Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter

In less than two weeks, consumers should be made aware of opportunities for them to pay utilities bills at several locations without incurring a service charge.

According to David Geddes, director of consumer and public affairs at the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), following a meeting involving the utility companies and the OUR, a decision was made for additional payment options to be made available to consumers.

Statement

This information is expected to be turned over to the regulatory body next week.

"As soon as we have that information, we should be able to make a comprehensive statement on the issue of additional payment options for utility customers that do not attract a transaction fee," Mr. Geddes told The Gleaner.

Since the advent of bill payment agencies such as Paymaster and Bill Express, some utility companies have been out-sourcing their bill payment services.

But recently, the agencies announced that they would be charging customers a processing fee to use their services. The fees range from $30-$35 per transaction. On November 1, the National Commercial Bank also began charging $55 for bill payment services.

C&W options

However, while additional options are being worked out, Cable and Wireless (C&W), in an advertisement in The Gleaner of November 3, listed 75 locations islandwide where customers can pay their telecommunications bills without being subject to additional charges.

The list includes Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) branches islandwide and some RBTT and Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) branches.

Additional locations are Churches Co-op Credit Union, C&W Co-op Credit Union and St. Catherine Co-op Credit Union.