ACS Convenience Fee

In yet another blow to the average consumer, ACS is implementing a $3 service charge for contacting a real human being if you want assistance in paying your bill. 

While this may seem innocuous to many or even a great cost savings for ACS - one thing is for sure, it won’t translate into lower costs or better services for you. You’ll be sold on the benefits of automated payments and how it’s free, convenient and takes less time.

This sounds very familiar to the early days of the ATM (automated teller machines) and how it would replace all need for customer service, would be free and convenient. Fast forward to today and see how many ATMs charge a service fee of $2 or more. What happened to the free transaction? Don’t be fooled, the customer service charge will eventually trickle down to every method of payment if YOU allow it.

Alaska’s options for connectivity are limited to a few players and this move by ACS sends a strong message to the public (and their competitors) that they have the power to control you through financial means. This only furthers my opinion that the big telcos are moving to control and manage your access to information, entertainment and communications while you gladly PAY to be manipulated.

Read the fine print on ACS’s website. The fee went into effect September 15, 2008.

The fact is that we, the consumer, still have the power over these telcos by how we make our financial decisions.  Here are some ways to make a statement:

  1. I bet if you miss a payment, someone will call you to get it handled. Funny, how when they want to get paid, the tables are turned.  And I would insist they waive any “customer service fees” when they call to collect!
     
  2. Contact the RCA (Regulatory Commission of Alaska) and file a complaint.  More information about ACS’s $3 fee can be found here. http://rca.alaska.gov  Send an email to the RCA by September 22, 2008. rca.mail@alaska.gov
     
  3. Get your services from a competitor. Nothing speaks louder than a customer going to the competition.

Honestly, I really want to get past the ranting about the big players in Alaska, but these maneuvers only exacerbate my negative feelings toward ACS, GCI and MTA.  I’m just not convinced there is really any competition going on in Alaska.

What do you think?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 2:55 pmand is filed under Alaska Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “ACS Convenience Fee”

  • Jeff Says:
    September 21st, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    There is no competition in Alaska and I don’t think we will see any for a long time. Alaska has a population of 500-600 thousand people that are spread out over a space the size of 1/4th the continental US. Not only that but the 30 largest cities in the US have a higher population than the state alone. Plus the remoteness of the state offers more logistical problems. I guess to simplify what I’m saying no company wants to spend $$$ to get $ in return.

    ACS, GCI, ATT, and the rest all know this and will try to squeeze every last penny out of us, give us horrible customer service, and continue to offer throttled services until a competitor can develop a technology or service philosophy that can break these market barriers. Can you blame them though? I would probably be doing the same thing if I was in their shoes.

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