Fleming-Mason Energy is warning customers against using third-party websites to make payments.
Fleming-Mason Energy Director of Member Services Mary Beth Nance said some customers have been using the website “doxo.com” to make their electric bill payments.
The problem, however, is the website does not immediately send the payment to Fleming-Mason Energy.
"The website is legitimate," Nance said. "The issue, though, is that the website doesn't send the payment immediately. It may take a day or two before we get it. If a customer is already close to their disconnection time, it could cause their services to be cut off, because we don't know if the payment has been made or not."
Nance said the other problem with the website is that fees are charged to customers.
"We've never charged our customers fees to pay their bill," she said. "This website does. Those fees are not coming from us, but come from the website."
According to Nance, many customers find their way to the doxo.com site because they use Google to search for Fleming-Mason Energy. When that happens, doxo.com is one of the first sites to appear.
"It shows up because doxo.com allows many retailers to collect payments on their site," she said. "So, it's natural that they would click on that link first, especially since Fleming-Mason Energy shows up in the headline of the search. But, like I said, that isn't our website."
Nance said in order to avoid disconnection or extra fees, customers should make their payments by visiting Fleming-Mason Energy's website at: http://www.fme.coop or by calling 1-800-464-3144.
"Our customers can use either method to make payments at any time of the day," Nance said.
Doxo.com could not be reached for comment.
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