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Why Do Tag Renewals Cost More From The Escambia Tax Collector Than From The State?
August 3, 2017
Recently, we discovered that renewing three Florida motor vehicle tags was almost $7 more through the Escambia County Tax Collector’s website than renewing through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. So we reached out to Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford to find out why. Here is his response, in his own words:
Thanks for reaching out to us regarding the convenience fee for online transactions. To better serve our citizens, we offer a variety of payment options. These include cash, check, debit, and credit card payments. We also offer in-office, mail, and online transactions to meet our customers’ needs. As tax collector, I encourage each taxpayer to use the delivery and payment method best suited to their needs.
The Escambia Tax Collectors office offers no fee, E‑check payments for online transactions, which allows customers to pay the same rate as cash across the counter. The credit convenience fee is collected by the vendor. In return, they provide the payment portal, reporting, maintenance, and interface to our office to process online transactions. The online convenience fee for vehicle registrations is $2.95 per item for customers opting for payment by card.
The State of Florida processes thousands of driver license and registration renewals daily, not to mention each service offered by the various departments and agencies. We process a fraction of their volume and cannot compete on a level playing field.
As you know, I took office in January of this year and currently am operating under contracts signed several years ago. As these contracts expire and I am afforded an opportunity, I will negotiate for the lowest possible convenience fees and continue to offer as many no-fee options as may be available.
Sincerely,
Scott Lunsford, CPM, CFC
Comments
16 Responses to “Why Do Tag Renewals Cost More From The Escambia Tax Collector Than From The State?”
I would like a 2 yr. tag renewal
I screw up every year and wait till the last minute to renew my tags and a lot of that is just because I hate handing them my money. I relise its higher elsewhere and I can appreciate that but we don’t live elsewhere. I live here and always have. Having said that the Wst office just about every time I’ve ever had to walk through there doors those people have been professional, knowledgeable,and courteous. I’ve had the occasional person that rubbed me the wrong way but on the whole not bad and what a place to go people watch .
One last thing I used to have a business and yes you pay for the card transactions, but I don’t know who they are using each one of my sales were in the 125 to 400 and I never paid 3. For a sale ever
With the payroll dollars not having to be spent by the Tax Collector’s office in physically having to talk to a customer, do the data entry and processing the payment, by residents using online services, the convenience fee should be offset so the amount is the same for the customer.
@Heretostay—You also make the same amount of money wherever you go. Google the average pay in the areas you referenced then check out the average pay here. BIG DIFFERENCE !
Seems rather than mailing and paying postage, that if citizens use the online service and essentially process the payment themselves. It saves time and labor for a person that the county employs to do it, not to mention insurance and benefits and retirement, that we the stakeholders (taxpayers ) pay. Since each citizen is doing their own labor they should give us a CREDIT for online bill pay.
Same for citizens reporting issues, picking up trash along the road, mowing the right of way. We PAY people to do those things.They should DO it.
Drive thru=a smiling face, 5 minutes, and I was charged exactly what was stated on the renewal statement that came in the mail. Plus, I changed the type of plate! These people are trying very hard!
Retired military here. The cost to register a vehicle here plus the fees is nothing compared to other area of the country. I’ll gladly pay less than $40 a year for registration when it was 10X that in every other place we lived (and we’ve been here 15 years, I can’t imagine how much it costs now). And I can’t help but comment about the wait times here. I have many friends that tell me of their wait times in California, Washington, Virginia, Pennsylvania taking 4-6 hours and that’s WITH AN APPOINTMENT. We really shouldn’t gripe about an hour. Personally I’ve never waited more than 15 minutes.
That’s the same ole US Government. Its like kissing your sister, (and you don’t feel a thing). You look again and she’s still there and still looks the same.
Mickey Powell
Flomaton
Love to go in when they are busy. Sign in and wait an hour or so.
Only go in if you have too.
But if we don’t think they are stressed as bad as we are we should probably sit on their side of the counter for a little while and see what stress is.
we get ripped off every day. higher water bills, higher fees from the county, state and federal government. the service never changes and they just convene another meeting and stick us for more next year. what’s the difference between a fee and added taxes, we still pay.
You do realize if the tax collector office “absorbed” the required transaction fees that we, the citizens of Escambia county, would still be paying the fee….right?
Visa, Mastercard and the rest of them aren’t going to give you those services for free.
Whatever company they use to run the website pay transactions won’t work for free either.
The tax collector money comes from your county commission. Would you rather pay for it daily in the stores or during your one time transaction online?
Maybe the real question here is how can the county build their own pay portal for online transactions and/or can Escambia join in a program with other counties to pay reduced fees to the card companies like mr. lunsford described about the state
Yesterday, I went into the tax collector office on “W” street to get an ID. On the website it say its $25.00 for an ID. When it came time to pay, the total was $31.25. I asked why and was told there was a $6.25 charge for coming into the office. I asked if I could get the ID online and was told the only way to get an ID was in person at the office. I just love those hidden fees.
Keep in mind. When going to the DMV they also charge a processing fee which is more than the online convenience fee.
They also charge a fee if you use the drive-thru.
Most of us wouldn’t mind paying a “Convenience Fee” if some of it were spent on customer service training for the employees. They always seem to be InConvenienced by having to perform their job. A kind word and a smile will go a long way. Of course that does go both ways.
“Convenience Fee” well, they’re NOT at all convenient and just like buying on-line tickets for a concert or other venue there is a fee charged for the services provided.
Basically, if you go to the ticket window, or Tax Collector Office in this case, you avoid having to pay the “In-Convenience” fees.
Some things you cannot avoid the fee, like a concert, but you can go to the Tax office and not have to pay across the counter.