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[EuchreJack]

Not just disasters....
University of Chicago agrees to pay $13.5 million to students after being accused of participating in a 'price-fixing cartel' with other prestigious schools to limit financial aid

Key takeaway: The Colleges conspired to keep the poor people out, and their "settlement" only goes to people who got in.

Frankly, I think University of Chicago is only offering a settlement because they want to admit that they're "Just Like Yale".

[McTraveller]

Interesting anecdote: one of my utility companies sent me a notice saying they will no longer accept credit/debit card accounts for auto-pay due to "high costs and other policies of the processing companies."

Have we passed peak credit-card? Or is this just a sign that it's now cheap enough (due to changes in the ACH network/laws) that these companies are doing their own processing?

[EuchreJack]

Interesting anecdote: one of my utility companies sent me a notice saying they will no longer accept credit/debit card accounts for auto-pay due to "high costs and other policies of the processing companies."

Have we passed peak credit-card? Or is this just a sign that it's now cheap enough (due to changes in the ACH network/laws) that these companies are doing their own processing?

They're just trying to screw you.

You can dispute the charges with a credit/debit card. But if they're tied into your bank account, you can't do shit when they autocharge you a ton of cash. (It happens)

One of the more milder stories covering the most common issue.

(In the utility's defense, you can dispute the charges even when they're legit with a credit/debit card, and screw the utility company.  Assuming you don't need their electricity next month, or you're in the winter months and a state that doesn't let them disconnect service in winter months. Example)

[McTraveller]

I have to laud your ability to find the absolute worst interpretation of any phenomenon.

[EuchreJack]

I have to laud your ability to find the absolute worst interpretation of any phenomenon.

I've been screwed by the electric company. Watch the news, and you'll probably see that I am not the only one.

[anewaname]

The 4 minute Frank Abagnale clip that explains why credit cards are always better than debit cards.

[McTraveller]

Sorry to hear that you had a poor experience with the utility.  I'm not sure if that's a systematic or special-cause issue though.  I have never been "screwed" by a company - yet.  I might possibly have an issue right now, as it appears I was billed for a service that was never (and isn't planned to be) rendered... and of course the "we charged you for this" was on a Saturday, a day on which their billing office is not open.

Luckily though this is on a credit card, so if they don't reverse the charge I'll dispute it.  But I'll give them a chance Monday when I can actually talk to them.  Note this is for medical though, and that industry is notorious for systematic issues.

[Maximum Spin]

The example EuchreJack gave isn't even a story about someone being screwed by a company, anyway, but, at most, by a law that allows for charges based on estimated usage and not what you actually got. Even then, it'll be corrected for on the first bill after they can actually check the meter anyway, so it's not actually a big deal.

[EuchreJack]

The example EuchreJack gave isn't even a story about someone being screwed by a company, anyway, but, at most, by a law that allows for charges based on estimated usage and not what you actually got. Even then, it'll be corrected for on the first bill after they can actually check the meter anyway, so it's not actually a big deal.

This is only true if you have enough money in your bank account to cover the overcharge, and you do NOT have anything that you urgently need to purchase with those funds. In my case, I got hit with a $2000 auto-deduction from my account. Thankfully, I had slightly more than that, and a secondary account to pay other expenses. I'm not sure most people would have been so well-off...

[Maximum Spin]

This is only true if you have enough money in your bank account to cover the overcharge, and you do NOT have anything that you urgently need to purchase with those funds. In my case, I got hit with a $2000 auto-deduction from my account. Thankfully, I had slightly more than that, and a secondary account to pay other expenses. I'm not sure most people would have been so well-off...

I mean, yeah, if you're going to allow bills to be paid out of your account without even knowing what they are first, then yes, you're going to need a considerable emergency fund to cover it. But that's the breaks.

[EuchreJack]

Interesting anecdote: one of my utility companies sent me a notice saying they will no longer accept credit/debit card accounts for auto-pay due to "high costs and other policies of the processing companies."

Have we passed peak credit-card? Or is this just a sign that it's now cheap enough (due to changes in the ACH network/laws) that these companies are doing their own processing?

[Maximum Spin]

Credit or debit card autopay has just the same problems, although the credit card one at least means you don't need to pay it off right now, if you're the kind of freak who carries a balance. Disputing the charges isn't a solution because the charges are entirely legit and legal. You'll need to have a bigger emergency fund no matter what, because you've agreed to pay a bill without knowing what it will even be.

[McTraveller]

So with my autopays - I get my bill before the withdraw date.  So I have an opportunity to call the billing department before the withdrawal.  Something like a $2000 electric bill would immediately be a red flag - that's more than I spend in a year.

Are your auto-pay systems not set up that way?  It shouldn't be possible to get charged before you know how much it will cost, even for "pay as billed" accounts.

[EuchreJack]

So with my autopays - I get my bill before the withdraw date.  So I have an opportunity to call the billing department before the withdrawal.  Something like a $2000 electric bill would immediately be a red flag - that's more than I spend in a year.

Are your auto-pay systems not set up that way?  It shouldn't be possible to get charged before you know how much it will cost, even for "pay as billed" accounts.

Mind you, this was several years ago, so I don't recall ALL the details, but I think the autopay hit about a day after I received the bill.
Not expecting to get screwed, I didn't check the bill IMMEDIATELY. So by the time that I checked, the money was already gone.
...And the Electric Company denied doing anything wrong. It was only about a year later they figured it out, and I got a $2000 credit. And if I didn't have another account with them, what do YOU think would happen?

Credit or debit card autopay has just the same problems, although the credit card one at least means you don't need to pay it off right now, if you're the kind of freak who carries a balance. Disputing the charges isn't a solution because the charges are entirely legit and legal. You'll need to have a bigger emergency fund no matter what, because you've agreed to pay a bill without knowing what it will even be.

If you dispute the charge on a credit card, it becomes the Utility Company's job to Justify it to the Credit Card Company.
It totally changes the rules of the game.

WHY THE FUCK AM I ARGUING WITH YOU TWO ABOUT THIS!?

[Maximum Spin]

If you dispute the charge on a credit card, it becomes the Utility Company's job to Justify it to the Credit Card Company.
It totally changes the rules of the game.

WHY THE FUCK AM I ARGUING WITH YOU TWO ABOUT THIS!?

That doesn't change the rules of the game at all, because the charge in the example is completely legitimate and legal. There is a law saying that they can charge that amount, and then credit your account later if it turns out to have been wrong. The credit card company is going to rubber-stamp it so hard your head will spin and then you still have to figure out how to pay it off.