AT&T makes it impossible to pay a bill in advance online - then charges late fee!

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@Bmw3000 wrote:

Several times I have logged in in advance of when I know the due date will be - my “latest bill” showing is last month’s and the current billing statement does not show. Nevertheless, if I try to pay the amount that I know will be due, the website allows you to put in a amount to pay in the “amount to pay” field, but there is no “submit” button. I am in the software industry, and have worked to design websites, so if there is a “submit” button, I would find it. Bad programming? QA testing slip up? Incompatible browser? Sorry, a company the size of AT&T will these issues is inexcusable. Moreover, the payment webpage will claim that there is a “zero” balance on the account. In the past I have assumed the billing statement for the current month is not ready, only to log in a few days later to find that AT&T indicates my account is “past due” and a $35 late fee is charged! The website “how to pay” section indicates you can pay via your mobile phone by pressing  *729 - when you do this, the system also won’t allow advance payment. Somewhere in the AT&T Q&As it indicates AT&T allows customers to pay months in advance “it will show as a credit”. Given my experience, this seems unlikely - AT&T doesn’t want to provide a credit & makes the bill paying timing so elusive that if you miss by a day (as a result of not being able to pay early) AT&T then feels perfectly justified in charging $35 on top of your bill. Unethical business practice. It seems they will accept autopay as the only option, if you want to pay early and avoid a late fee, good luck - you will have “0” balance one day, and the next thing you know is a “late fee”. I have gone to the AT&T store to complain about this, the attendant has sheepishly waived the late fee “in good faith”. But this is a scam to make more money by AT&T because it happens continually.  Today is May 22 - I know my payment is due on the 27th, currently my account has “zero” balance due - I cannot make a payment via *729 or the payment website. Come on AT&T, do I really have to post here to disclosure your earning another $35 bucks?

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Either your account is massively jacked or there's some sort of confusion. Like everyone else, AT&T will accept payment at any time. I've been around the forums for years and this is the first time I've heard of an issue like this. 

When you look at the most recent bill available, what are the billing cycle dates (at the top right corner)? What does it say the due date is? Can you post images of your bill (with the personal parts redacted, of course)?

I have no idea what you're doing. You don't have to pay your bill in advance to avoid a late fee. AT&T generates the bill about seven days after the end of your billing cycle, and it's due twenty days later. That means if your billing cycle closed on the first, you could log into your account on the ninth to see your amount due, and would avoid a fee by paying before the 22nd.

If your bill was due on the 27th, that would mean your billing cycle ended on the sixth so you would definitely see an amount due on the 22nd. I'm guessing you have your dates screwed up. Don't guess. Like @MicCheck said, check your bill to see what the billing cycle and due date is.

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@QuarryRye wrote:

I have no idea what you're doing. You don't have to pay your bill in advance to avoid a late fee. AT&T generates the bill about seven days after the end of your billing cycle, and it's due twenty days later. That means if your billing cycle closed on the first, you could log into your account on the ninth to see your amount due, and would avoid a fee by paying before the 22nd.

 

If your bill was due on the 27th, that would mean your billing cycle ended on the sixth so you would definitely see an amount due on the 22nd. I'm guessing you have your dates screwed up. Don't guess. Like @MiCheck said, check your bill to see what the billing cycle and due date is.

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Customers can see the bill about 4-7 days after the end of the cycle, but it's due 21 days after the end of the cycle. You make it sound like the due date is based on the day the bill is available. 

You mention the correct dates later, so that's probably what you meant, but just to be safe and clear...

You mention the correct dates later, so that's probably what you meant, but just to be safe and clear...

Yeah, sorry, miscalculated

1.  The late fee for wireless is $5.75. Recently up from $5.  Not $35.  

2.  My bill cycle closes the 17th, bill with amount due posts the 22 (today) and is due the 8th of next month. I have auto pay set up, so I just check amounts are correct and let the bill get paid automatically.  So something isn’t right if you check the day your bill is posted and it’s already saying late/past due.  

3.  @QuarryRye , @MicCheck  I haven’t tried online, but I understand you can’t overpay your bill that way. My sister use to pay by check 9 months a year so she could over pay, because she didn’t work summers (school employee). 

Have you contacted At&t at All?  (Because we aren’t At&t).  This is a customer populated community forum 

I am posting here to disclose my experience - yours may be different - a caveat to AT&T users. Your late fee lower? Good for you - my package is charged $35 bucks, clearly on the statement. Just the facts. Mentioned I went to the AT&T store; phone support is outsourced offshore - poor reps go on a script and are really powerless. Some readers are not understanding, and that’s okay - not soliciting opinions. My desire to pay in advance has nothing to do with not wanting to incur late fees; why not pay in advance if you want to? Nope, not online folks.

@Bmw3000 Maybe. Maybe. No. No.

Is this a cellular account? A prepaid account? Postpaid? 

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@Bmw3000 wrote:

I am posting here to disclose my experience - yours may be different - a caveat to AT&T users.   It should not be THAT different.

 

Your late fee lower? Good for you - my package is charged $35 bucks, clearly on the statement.  I have wireless only, not a “package”.   The potential late fee is stated on the bill.

 

Just the facts. Mentioned I went to the AT&T store;  AT&T stores are not billing support, waste of gas.  

 phone support is outsourced offshore - poor reps go on a script and are really powerless.  Then ask for tech support or loyalty.  In your case I suspect unified billing (which I now think is the problem) 

 

Some readers are not understanding, and that’s okay - not soliciting opinions. My desire to pay in advance has nothing to do with not wanting to incur late fees; why not pay in advance if you want to? Nope, not online folks.

Correct.  You cannot pay more than you owe online.  As I wrote, my sister mailed a check to pay for a years service in 9 month.   

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@Bmw3000 wrote:

I am posting here to disclose my experience - yours may be different - a caveat to AT&T users. Your late fee lower? Good for you - my package is charged $35 bucks, clearly on the statement.

 

Now I'm even more interested in an image of your statement. I've never heard of any late fee on any "package" being charged that much. If that's true, I'd like to see what else is on the bill in case someone else mentions that down the road. 

 

Just the facts. Mentioned I went to the AT&T store; phone support is outsourced offshore - poor reps go on a script and are really powerless. Some readers are not understanding, and that’s okay - not soliciting opinions. My desire to pay in advance has nothing to do with not wanting to incur late fees; why not pay in advance if you want to? Nope, not online folks.

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You're right, I'm not understanding, but that's because you aren't giving all of the information. You mentioned in the original post that your account shows a zero balance but a few days later you have a late fee, but you also want to pay "in advance." In advance of what? If you're getting late fees, you aren't paying on time, let alone in advance. If you aren't providing any more information more clearly to the phone reps, it's no wonder you think they're powerless. 

@MicCheck  @Bmw3000  @QuarryRye   @Gary L  

 My 2-bit bet is on ‘unified billing’.  

Unified billing is screwed up if they don’t synchronize all the bill cycles.  I suspect the bill is scheduled for x day, but part of the services are past due by that date.  Most of the time because all bills were not zero balance when combined. 

AT&T unified billing has been tricky at best.  Stronger words you can insert yourself. 

Im thinking the best course is a BBB or FCC complaint so someone higher up will look at and correct it