The apartment complex I live in uses a submetering company when billing us for water usage. I guess they are to cheap to just include it in the rent, so we have to pay around 14 dollars a month to the National Exemption Service. Not that big of deal, but it is annoying having to pay an additional bill.

However, this is 2008 and paying bills is rather simple (assuming you have the money), right?

National Exemption Service mails us a little yellow card once a month with the water charge on it. When it comes in the mail I grab the bill and find we can pay online instead of mailing a check. Excellent, within 5 minutes I can have this bill paid and hopefully set it up to make automatic payments.

I create an account on their website and click the pay button when low and behold I see something I haven't seen since the 90's. A service charge?!?!

$3.50 extra to pay your bill online every month. That's $42 a year for a "special" service. Suddenly, I realize that they feel they're doing me a "favor" by allowing me to pay my bill online.

Talk about a sleazy business practice.

So they get to save money by me paying online and they get to earn another $3.50 pure profit.

I don't think so.

I'd rather buy a stamp and mail a check.

I don't understand why we let companies get away with garbage like this.

Drop a comment if you have to pay a service or convenience fee.