Earthlink charges me $1/month for each of these;
“non-automated payment”, hence,
“paper invoice” They won’t notify me by email.
To make sure I’m clear, if I don’t allow them access to my checking account they penalize me two bucks a month. I pay electronically from my credit union, which Earthlink accepts. My credit union doesn’t charge them for the transfer.
Is this a common practice, and has it ever been challenged in court?
Peace,
mangeorge
What would the challenge consist of?
They are charging you a service charge to offset their expenses in mailing your bill and processing your check. It sounds to me just as fair as charging you for “shipping and handling” if you had purchased a physical item.
Ach! You didn’t read my post.
Anyway, my question is whether anyone else is charged for similar “things” by their provider. These are not services. Both are of their own doing.
Please excuse my dwindling vocabulary. 
Consumers think they have more rights than they actually do. Do you have a law to cite that makes you think you have some kind of right in this case? In capitalism we allow companies to make fees. Whether or not you think them fair doesnt matter. Find a new ISP if it bothers you so much.
You too?
Again, I’m asking a general question. Is my question unclear? Opinions are okay, I guess, but that isn’t what I’m after. Nor is there an opinion in my query. I’m sure Earthlink doesn’t need for you to mistakenly advocate for them.
(This post is based on my guess that they would be willing to send an invoice by email, but only if you use their automatic payment option.)
You have been given the option of automatic payment, and you have declined to use it. (I would also, but that’s irrelevant.) So how do you call this “of their own doing”? This is YOUR choice, and it means some human has to open your envelope and deposit your check, so why shouldn’t they be allowed to charge for this?
I would say that they are being rather arbitrary and impolite by refusing to send you an email invoice, and this would indeed count as “of their own doing” in my opinion. Still, the legality of it sounds similar to the “handling charges” that I mentioned in my first post. They want to offset the paper and postage charges and I can’t blame them.
As to whether other providers charge similar things: I just checked my invoice, which is from my cable company, which provides my internet, cable tv, and phone service. No, they don’t charge extra for a paper bill or for mailing my check. But there is a $1.99 service fee because I changed my cable tv service to a fewer number of channels. That sounds to me just as arbitrary and unfair and legal as the dollar you pay for the paper invoice.
No check, no check, no check!
The bill is paid by electronic transfer, which my credit union assures me is the exact same vehicle it would be if I chose automatic. The only difference is that I initiate the transfer, not Eathlink.
And ;
I insisted they don’t send me a paper bill, and they refuse not to. If I had auto, they said, they’d notify me when payments are made by, get this, email.
This is an Internet Service Provider, fer crissakes. They make their living electronically.
What the fuck!
Isn’t Earthlink dial-up?
You expect technically competent service from a dial-up service?
Sorry, I got nothing.
OHHHHH! :smack: Sorry, I really didn’t see that in your OP. I’ve never paid my bills in that manner. (My reasons why would be for another thread.) I know you only want to hear experiences, not explanations, so the next paragraph will be in small print.
Businesses really love the automatic payment system, and for several reasons. One, they don’t have to worry about whether or not your next payment will arrive on time, or at all. Two, even if a business is very cooperative about letting you cancel your service, the fact remains that many people will allow some time to pass before they get around to doing so, and those automatic payments are a great source of profit. When a customer insist on initiating the payments (either electronically or by mailing a check) these advantages are lost, so they try to compensate by charging you a “non-automated payment” fee. It’s actually not unfair at all - you want the security of escaping from the clutches of the automated system, and they charge you $2 for that security.
No, it’s DSL.
I haven’t complained about the service.
It’s 5:40am PSTm and I already need a nap.
I sounds like a money-grab to me… and it’s small change, so I’m assuming not too many people complain about it. After all, would you raise up a storm for a dollar a month?
I’m betting that’s what the executives are thinking at Earthlink too 
You could send a letter of complaint to the customer service, but if possible, I’d much rather switch providers…
Two dollars! Twice as much. And the service @ $51.95/month ain’t cheap.
Problem is, I’ve been with them for 10 years and don’t really complain about the service.
I’m gonna write and threaten to jump.
Most companies I deal with put little print, that say you agree to such things.
For instance, my credit card company say in small print, in order to use this card, I have to agree to allow the credit card company to submit my checks electronically.
Even if I send them a check, they take the check and shred it. They then use the routing number and check number to get payment. So I was like, why bother sending the check at all? I’m wasting the stamp. I can do that online.
The safest way around this is simply get a free checking account. With the Internet you can find banks to open a free account if there are none in your area that will do this.
All the bills I have allow me to designate a date of pay. So I put the money in my free bank account. Then on the first I go through all my bills and pay them. But they don’t get paid out on the first, I get to choose the date they will go through.
So companies like utilities are governed by state boards, so if you’re cable company is doing this or your phone company, so you may wish to contact your state utilities boards.
A company doesn’t automatically have the right to impose a fee. Sometimes they can and sometimes they don’t. Back after 9-11, the hotels in Chicago all got together and most started charging a fee for feul surcharge. This was ruled by the courts illegal and the had to pay fines and refund money to anyone who asked for it.
People have gotten so used to fees for everything it’s ridiculous but what can you do, if you have no choice.