THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE JAMAICA Public Service Company's (JPS) April 27, attempt at clarification of the additional bill payment fee demanded of customers by Bill Express, their collection agent, missed the point of customers' complaint. Our complaint has to do with double charging us for the same service and JPS's apparent winking at Bill Express's inappropriate charge.
Irrespective of whether the additional fee is being collected on behalf of JPS is immaterial. The fact that JPS has allowed their agent to do so is relevant and highly questionable. JPS contracted with this collection agency to receive the customers' bill remittances of payments for which service JPS pays "a contractual fee for each bill payment collected on (its) behalf." The customer has no contract with Bill Express.
JPS admits that "the bills of customers reflect a customer charge, which includes bill collection costs". Many of us were not even aware that such a charge was included in our monthly bills. Nevertheless, if this is so, then it is obvious that Bill Express ought not be charging us for the same service for which JPS is already paying them. Moreover, we, the customers are also paying twice - the hidden JPS charge in our bills and the $35 per transaction fee demanded of each customer paying through Bill Express.
The additional charge, therefore, becomes an indirect increase in our utility costs without JPS et al., going to the regulatory authority for approval.
Is not Bill Express, therefore, in breach of the contracts agreed to and signed with JPS et al or did they tacitly agree to/with Bill Express extracting an additional collection fee for the service for which it was already receiving payment?
If Bill Express is in breach of those contractual agreements, then JPS et al., should have objected and, if necessary, terminated those contracts. It is true that we have other options for bill payments, but, if Bill Express is allowed to continue to attach this additional charge to our utility bills, it will only be a matter of time before the other collection agents follow suit.
Finally, I also note that Bill Express some time ago decided not to accept cheques for bill payments and to require those payments be made in cash only. Is this another "purely business decision by the collection agency as it seeks to recover costs."
I am, etc.,
CLINTON A. LEWIS
14 Turtle Beach Towers
Main Street
Ocho Rios, St. Ann
