PNM to shut down payment centers statewide

Posted at: 11/14/2011 10:35 PM
By: Eddie Garcia, KOB Eyewitness News 4

It is going to start costing you a little extra if you use cash to pay your PNM bill. The company is shutting down all of its payment centers statewide next month.

Customers can still pay with cash through Western Union, but they will have to pay a service fee.

The PNM payment center in downtown Albuquerque will be the last of eight to shutdown statewide.

On December 21, the doors will close for good.

"Accepting payments in person is the most expensive way we have of taking payments - it cost about ten times more than other payment methods," said PNM spokesperson Valerie Smith.

PNM says only 10 percent of their customers still prefer face-to-face service.

Now those customers will have to either go to Wells Fargo to pay by check or Western Union to pay by cash.

Western Union is charging a dollar as a bill pay service fee.

PNM is arguing that is a small price to pay.

"You do get the added convenience of having longer hours and better parking and so for a lot of them just the savings on parking and gas makes up for the bulk of the dollar," Smith said.

Cash user Lanette Padilla found out about the closures Monday and she is not happy.

"One dollar to me is a little bit more towards my gas tank," Padilla said.

It does not matter to Rubert Valdez who said he will just use the mail.

"I like to come in here because I like to come downtown and other than that it doesn't matter," Valdez said.

Jonathan Gonzalez worries about the 15 PNM employees who will be out of a job right before Christmas.

"Out of those 15 people, how many of them have families and kids?" Gonzales asked.

PNM said anytime is a bad time for layoffs, but they are trying to soften the blow to employees.

"We are doing what we can to ease the transition - they will get a competitive severance bonus to hopefully bridge them to the next job," Smith said.

PNM said they will save over $500,000 a year by closing their pay centers. Despite their new-found savings, they are not saying anything about reducing rates.

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Source: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2372856.shtml?cat=500

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