mriswith]

SC: [INTERRUPT] (seriously, any of you played mtg? It's like they play counterspell on you every time you start making sense. How would that card look?

It's actually an Enchantment card called Customer Logic: All your opponents lands not tap for Purple mana (instead of their original colors). This mana can only be spent on pancakes and shoelaces. All mana must be used each turn.

[Titi]

One could buy visa gift cards and load them periodically, anonymously. Which takes far less time to do than pay a bill at the store. Also those wishing to stay off the grid are a minority fringe of the bill payers

You can't pay bills online with Visa gift cards or any major company gift cards. I know because I tried. Also those prepaid debit cards ask for practically everything but a blood sample to prove who you are. I got sent one from Paypal, I was asked for a copy of birth certificate, my social security card, a bill from where I live and my photo ID. And this was for a card that I did not ask for, it just came in the mail and I went to authorize it, thinking I could use my paypal account outside the internet.

[Monterey Jack]

I've been using my debit card to make online purchases and pay my internet/phone/cable bill since 2007, and I have only had my information jacked ONCE in all that time...certainly distressing while I had it ironed out and a new card mailed to me, but I got all of my money back, and it's not worth going through such ridiculous inconvenience to pay every bill in person.

[Racket_Man]

There has been a lot of hype in recent months about how easily personal information (including CC numbers) can be compromised, and that may play a factor in your customers' decision to pay in person. .

this ^^^^^^ right here. I have been hit enough times with Malware on my PC (yes I do have sufficient protections in place but the malware writers are getting fairly sophisticated these days and things DO indeed slip through the barriers I have in place) that I prefer to pay my bill at the ATM type kiosk in providers store. They installed said device about 6 or 7 years just for people like me whose only trip to the store IS paying their bill. I have few issues with my phone or contract.

[Gilhelmi]

Only reason to pay in store, is if you are doing the "all-cash" thing. I tried it once, but some of the big purchases (over $100) hated me with passion in their eyes. I stopped after the gas company.

I still prefer cash, but I try not to spend too much at once (and not bills, city, gas, electric, I dont think the person at the gas company knew what to do with the cash.)

[sms001]

and says the Web is completely insecure.

... my debit card ...had my information jacked ONCE in all that time...

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I've been using a separate account for purchases since the early Oughts. It's a little hassle to top it off every once in a while, but worse case scenario; drained dry and no recomp by the bank, won't kill me.

You can't pay bills online with Visa gift cards or any major company gift cards. I know because I tried. Also those prepaid debit cards ask for practically everything

I didn't know that - but you CAN use a prepaid like a bank issued card, right?
That Paypal thing sounds kinda fishy...

[icmedia]

I feel your pain...We save the customer's CC info onto their account the first time they pay the bill with said card, so I try to explain that they can even call me to make the payment without ever having to read their card info over the phone...STILL they come in to pay.

In these cases, I make certain to double check all of their contact information, inform them of every single one of our promotions, and then- only then -do I process the payment. Typically they end up walking out with a new phone, home phone, Internet, or TV package in addition to having wasted a good 15-30 minutes.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I feel your pain...We save the customer's CC info onto their account the first time they pay the bill with said card, so I try to explain that they can even call me to make the payment without ever having to read their card info over the phone...STILL they come in to pay.

In these cases, I make certain to double check all of their contact information, inform them of every single one of our promotions, and then- only then -do I process the payment. Typically they end up walking out with a new phone, home phone, Internet, or TV package in addition to having wasted a good 15-30 minutes.

Well at least you found out a way to make some commissions out of the deal.

At the wireless store I used to work at, we charged a $5 fee to take a payment. That right there caused a lot of customers to switch methods quickly. Others would just complain/cuss us out and then pay anyway. And of course we had the "You WILL waive that fee!" SCs that ended up getting nowhere.

[ComputerNecromancer]

Well, until recently, paying a couple of my bills online cost a several dollar fee. One I'd rather not pay online because doing so turns of paper billing (I prefer paper bills, because I can file them and look stuff up later) you can call and ask to have the paper bill turned back on, but next time you pay online, they'll switch back to paperless.

And there was another that would only let you do it if you set up automatic bill paying. Which I refuse to do as sometimes I *don't* have the money for the full bill.

When you are on a limited, fixed, income, frequently your time is worth a lot less than actual cash you have to spend.

For me, transportation is "free" (I get a monthly pass, so it costs me the same if I take one trip or 100). Or I can bike (and need the exercise).

Of course, the one time I *wanted* to pay in person, I discovered that my cell phone carrier wouldn't take payments at the store (I forget whether it was cash they wouldn't take or my card)

[Titi]

I didn't know that - but you CAN use a prepaid like a bank issued card, right? That Paypal thing sounds kinda fishy...

The Paypal thing is actually a new federal law. I checked all of the prepaid cards at my job and all of them said that. It is supposed to stop money laundering but all I think it is doing is hurting the people that those cards were supposed to help. I guess you can buy a new card each time and use it but that costs more than just reloading the card and also makes them look suspicious.

[Ben_Who]

Just a simple observation of human behavior - people can rationalize ANYTHING, and comfort zones trump EVERYTHING.

The lady paying $30 to post a $47 payment on a wireless bill? She found something she's comfortable with. She knows it's inconvenient (and cleverly justifies her annoyance by implying it's the store's fault for not planting a shop closer to her personal position) but it's more comfortable for her than any other system of bill payment. If she could rationalize using a carrier pigeon as being the safest and easiest method, she would.

[Teskeria]

You can't pay bills online with Visa gift cards or any major company gift cards. I know because I tried. Also those prepaid debit cards ask for practically everything but a blood sample to prove who you are. I got sent one from Paypal, I was asked for a copy of birth certificate, my social security card, a bill from where I live and my photo ID. And this was for a card that I did not ask for, it just came in the mail and I went to authorize it, thinking I could use my paypal account outside the internet.

Ummm slight exaggeration there. PayPal doesn't ask for a birth certificate. If Auto Id fails they do (by federal law now all companies offering any kind of debit card are supposed to verify ID-that includes all prepaids) ask for photo id, proof of address and proof of SSN. That is the law.

I supplied it when I got my PayPal Debit Mastercard. I love my 1% cash back since I have to pay my bills every month anyway.