Mon Valley Sewage Authority: Fees added for phone payments
By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
Customers of the Mon Valley Sewage Authority will soon see a new payment fee added to their bills.
At its meeting Monday night, the sewage authority board approved a motion to start a trial period of charging customers who call into the office to make a payment by phone.
The board hopes the move encourages more customers to pay their bill either by mail, online or by automatic deduction.
Beginning May 1, a fee of $3 for customers with bills of $113 or less, or 2.65% for bills over that amount, will take effect. No fees will apply to customers paying bills online or by mail.
The authority’s office manager, Amy Naulty, said a typical phone payment can take anywhere from three to four minutes, but if a customer wishes to speak to her over the phone or ask questions, the call can take up to 10 minutes.
“The phone calls are non-stop,” she said. “The problem is when they call in to make a payment, it doesn’t just take a second. You have to input all the information. People get upset because they can’t get through. There’s only two phone lines and we can’t keep up with the volume of the calls.”
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