They charged my granddaughter $40 to pay her own bill.

Let me say that again so it sinks in.

Forty. Dollars. To pay a bill she already owes.

Here's how this whole mess started. My granddaughter called me frustrated last week.

She was trying to make a payment on her account and when she went to pay it online, the system slapped her with a $39.68 "convenience fee" just to process the transaction.

Apparently, they recently updated their payment system. The old system let you pay directly from your bank account.

Free. Simple. Done. But the new system? Gone. Wiped out. Now your only options are credit card with that robbery fee attached, or mailing in a check.

My granddaughter doesn't have a checkbook. She's 20. Nobody her age has a checkbook.

So she asked me what to do. I told her to just go buy some checks at the bank. Simple enough, right?

That's when she turned it around on me. She said, "Pops, do you know how inconvenient this is?”

I told her I would help her out. 

We started digging. Turns out, most banks will send a physical check on your behalf at no charge. 

Right through your bank's app or website. You enter who you're paying, the amount, and your bank prints and mails the check for you. No checkbook. No handwriting. No stamp. More secure too, since it's printed and not some scribble anyone could alter.

I have been buying boxes of checks for years. Years. Like a damn fool, tearing through a checkbook when my bank would've handled the whole thing for free the entire time.

We got her set up on that afternoon. Problem solved. No $39.68 fee. No checkbook. No trip anywhere.

The thing that still burns me up is the nerve of these companies. They update a system, remove the free payment option, and now you either pay a fee or figure it out yourself. 

They're betting most people will just sigh and pay the $40 because it's easier than fighting it.

Don't do it. Set up bill pay through your actual bank. It takes about ten minutes, it's free, and your bank sends the check on your behalf. 

Most banks have had this feature for years and a whole lot of people, myself included, had no idea.

My granddaughter saved $40. I saved money. We both learned something.

Have you been paying convenience fees you didn't have to? Or am I the last person on earth to figure out Bill Pay?

Enjoy your Sunday!

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