I received an email the other day from Verizon stating: “Payment on your Verizon account ending in XXX-XX01 was due 5/10/2016 in the amount of $181.72.” I pay most if not all of my bills using my bank’s online banking system and when I checked to see if the Verizon Communications bill had been paid I saw that it was listed as “Pending Payment 05/18/2016 $181.72. I thought to myself, now where did I get the idea that the due date of my payment was 05/18/2016. Since I had already shredded the rest of the paper bill I received with the exception of the “Send this stub with your payment” section which I keep for my records, I had to download my most recent paper bill from the Verizon website. What I saw there was a statement underneath the apparent actual due date that read: “To avoid a late payment charge, pay the total due by May 18, 2016. For TV, internet and wireless services, the late payment charge is $5 or1.5% of your total due, whichever is greater. For all other services, the late payment charge is 1.25%”. This is apparently where I got the idea that my payment due date was 05/18/2016. Here’s an idea, why not clearly state the due date of the payment on the “Send this stub with your payment” section of the bill like almost everyone of the other establishments I make payments to, including light, gas, and water bills. Instead every month I go hunting for the due date on my Verizon bill and last month I apparently saw the wrong one. This would be an easy fix and would save you from sending me deadbeat emails telling me I didn’t pay my bill. You will get your payment on 05/18/2016 and from now I will use the date “To avoid a late payment charge, pay the total due by” date to pay subsequent bills until you see the light and make the change I suggested.
