Late Fees

ATT has never charged a late fee for paying on time and in full.   I suggest you check your bill due date, which is printed on your bill.  If you are not paying on time, or paying short, the late fee is justified.  Due date is under the white bar in the orange box. 

---

@TUCAZ2CM wrote:
Somewhere along the line AT&T decided to start tacking late fees on to my account. Now I pay my bill and have been paying my bill to AT&T for 16 years now. I've never had another cell service provider. However in September when my contract is up I will be going elsewhere. I have been getting late fees charged on unpaid late fees even when my cell service payment is made on time. It's a scam and I'm sick of it! I'm not paying any late fees because I never agreed to pay late fees on my service. It's all good, AT&T doesn't appreciate their long term customers so I will be leaving and letting AT&T keep the late fees that have accumulated on my account. Called in to customer service about this and couldn't get anywhere so I think complaints with the right Federal Agencies against AT&T and a new service provider will get me more satisfaction in the end.

---

If you are simply not paying late fees, then after the first time, you actually are late and further late fees are justified. 

It sounds like you had a late payment one time, and rather than disputing it then or just paying the late fee, you decided you no longer had to pay your bill in full. When you signed up and every time they're updated, you agree to the Terms and Conditions, which state that you may be charged a late fee if you bill is not paid in full by the due date. 

I spoke to an AT&T representative about the late fees on my bill the past few months.  She admitted that the reason that AT&T customers are getting slapped with LATE FEES is that AT&T bills are not being sent out to customers in a timely manner.  For example, my current bill arrived in the mail on May 11 and is due on May 19.  That gives me only 8 days for AT&T to receive my payment before slapping me with a late fee---and this 8 day window includes weekend days...when there is no mail delivery.  So my actual payment window is only 5 -6 days before incurring late fees...and there is no way that I can guarantee the US postal service will deliver my payment in that short window.  AT&T is the worst.

---

@manet22 wrote:

I spoke to an AT&T representative about the late fees on my bill the past few months.  She admitted that the reason that AT&T customers are getting slapped with LATE FEES is that AT&T bills are not being sent out to customers in a timely manner.  For example, my current bill arrived in the mail on May 11 and is due on May 19.  That gives me only 8 days for AT&T to receive my payment before slapping me with a late fee---and this 8 day window includes weekend days...when there is no mail delivery.  So my actual payment window is only 5 -6 days before incurring late fees...and there is no way that I can guarantee the US postal service will deliver my payment in that short window.  AT&T is the worst.

 

 

---

If your due date is the 19th, then your bill cycle was around 4/28. That means your bill was available online by around 5/2 or 5/3. At that point you could have viewed your bill and made your payment. Even if you completely forgot that you have a pay AT&T every month and the emails saying your bill is ready aren't enough, so you have to have the paper bill as a reminder that you have a phone bill, you could go open a new tab right now, log in to your AT&T account, and make your payment immediately. You'd even have the extra security of not having your payment information pass through numerous hands before it got to AT&T!

AT&T makes it very easy to pay before the due date. If you choose not to take advantage of those opportunities and decide to pay in the slowest possible manner, then just consider the "late fee" more of a "do things my way no matter how illogical they are fee."

This defense of AT&T Mobility late fees is nonsense.  I received my bill today (May 26th) when I went to my mailbox at 3:00 PM.  The bill states that the due date is June 2!!  I live in Idaho and the mailing address for payment is near Chicago.  The only way I can send in a payment and avoid the late fee is to carry the payment to the post office tomorrow.  And, even then, it is possible it will not arrive at AT&T and be processed by June 2.  (In contrast, my CenturyLink bill also arrived today, and its due date is June 7; AMEX and VISA also allow more than 10 days for payment.)  This time pinch is a new development (occurring sometime in the past six months or so).  I believe it is a deliberate effort on the part of AT&T to encourage customers not to use the US mail for billing and payment.  But, whether this is true or not, we have here a policy that is inconsiderate and selfish.  The other customer is quite correct: It is time to look for another cell phone provider.

@boiseguy

The bill is produced 4 days after your cycle ends.  It is available online in your My ATT account.  

It takes 7 to 10 days, according to the post office, to reach customers.

Since the due date is 21/22 days after your cycle ends, that leaves you 7 to 10 days to pay, which is what you say is happening.   

You can continue to get a paper bill, but if you wait to pay, your payment will have the same 7 to 10 days return trip and not be on time.  

This is the 21st century.  We carry smartphones capable of replacing computers.  Not using these devices for their purposes and other current, speedy  methods is backwards and stubborn.  

There are other ways to pay:

 https://forums.att.com/t5/Wireless-Account/Ways-to-pay-your-AT-amp-T-Wireless-Bill/m-p/5286873#M259719

I understand that many people are perfectly happy with electronic payment of their bills. But not all of us wish to do so, and it is wrong to strong arm us into doing this via the threat (and reality) of late fees. The very short AT&T interval within which to pay a bill by mail is a corporate decision that demonstrates insensitivity toward many of its customers. The policy conveys a message precisely opposite to what the company says it stands for. The policy and the underlying attitude is also arrogant. The issue and associated irritation could easily be avoided were AT&T to employ the same time intervals for payment that are used by other corporations such as VISA, AMEX, and just about everyone else. Ask yourself: Why would the company NOT do this?

---

@boiseguy wrote:

I understand that many people are perfectly happy with electronic payment of their bills. But not all of us wish to do so, and it is wrong to strong arm us into doing this via the threat (and reality) of late fees. The very short AT&T interval within which to pay a bill by mail is a corporate decision that demonstrates insensitivity toward many of its customers. The policy conveys a message precisely opposite to what the company says it stands for. The policy and the underlying attitude is also arrogant. The issue and associated irritation could easily be avoided were AT&T to employ the same time intervals for payment that are used by other corporations such as VISA, AMEX, and just about everyone else. Ask yourself: Why would the company NOT do this?

---

No one said you had to pay electronically, or stop paper bills.  But you receive your bill 2 ways if you get paper billing.  You may access your My ATT account 4 days after the bill cycle closes, and see you bill.  You can then mail your check in more than enough time.  

FYI all other carriers also have a short, 21 to 22 day due date.  

Today, my AMEX bill arrived. Today is May 29, 2018.  The payment due date for this bill is June 17, 2018.  This is really very simple.  Just allow customers the time required to pay their bills on time via the US mail.  As I mentioned earlier, the AT&T policy is a product of arrogance (as well as, I imagine, a narrow sense of profit in regard to paper processing and, perhaps, cash flow).  AT&T is showing a contempt for its customers under the guise of a sort of worship of technology.  This is no way to cultivate customer loyalty.

---

@boiseguy wrote:

Today, my AMEX bill arrived. Today is May 29, 2018.  The payment due date for this bill is June 17, 2018.  This is really very simple.  Just allow customers the time required to pay their bills on time via the US mail.  As I mentioned earlier, the AT&T policy is a product of arrogance (as well as, I imagine, a narrow sense of profit in regard to paper processing and, perhaps, cash flow).  AT&T is showing a contempt for its customers under the guise of a sort of worship of technology.  This is no way to cultivate customer loyalty.

---

They give you plenty of time. 

If your due date is June 2, that means your billing date was May 12. Your bill was available to view online by the 16th or so. You could have mailed in a payment that day.