Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 11, 1993 TAG: 9308110202
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The banks are pulling the plug on C&P and no longer will serve as its collection agent as they have for many years.
C&P says that's just the price of customer-friendly business. It hopes to broaden the hours and number of outlets available to customers to pay their phone bills.
Among new businesses sporting C&P bill collection computers will be grocery and drug stores.
Delores Thompson, who collects telephone bills at Econo Drug on Melrose Avenue Northwest in Roanoke, hopes the new system will be benefit all businesses.
"I hope it will lessen the lines at the banks," she said. "I hope other utilities get the idea."
Thompson likes the idea of the store she manages being able to expand its services.
"I hope it will bring in more customers," she said.
C&P provided Econo Drug with a computer terminal that makes a record of the payment and provides the customer with a receipt.
"It takes about five to 10 seconds," she said.
Banks, however, say the time lag would be much more significant if the telephone collection system was mixed in with other financial transactions.
Bank officials said the system would require tellers to close their lines, go to the computer terminal, enter data and await a receipt.
Banks fear that undue concentration on C&P bills would bog down tellers in conducting other bank business.
"Our first priority is our customers and our service to our customers," said Peggy Cummings, public relations director for Central Fidelity Bank in Richmond. "C&P has taken that away from us. It was a convenience for our customers."
Central Fidelity collects about 63,000 C&P telephone bills in Virginia each month, she said.
Banks argue that convenience was central to the old system, which allowed customers to pay telephone and other utility bills at one stop.
But C&P notified banks in a form letter about two months ago that it was changing the rules, forcing the financial institutions to put telephone bills in a separate category from other daily transactions.
Central Fidelity, Signet and First Union banks already have notified their customers that they will discontinue collecting phone bills on Aug. 31. Crestar said it will make a decision next week.
"Its going to take more time to process the payments," said Freda Carper, a Crestar vice president. "Because it takes more time, it could impact customer service."
NationsBank quit collecting telephone bills on July 31.
Don Reid, area manager for C&P, said the company hoped to improve the efficiency of its bill collection techniques by going to the on-line computer system.
Theoretically, a customer under the old system could wait until the last minute to pay his bill. He still might get a cutoff notice, though, because of the delay between the time he made the payment at the bank and the time the phone company was notified of the payment.
The new system will update records instantaneously. Reid said the banks were given an opportunity to be part of the system.
"The intent of the telephone company is to provide better service through the use of our technology by affording the customer the opportunity to make payments that can be immediately credited to their accounts," Reid said. "In addition, customers will have the opportunity to make payments during evening hours and on Saturday and Sunday."
by CNB