Photo courtesy of Endless Studio
This is a guest post from Karen Galarpe, who also writes for our entrepreneurship blog Open for Business:
I went out one morning to pay my Social Security System contribution. Since I am self-employed, I pay my contributions myself to the banks. BDO, the bank I have an account with, does not accept SSS and Philhealth payments, so I have to go to other banks.
I usually go to RCBC Savings Bank on Visayas Ave. (near front of Montessori) because there’s hardly any line there. I think the last time I paid there was July. As of then, it was still free to pay your SSS contributions over the counter. For the next months, I went to East West Bank and UCPB (depends on where I am that day). On this particular day, I went again to that RCBC Savings branch. And the male teller said they’re now charging P10 just so I can pay my SSS contribution over the counter!
Ten pesos is cheap, true, but I don’t like paying for something I can get for free somewhere else. So I made a U-turn to UCPB at the corner of Visayas Ave. and Congressional, and I didn’t have to pay a single centavo.
Why should a bank charge for a service that’s offered free elsewhere? Why should we pay for something we can get for free elsewhere with the same, if not better, quality of customer service?
This is the same reason why I only withdraw from my bank’s ATMs.
From MoneySmarts: the thing with bank fees is that unlike Karen, most of us would rather just pay and swallow the fees hook, link and sinker. It pays to keep an eye open on the fees that you are asked to pay and compare these with other banks.
I know comparing is not a walk in the park, either, because not a lot of banks disclose fees on their websites and the only way to know that someone is offering a service for free is to physically ask at the counter. And that takes a lot of time. But time is money and money is time. Convenience has always been expensive.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:37 am
[...] Bank fees you don’t have to pay [...]
October 31st, 2008 at 8:42 pm
With regard to SSS payments, I hope there’s a better way to pay it. I am an OFW and a voluntary SSS member. There is an SSS office here but they do not accept payments. I send my contribution through remittance centers – that means I pay $4 remittance fee every time I send my contribution. In the past, my husband and I are able to send our contribution in a single remittance so that gives us $4 savings. Then, to further save some $, I pay quarterly. But sending of combined contribution is not allowed anymore. So I have to send our payments separately. Perhaps $4 isn’t much but if I will pay monthly, it will cost us $96 per year for remittance fees.
To avoid these fees, I thought of making Auto Debit Arrangement (ADA) from my BPI account. So I went to SSS office in Bataan to apply for ADA. After the Q and A with the SSS Officer, I found out they cannot process my application because my BPI account is in Manila and they cannot verify a Manila account. They told me to submit the completed application in Manila. With all the computerization thing, hindi pa pala centralized ang transactions nila? And I can only set-up ADA for my SSS payments and not my husband’s.
Dahil maiksi lang bakasyon ko, hindi ko na naasikaso. Tapos nakalimutan ko bayaran yong SSS ko last month. Ngayon, parang ayaw ko na i-continue. Sobrang inconvenient kasi. I don’t undertand why it has to be very complicated. It’s good that you can pay SSS through bancnet – problem is my account is in BPI and BDO and I don’t want to open another account in a Bancnet-member bank.
October 31st, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I once commented in another forum that “I feel banks are robbing us through all these fees” and of course some bank defender reacted, which I won’t elaborate na. I’m glad that many people are also with me with regard to these charges.
Anyways, I reallly think banks are robbing us. Just imagine, they charge P1 for every balance inquiry if your ATM is from another bank. P1 is nothing but if you multiply it by the millions of ATM users, it’s a lot of money.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I have a good experience with HSBC. I am living here in Bahrain, and have not been using my credit card for 2 months. When I checked my e-account, I was charged for an Annual Fee, interest charge for not paying the annual fee on time and others…(i forgot the other charges). I emailed them that I plan to cancel my credit card, and I was promptly replied that they will remove all the charges and I was informed that I can still use my card for free annual membership. All other charges are cancelled as well.
So far, I am satisfied…
October 17th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
7of9, i totally agree with you.
when renewal fees come around, i ask for waiver of fees! and the agents usually give you the run-around that you have to request with so and so facility (say manila, instead of cebu where i live). tapos mga 1 week pa ang approval if ever. huh? marami ba nagre-request ng ganyan?
i also experienced that they suggested another credit card product they had that does not charge membership fees but doesn’t give you points (to which i replied, i am only using credit cards for the points) and not telling you that this card has a higher interest rate!!!!
you know what makes agents heed your request? asking for your total charges and saying you’re gonna pay them all and have your card cut!!! that gets their attention!