| Author | Message | ||
     Clbofaz |
So, first things first - I haven't posted in a while (or much in general; call me a lurker) but I thought I would point out to my fellow riders the following blurb HD sent me in my most recent statement via email. I don’t think the email made it sufficiently obvious, perhaps it would’ve been better suited to an email of its own subject but that’s another matter. I am not trying to start a flame war but I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that disgruntled customers take to the net faster than light. So, here’s the email blurb (which was part of a general email notifying me that my statement was ready for online viewing): “Effective February 9, 2012, all Harley-Davidson Credit customers will be required to login to MyHDFS.com to make online payments to your loan. This process change maximizes our ability to protect your personal account information through the use of increased security and authentication measures.” This prompted me to, after years of not logging in to pay my loan & without any security problem, to log in to pay my loan and send them the below, rather sarcastic, email: Hello, I recently read my emailed statement and there was a blurb, which, if I read correctly, states that after 2/9 I will have to log in, monthly, to pay my loan. Furthermore, it said this measure was to protect us through increased security. This is contradictory to past experiences where payments were automatic – on time and for the correct amount. I fail to see how taking a step backwards in bill-paying progress will enhance anything other than late payment fees resulting from individuals who, lacking automatic payment means, forget to pay their bills. I could understand a periodic mandatory password reset or validation of account details but a monthly log in to pay a bill flies against the standard industry practice of enabling users to schedule recurring payments. All but the smallest businesses typically offer recurring automatic payments with no mention to a corresponding degradation in security. So, why is it Harley has taken this evolutionary step backwards; is there some security flaw other organizations are unaware of or does Harley not have as advanced a site as businesses with a dozen employees? It should be noted that I have yet to pay a late fee and despite considerable computer experience will ultimately end up with at least one under this new policy which, to me, appears to be nothing more than an inconvenience designed to enhance the revenue generated from late fees. If this is not the true design I sincerely apologize and would adore a more detailed explanation regarding how this step back enhances security. If it is, or merely a happy coincidence, I implore you to revert this imposed inconvenience so that we may enjoy a feature common to most all customers of large businesses. A concerned customer, Chris I believe they are trying to get more money by reducing functionality and if there is some even finite gain in security from this measure I believe they should fix it and keep automatic recurring bill payments like most all other business rather than dropping it. Then again, I may just be crazy… Thoughts? | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I have a recurring monthly payment set up for my Road King thru HDFS. There's an additional security layer to get to my account now (you have to select "your" picture from the choices, similar to what I have to do to log into my bank account), but that's about the only significant change. Easy as can be, life goes on. FB | ||
| Clbofaz |
That feature was there when I bought mine 2 years ago... | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Which feature? | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I don't know about the required monthly login.. since I bought my XT in OCT09, the recurring payments just happened twice a month with no action required from me. I paid the bike off early today though, and was a little upset to see a $6 "convenience fee" for one time payments. Not to mention the fact that the largest payment they accept is $2500, so paying my bike off early cost me $12. Whatever.. screw those guys. The bike is mine now. I hope they choke on their two convenience fees. | ||
| Clbofaz |
A "picture password" when you log in. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Gotcha. The pic password is new to me, but once I get past it everything seems pretty much the same, specifically in regards being able to set-up/maintain/edit a recurring payment, i.e. you can still set it and forget it, without having to log in every month. Is this what you meant, or am I missing something? Best, FB | ||
| Clbofaz |
Pkforbes87 & Jerry_haughton: Up until last week you could set up a recurring monthly payment (set it and forget it) and you wouldn't have to log in to make another payment - I, and Id assume most others, haven't for quite some time. Since Pkforbes87 paid his off he's gone nothing to worry about - well, except lame fees. However, now you have to log in every month to make payments. They chose to let us know of this important policy, which could cause us to incur late fees, by adding it at the bottom of one of their standard monthly emails about our statement. Its like they are trying to cancel the auto payments so they can nail you with late fees until you realize it and correct it - and then get you after that whenever you forgot to manually log in to make a payment since they no longer make the payment for you on time. Make sense? Pkforbes87, I think they require you to request a payoff amount as of a certain date and then they will let you pay it off in one payment w/o a cap or fees but you have to request the amount. They offer the ability for that on the website. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I guess I'm missing something in the translation here. You do NOT have to log in every month to make a payment. You can still set up a "set it and forget it" recurring payment, same as before. I've almost always paid this way (recurring), and am still doing so, even with the new security protocol; the recurring payment feature hasn't changed. It's possible I'm still missing something in your posts. If so, I'll kindly step aside. Take care, FB | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
PS: And I should add that the new security change did NOT default my account back to a "base" state as far as manual vs. recurrent, i.e. the payment schedule I had in place BEFORE the change was still in effect AFTER the change. Had I not logged in after the change, my payment still would have been automatically deducted from my bank account, just like before. Hope this helps. | ||
| Froggy |
Correct, I have two HDFS loans at the moment, both should still come out of my account automatically in a few days if I read the papers mailed to me correctly. Either way I'll be watching my bank statements closely to make sure it happens. | ||
| Notpurples2 |
Automatic payment is too modern, like fuel injection... They'll bring it back once they make it look old fashion like a cash register or a carburetor. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Jerry, Froggy and others have it correct. I don't ever read the emails, but I did read my last statement (getting ready to pay my loan off with them, so was checking my balance), and it stated that you need to log in each month, but if you have a recurring payment set up you don't need to take any action as it will be pulled on schedule as usual. | ||
| Xdigitalx |
I had been using HD direct pay, adding 6.00 per payment for a while, no probs. I use my bank accounts' billpay and my bank sends an Echeck. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I had been using HD direct pay, adding 6.00 per payment for a while, no probs. I use my bank accounts' billpay and my bank sends an Echeck. You can avoid paying the $6 monthly fee by setting up a recurring payment. You can still change (edit) the date of your payment month by month to suit your liking, but by paying via recurring vs. "one time" you avoid any fees. FB (Message edited by jerry_haughton on February 15, 2012) | ||
| Svh |
Are your payments being pulled by HDFS or do you use a bill payer from your bank? I use my banks bill pay service to send weekly payments. I took the paragraph to mean that I would no longer be able to do that and have to use their fee laden payment system. F that. I am going to keep making my payment and make sure it shows up every week. I don't care about logging on every week to check but I do care about the $6 fee. Like Pk mine is close to being paid for and can't wait for it to be p paid off later this year. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Pulled by HDFS. From the edit page for my existing recurring payment: "If you would like to setup a recurring payment, eCheck must be selected. The option to select card as your payment method [which would be charged a $6 fee] is only possible for single payments." On the recurring payment edit page you have the option to choose frequency of payment: - Every week - Every two weeks - Twice a month - Every month - Once a quarter | ||
| Xdigitalx |
I paid that 6 buks too many times. I am gonna use my bank's billpay and only go to HD Directpay when the bank's billpay check won't make it in time. |
