Pennsylvania Municipal Service Co

Review: For Tax Year 2011 I lived in a municipality that used Pennsylvania Municipal Service (PAMS) to collect local taxes. I sent a partial payment for Tax Year 2011 (they cashed and applied the check) and asked them to mail me an invoice of my outstanding balance. In 2012 I moved from that community (USPS mail forwarding in place) and have had no contact with PAMS since moving. I have received no communication from PAMS until yesterday (12/15/2015). Per PAMS, they've attempted to contact me 2 times in 4 years. I've never received any correspondence from them, until yesterday, and according to their records they have an incorrect address. I have no problem paying the remaining portion of local taxes owed for Tax Year 2011, but I will not pay the $149.86 in penalties, fee, and interest. I made attempts to contact them and inquired as to my balance and never received correspondence or communications of any kind from PAMS.Desired Settlement: Removal of penalties, fees, and interest.

Business

Response:

RE: [redacted]Dear Ms. [redacted]Customer was contacted to resolve this issue. Please contact us if you have any questions.Sincerely,PAMS

Review: There is no standard late fee. PAMS adds interest for every day your bill is late but this is not spelled out on their billing statements. Their billing practices are such a SCAM. Their penalty and fees often amount to half of your actual amount due. If you are like a lot of people and not able to pay the entire bill and need to make a payment, they charge a service fee of $6.00 for a partial payment (and then of course those hidden penalty/interest fees continue to add up daily).Desired Settlement: I would like the company to cease their deceptive billing practices and clearly outline upfront their fee schedule. It would make more sense to have a standard late fee as assessed by other utility companies. I would like to see all of my penalty/interest fees reduced or adjusted.

Business

Response:

Pennsylvania Municipal Service Company (PA.M.S.) collects the current and delinquent Sewage and Garbage fees for the City of Arnold on a quarterly basis. PAMS began the collections in January of 2012.