Doctor's Office won't do an ACH withdrawl

[debodun]

I received a bill for my ophthalmological visit in December. The last bill I had a go-around with them because it took so long for them to cash my check. I called the billing department and asked if they could do an ACH withdrawl from my checking account. Whomever I spoke with acted like she didn't even know what that was and said all she could do was bill from a credit or debit card. I said I didn't have either. In the end, I'll have to send another check. Why would a billing department not know what an ACH was or accept that as a payment method?

AND PLEASE DON"T LECTURE ME ON WHY I DON'T HAVE "PLASTIC".

 

[Paco Dennis]

It's incredibly frustrating when you have to navigate a bureaucracy that doesn't seem to be up to speed with modern practices, isn't it?

It's surprising that the billing department of a medical facility would not be familiar with ACH withdrawals, since they are a common and secure way of transferring funds electronically. It sounds like this particular billing department might be a bit behind the times. While it can be difficult and time-consuming to deal with these kinds of issues, remember that you are the customer here. Don't hesitate to insist that the billing department come up with a solution that works for you.

You might even consider sending a letter to the practice manager to express your frustration and suggest that they train their billing staff in more up-to-date financial methods. In the meantime, I hope your check arrives in a timely manner and that you don't have to deal with any further billing hassles!

 

[CallMeKate]

AND PLEASE DON"T LECTURE ME ON WHY I DON'T HAVE "PLASTIC".

Assertive today, eh?! Just kidding... I for one have no intention of lecturing. An unauthorized charging spree by someone in India that wiped me out years ago changed the way I do things. I now buy Visa gift cards to pay online bills. I buy them @$500 each and it's worked perfectly. I have a bank debit for bigger bills.

 

[Buckeye]

About 93% of American adults have a debit card. A slightly smaller number (82%) have a credit card. Of the 7% who do not have a debit card, about 5% are considered to be "unbankable", meaning they do not have, or can not get a bank checking account. The remaining 2% would be the OP and a couple of other folks. ACH access is not free to the business, so from a business point of view, it makes sense to match your systems with the 93% of us, and accept cash or checks from the balance. In fact, I would guess that an opthamologist office's customer base would be a little more, uh, affluent than your neighborhood Taco food truck. Just sayin'

 

[Remy]

Callmekate's solution sounds good. I won't be without a credit card. Sorry lecturing. But I don't have a smart phone and it's getting to the point where you can't live without those these days. But the credit card is protected.