PSF FAQS

Q: What is a paper statement fee? A: A paper statement fee is charged to offset the costs of generation, printing and mailing of a paper statement.

Q: How much will the paper statement fee cost? A: LGCI and Tucson Paper statement fees are $5.00 per printed statement. LGHM Paper Statement Fees vary per pub - see General Information page if applicable. If a statement is not printed, there will be no fee.

Q: Who will receive this paper statement fee? A: Subscribers on a monthly printed bill.

Q: How will customers be notified of the paper statement fee? A: Paper Statement Fee will appear on their printed bill.

Q: What markets are charging the paper statement fee? A: All LGCI markets including Tucson. Select LGHM markets - see General Information page if applicable.

Q: What if my customer doesn’t want to pay the paper statement fee? A: If a customer wants to avoid paying the fee, enroll them in EZ Pay. This will help them mitigate the cost of printing and mailing them a bill. Sell the benefits of enrolling.

Q: Customer requests for another copy of their Paper Statement to be mailed to them. Will there be another fee? A: LGCI - Yes. As long as we mail another copy, the paper statement fee will be charged again. This can be requested by clicking on Resend Bill in GICS. This is also applicable if a Supervisor requests NSSC to resend the bill via mail. As a workaround, you may instruct the customers to send an email or chat to customer service and from there, CSC can send a screenshot of the bill in GICS/MG2 to avoid fees. LGHM - No. Encourage to send eBill instead.

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Q: I am being charged on my bill for a paper statement fee. Why are you adding charges to my bill? A: “I am really glad you called to ask that question. The paper statement fee you see on your bill is to help offset the costs of printing and mailing you a paper statement. I can understand how this may be a concern and have an option that would help you avoid this fee. If you sign up for EZ Pay, it will eliminate the need to send you a paper bill and will save you that <mention $ amount of PSF> each month.”

Q: I don’t want to pay more for my subscription, you need to remove this charge from my bill. A: “I can understand how paying more would be a concern. The cost is nominal but if you do not want to pay the charge, we can enroll you in our EZ Pay program. EZ Pay automatically drafts your payment each month and does not print and mail a statement to you. It’s easy to do and I can get you started today so you can avoid that charge.”

Q: Why are paper statement fees not a part of my monthly subscription rate? A: “Paper statement fees are only charged if the paper bill is printed and mailed to a subscriber. Many of our subscribers enjoy the convenience of using EZ Pay to pay their bill and do not receive a printed statement. This is in addition to the subscription price only if you receive a bill in the mail.”

Q: I don’t want to pay more for my subscription. Will you please cancel my account? A: “I am really disappointed to hear that you want to cancel your subscription. I understand you have concerns about the paper statement fee on your bill and I am ready and able to answer any of your questions. Can you tell me more of what you are concerned about?”

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Listen carefully, show understanding answering any questions you encounter using the talking points and FAQs above. Paper Statement Fee should NEVER be the reason for a customer to cancel their subscription.

Note: Some LGHM Pubs do not have Paper Statement Fees. Always Check the General Information page.

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Does the customer know what paper statement fees are? If no, acknowledge the concern and explain briefly what paper statement fees are and why we charge them. Proactively offer a permanent solution to save money by switching to EZ Pay. If yes, acknowledge the concern and proactively offer a permanent solution to save money by switching to EZ Pay. (Use the EZ Pay Assumption Technique. Read more below.) Did the customer agree to switch to EZ Pay? If yes, make necessary changes and set expectations that we will automatically bill them monthly. If there are changes in rate, we will notify them a month prior to charging them. If no, discuss EZ Pay benefits and how this can help them save not just money but also time and effort in making payments. Read more about benefits here: EZ Pay (Automatic Payment) Does the customer want to continue getting printed bill? If yes, set expectations that the paper statement fee will apply. Offer to switch to quarterly, bi-annual or yearly to lessen the cost. If no, make necessary changes and set expectations that we will automatically bill them monthly. If there are changes in rate, we will notify them a month prior to charging them. Does the customer want to continue getting printed bill AND not pay the PSF? Make an offer (lower rate) that will offset the cost of the paper statement fee. You may use "Can't Afford" as Stop Reason. This will give a 25% discount to offset the PSF cost. Note that some accounts may be on special promotions and a lower rate may not be available. In this case, lower FOD is the next step. Important: Advise that we will adjust the monthly rate to offset the paper statement fee so they continue paying the same amount (if not, close to the amount) of what they usually pay for monthly even with the PSF added in their bill. Always set expectations that the rate is subject to change and will revert to standard rate after a given period of time. Do NOT say that we will give them a discount/promo because of the PSF. What is EZ Pay Assumption technique?

This is a technique to close out a deal in signing the customer up for EZ Pay by assuming that the customer has already agreed to sign up for EZ Pay.

Ex: Instead of saying, "Do you want to sign up to our EZ Pay program?", we say "We will automatically collect $xx.xx out of your credit card monthly (or quarterly, etc.) to keep you subscription up-to-date. What credit card are we using today, VISA or Master?"

If the customers proceed to providing their credit card information or does not decline by saying they don't want to get automatically charged, then you have successfully signed them up to EZ Pay using the EZ Pay Assumption Technique.