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Consumer Alerts
6/3/2011
How to stay on top of your bills and avoid late payment charges during a postal strike
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) encourages Canadians to pay close attention to bills that will be due in the weeks ahead, so that they can avoid late payment fees or interest charges during a postal strike.
During a strike, consumers will not receive regular statements for credit cards, loans or mortgages, utility bills or other invoices through the mail as they normally do. However, consumers should take steps to ensure they are aware of the amounts owed and the due dates, and arrange to make the payments by the due dates.
To stay on top of your bills and avoid extra charges during a postal strike:
- Make a list of bills that you normally receive each month. Then look at the dates of these bills from previous months to identify when you would normally receive them. Put notes on your calendar to remind yourself to follow up on each bill around that date.
- Use the telephone or online banking services of your financial institution, or visit the branch, to find out the amount that you owe on credit cards, loans or a mortgage and the due dates of your payments.
- If you have access to your credit card, loan or mortgage statements online, review them carefully to make sure all the charges listed are correct. If you find an error or have questions, contact your financial institution.
- Use the online or telephone banking services, an automated banking machine or a branch of your financial institution to make payments on your credit cards, loans or mortgage.
- For other bills, such as utility bills, check the company’s website or call for information about your bill and how you can pay it during a postal strike. For example, you may be able to charge these payments to your credit card, and then pay your credit card balance through your financial institution before the due date.
- If you use electronic banking services, consider using the online bill payment option that most financial institutions offer to pay a wide range of bills.
- Always ask if there are fees for the different options for paying your bills.
- If you are expecting to receive cheques through the mail, contact the organization that issues the cheque to find out how you can receive the money and deposit it to your account during a postal strike. This will help you avoid potential overdraft charges if you don’t have enough money in your account to pay bills because you haven’t received the cheques.
- If you feel you are being charged interest or late fees unfairly, contact the financial institution or biller that has added the charge to ask if they will waive that amount.
- If you believe that a federally regulated financial institution has charged you a fee that it did not disclose to you, you may make a complaint to the financial institution, or contact FCAC.
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