Myschoolbucks - usurious fees!!!

[Anonymous]

This is the same fee structure as the previous system. It is a fee per transaction. For this reason I put $50 on at a time. I am sure there is a way to pay by check if you don't want the fee.

[Anonymous]

Same as another person noted. Don't use the "recurring payment" function. Just set a min balance alert and put a substantial amount onto the account. I put $70-100 on it at a time. It'll carry over to the next year if you don't use it. When you get an alert, replenish. The fee is then totally worth it. Otherwise, there should be a "kiosk" at your school, where you can add cash to your child's card or approach the lunch lady to do the same. I think both is fee-less.

[Anonymous]

We put the maximum we could (I think $140) and said to put more money on when it gets below $5. You pay the same glee no matter how much you put on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are paying with a credit card, the CC company charges them at least 3% so that's right off their bottom line plus some $1 per charge fee I think

Then the fee should be 5% or so. For a $10 payment, the fee would be $0.50, not $2.25.

Minimum fee structures like this simply take advantage of the poor, who can't afford to pay a large amount in advance.

[Gaia]

I can't afford to put that much on at once. I don't remember the last time I had that much money sitting in my bank account for more than 10 minutes after payday.

I have to put two week's worth of food $ on every two weeks for two kids. Those transaction fees add up.

It sucks.

[Anonymous]

I put $100 cash in the school kiosk the first day of school. I could have easily used the website, but I refuse to pay the $1.95 fee. That's almost another meal.

[Anonymous]

$10 at a time? I put $100. It's a flat service charge. You'll burn through $10 in 3 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are paying with a credit card, the CC company charges them at least 3% so that's right off their bottom line plus some $1 per charge fee I think

Then the fee should be 5% or so. For a $10 payment, the fee would be $0.50, not $2.25.

Minimum fee structures like this simply take advantage of the poor, who can't afford to pay a large amount in advance.

You don't get it. The cost is the transaction.

[Anonymous]

Gaia wrote:I can't afford to put that much on at once. I don't remember the last time I had that much money sitting in my bank account for more than 10 minutes after payday.

I have to put two week's worth of food $ on every two weeks for two kids. Those transaction fees add up.

It sucks.

Unless you qualify for a reduced price lunch, you'd save money by making your kids' lunches instead of buying them. Sure, it's more work on a daily basis but it's usually less than the $2-$3 that the school charges.

[Anonymous]

For APS, I sign up for some kind of "membership" that is I think $12 per year. Then I just reload money as needed. I also use it to pay for before care. No other fees.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone else have to look up "usurious" for its actual meaning?

[Anonymous]

Class action lawyer here. Just out of curiosity, would you say the fees are prominently and clearly displayed on the website?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are paying with a credit card, the CC company charges them at least 3% so that's right off their bottom line plus some $1 per charge fee I think

Then the fee should be 5% or so. For a $10 payment, the fee would be $0.50, not $2.25.

Minimum fee structures like this simply take advantage of the poor, who can't afford to pay a large amount in advance.

You don't get it. The cost is the transaction.

No, you don't get it, PP. It does not cost $2.25 to process a $10 transaction. It's not the cost. It's the fee. Of that $2.25, something close to $2.00 is pure profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Class action lawyer here. Just out of curiosity, would you say the fees are prominently and clearly displayed on the website?

Absolutely not but please don't sue DCPS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else have to look up "usurious" for its actual meaning?

And why would OP use usurious and then cray cray, which must be the dumbest phrase ever.