I Just Paid My Water Bill

[dvarapala]

I logged on to the water company's web site today to pay my water bill. They don't accept credit cards for payment, but they do accept a bunch of others including PayPal, Venmo, and Amazon Pay. Now presumably they don't take credit cards because of the (higher?) fees, but surely these other payment methods also charge fees? In fact, since PayPal and Amazon Pay are funded with a credit card, presumably the fees that my water company pays are going to include not only the credit card transaction fees but also whatever fee that PayPal or Amazon charges for their own profit.

Can anyone explain to me how not accepting credit cards directly makes any sense for the water company?

[Rodnok1]

Good question... Most likely so no charge backs if had to guess.
Some places charge a "convenience" fee if they do accept CC.

[Big bob]

[ZipZap]

WTF is a water bill?

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

WTF is a water bill?

It is added on to your ELECTRIC BILL!!!!!

[JRD77VET]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

Good question... Most likely so no charge backs if had to guess.
Some places charge a "convenience" fee if they do accept CC.

Yearly dog license, $6.50 The convenience fee? $2.

[Big bob]

You have to license a dog?

[Rodnok1]

Originally Posted by Big bob

You have to license a dog?

You're lucky if you don't have to pay it. They tied it to rabies shots in our county making vets collect it which they despise and it's gotten pricey. The adoption fees are 125 or so for a dog, wait what do the license fees pay for then...

[JRD77VET]

Originally Posted by Big bob

You have to license a dog?

Either $6.50 for a the year or a fine of $300

We have Morgan chipped and this adds an extra ID if he should get lost.

Pennsylvania Dog Law mandates that all dogs must be licensed. Owners may be fined up to $300 plus court costs PER dog.

Please note that all dogs three (3) months of age and older must be registered by January 1stst of each year no matter when the license was purchased the previous year. Annual dog licenses are valid from January 1st thru December 31st of the year the license was issued.

[Rodnok1]

Originally Posted by JRD77VET

Either $6.50 for a the year or a fine of $300

We have Morgan chipped and this adds an extra ID if he should get lost.

One place I lived had a lifetime option way cheaper and another place had lifetime option that was 10 years full price...

[Big bob]

We have to have rabies shots the license fee just sounds like a money grab.

[Torqaholic]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

...

Can anyone explain to me how not accepting credit cards directly makes any sense for the water company?

Try the people working at DMV.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

You're lucky if you don't have to pay it. They tied it to rabies shots in our county making vets collect it which they despise and it's gotten pricey. The adoption fees are 125 or so for a dog, wait what do the license fees pay for then...

The City of Houston a while back was going to force vets to narc on their customers by turning over lists of clients who lived in the city. That way they could figure out who wasn't paying for the pet licenses. My old, now retired vet told me about it. It wouldn't have effected me since we aren't in the city of Houston, but still that's some Orwellian shit right there.

https://www.dvm360.com/view/houston-...nt-information

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...nt-1623389.php

Houston vows to get tough with defiant veterinarians
It's showdown time over pet licensingHouston vows to get tough with vets who defy law for rabies data

CINDY HORSWELL ,*HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Oct. 16, 2009

For more than two decades, many Houston veterinarians have engaged in a quiet mutiny of sorts.

They have refused to follow a law requiring them to essentially name names — to turn over the identities and addresses of pet owners whose dogs and cats received rabies shots.

The city of Houston wants these names to identify some of the hundreds of thousands of pet owners who have failed to obtain the required city license for their dog or cat — and which could result in a citation. Only 4 percent of Houston's estimated 1 million pets are registered today, city officials said.

A 1985 city ordinance requires veterinarians to turn over the data, but just 20 percent have been complying. The rest have revolted, saying they don't want to become quasi-tax collectors or participate in a “Big Brother” surveillance of their customers.

Now, as Houston's much-maligned Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care is being revamped, the city is not playing nice anymore. Officials plan to strictly enforce that ordinance.
Vets get grace period

Alfred Moran, director of the city's regulatory affairs, has sent a letter to all veterinarians with warnings in boldfaced type that they may be fined up to $500 for each day they violate the city's ordinance.

“We've given them a grace period so that they can decide how they want to comply. Either mail, e-mail or fax copies of the data to the city. Or they could become deputized to collect the license fees themselves, but I've not heard of any wanting to do that,” said Elena Marks, director of health and environmental policy for the mayor's office. “We don't want to become vet police, but if we don't see any movement, we will use our authority.”

Marks said pets should not have more privacy rights than human beings, noting physicians already abide by requirements to report children's vaccinations to state databases.

“This data helps us encourage residents to license their pets. It also gives us a better handle on the number of animals who have been properly vaccinated which is a public health issue,” said Marks.

A license for a neutered dog or cat is $10 for the first year and $2 each year thereafter; a license for an unneutered animal is $50 a year.
87 percent opposed

While the fee is small, it could raise more than $1 million for the city's general fund that could be used to improve the city's animal control facilities that veterinarians admit need major renovations.

However, area veterinarians say there's no guarantee whether the license fees will be allocated to animal control or something else.

Jeff Chalkley, president-elect of the Harris County Veterinary Medical Association, said 87 percent of his members who were polled opposed turning over the data.

“The city wants to force us to be tax collectors. But this is not what we signed up for,” Chalkley said.

He fears once customers learn that their names are being turned over to the city — forcing them to license their pets or face citations — it could discourage some from getting rabies shots.

Another option would be for pet owners to switch to clinics outside the city limits such as Bellaire, the Memorial villages, Katy or Sugar Land to avoid being reported.

“It will not take pet owners long to realize the source (of their personal data) is coming from their Houston veterinarian,” said James Fix, who has a Houston veterinary clinic.

L.D. Eckermann, who headed the veterinarian association in the 1980s, recalled the uproar over the ordinance when originally adopted.

“Then, as now, we objected because we want to respect our client's privacy,” he said. “When it comes to licensing, it should be the city's responsibility, not the vet's.”
Other cities' policies

However, Sam Miller, a veterinary association director, acknowledges the city may have the right to collect the names, because the Texas attorney general has ruled a municipal ordinance takes precedence over the veterinary board's rule about client-patient confidentiality.

Efforts by veterinarians to simply hand their clients pamphlets on how to license their pets have not been effective, and city authorities don't want to use extreme tactics of going door-to-door to see who has unlicensed pets.

Other cities such as Dallas have required their veterinarians to turn over pet owners' names for many years. Since the 1960s, El Paso has all its vets collect the licensing fees and then gives them 10 percent of the proceeds.

“Nobody has objected,” said Ed DeCastro, who oversees the El Paso operations. “It's more convenient for the customer who only has to make one stop. And it's easier for the city to make people comply. They don't slip home and forget about it.”

of course, before that, they also demanded church pastors hand over their sermons and speeches:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/hous...-your-speeches


Assholes.

[MadInNc]

ICNLT

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

I logged on to the water company's web site today to pay my water bill. They don't accept credit cards for payment, but they do accept a bunch of others including PayPal, Venmo, and Amazon Pay. Now presumably they don't take credit cards because of the (higher?) fees, but surely these other payment methods also charge fees? In fact, since PayPal and Amazon Pay are funded with a credit card, presumably the fees that my water company pays are going to include not only the credit card transaction fees but also whatever fee that PayPal or Amazon charges for their own profit.

Can anyone explain to me how not accepting credit cards directly makes any sense for the water company?

Is it a municipal owned company? If so they tend to be archaic with respect to administrative costs. For example if you went in and paid with cash, then they would have not charge a transaction fee. Yet the cost of handing cash (think of the armored car stopping at your local supermarket) most likely far exceed the transaction fees of credit cards.

[Onebadcad]

Broward County charges 2.50% if card is used, on all invoices, including a $10+K property tax bill, BUT they do allow you to pay from your checking account with no fee added.

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

Is it a municipal owned company? If so they tend to be archaic with respect to administrative costs. For example if you went in and paid with cash, then they would have not charge a transaction fee. Yet the cost of handing cash (think of the armored car stopping at your local supermarket) most likely far exceed the transaction fees of credit cards.

Yes they are.

Which could also explain why their policies are ****ing retarded.

This is the same water company that won't allow my wife to call them up and make any sort of changes to our account because I al misted as the primary account holder. This even after I went down to their offices and added my wife's name to the account in person. I guess I'd better not pass away before she does...

[PLRX]

just pay the bill

[Anjdog2003]

Originally Posted by PLRX

just pay the bill

He lives in Irvine where all the homes are light brown medium brown and dark brown, and you can't leave your garage door open during the day.

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by Anjdog2003

He lives in Irvine where all the homes are light brown medium brown and dark brown, and you can't leave your garage door open during the day.

Don't be jelly.