Give us a break if we pay on time

Since I am bordering on being a senior citizen, I still sit down and write out my bills the old-fashioned way - writing checks and using stamps - I feel more secure that way like many of you do too. It struck me though that almost every bill you receive has a built-in notice that if you are late, an additional charge will be passed along - as high as $39.00. The company can also raise the minimum due or the percentage rate as a result.

If you can't afford to pay a homeowners bill in full for a year or a car insurance bill you can opt for the monthly payment plan, but you will be charged a service fee every month - for what exactly I don't know. If you want to pay a bill over the phone so that your payment is received on time, a fee of $9.95 or so is accessed. You don't even speak to a breathing human being, you just punch buttons on the phone and the company rakes in another 10 bucks. ATM fees, 1.5 percent late charges on utility bills and on and on.

Why is there never a time when we get compensated if we pay a bill one week ahead of the due date, or pay four or five times the minimum amount due on a charge? Why can't there be a two-way street where those who pay their bills ahead of time and have been loyal customers to these big companies get a break? I guess negative reinforcement is the new and only rule, positive reinforcement doesn't exist anymore.

Steve Kogut

Des Plaines