One of the wonders of modern tech is that people suddenly dread doing things that were part and parcel of everyday life just a few years ago. Apparently, a good many people hate talking on the phone now and even big corporations like AT&T are not immune from the phobia. The carrier really wants people to stop calling it to make payments and has come up with a way to dissuade you from ringing it.
The fee will be applicable whether you talk to a customer service representative or use the automated phone system for making a payment. AT&T already charges postpaid customers the same fee for talking to representatives for making a payment.
Also, sometimes things just act up, necessitating a phone call, so the payment doesn’t feel justified and sounds more like a penalty. It’s also hard to understand why the company would want you to pay the fee when you interact with an automated system.
Keep in mind that you can still call the company for other stuff, it just doesn’t want you to call it for handling your payments.
If you don’t want to be charged an extra $5 when making payments, you should consider making payments online, visiting an AT&T store, enabling AutoPay, or mailing in your payment.
