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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Check Is in the Mail
By Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal Michael Hartranft
Journal Staff Writer
Why would anyone in Colorado care about your gas or electric bill?
Because for some folks there, it's part of their job.
Wells Fargo & Co. has been processing utility bill payments for PNM and the NM Gas. Co. at its Denver processing center since August. Utility customers had been sending payments to an Albuquerque address where they were picked up by courier and flown to Denver.
From now on, customers will mail payments directly to Denver.
Eliminating the Albuquerque stop streamlines the process and should make little difference in a payment's arrival time, PNM spokesman Kevin Fuller said, adding, “There is not a significant difference in terms of lag.”
The gas company, which PNM sold earlier this year, has followed PNM's lead “to ensure as seamless a transition as possible,” Gas Co. spokeswoman Monica Hussey told the Journal.
Prior to August, Fuller said, a small crew of PNM employees — four or less — processed payments in Albuquerque, where the company is headquartered. He declined to say whether any jobs were eliminated. “It was a very nominal impact on any of the employees involved,” he said.
“They had electronic machinery to assist in that process, but that particular equipment was in dire need of being replaced and the expense of replacing that equipment was to the point to where it made more sense to look at other options and we decided to look at Wells Fargo,” Fuller said.
Public Regulation Commission member Jason Marks said he was aware of the address change, and that PNM did not need commission approval for the contract. He said the PRC is unaware of any customer issues at this point.
PNM went through considerable belt tightening after multiple quarters of poor earnings in late 2007 and last year, including the elimination of about 500 positions through attrition and layoffs.
Wells Fargo has been PNM's deposit bank since 2003, and has had a business relationship with PNM since the early '60s. The bank's processing center in Denver offered “the equipment, technology and skills set” as well as backup systems to meet PNM's requirements, Fuller said.
Fuller said PNM and its customers are “saving a significant amount of money in the long term” through the deal, but he refused to say how much PNM pays Wells Fargo.
Hussey said the gas company has a separate contract with Wells Fargo for processing services.
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Jennifer Riordan said the Denver center has state-of-the-art processing technology, including imaging to preserve checks and statements in an electronic format, not available at the company's banks in New Mexico. It also has centers in Phoenix and Dallas, she said.
Riordan said Wells Fargo determined direct mailing was a more cost effective and efficient than a courier flight.
“From a time perspective and a fiscal perspective, it is better for the customers and better for PNM,” she said.
Fuller said PNM does not expect problems with late payments due to the change.
He added that customers have a number of alternative ways to pays bills, including by phone, online, automatic bank draft or in person at customer service offices, although some include “courtesy charges.” Hussey said gas company customers also have many options for making payments.
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