If you own a business and your State lets you use Official Payments to pay taxes and fees, AVOID THEM at all costs. I say again, DO NOT use official payments, it is neither convenient nor efficient.
A Stupid mistake on my Ohio Sales & Use Tax return the first half of the year left me with a $75 (rounded) fee and penalty. The notice said I could mail a check, or pay online at officialpayments.com. This is not something worth fighting or caring about, and the $2.00 convenience fee was well worth not having to trudge down to the post office to mail a check. Official Payments was able to hook into my vendor's license and account number with the state after a second try of entering them online, and I was able to pay via my business Amex.
All this seemed simple and efficient. Flash forward one month later and I have a collections notice from the Ohio Attorney General threatening litigation and asset seizure on my $75 bill. If it were not all so laughable, it might be scary. I have been unable to contact the Ohio Attorney General's office via phone, their automated system just puts you on perpetual hold it seems, and Official Payments has been less than helpful, saying they have sent payment and it's out of their hands.
If my business attorney is anything to go by, the time spent reading my account details and generating an automatic letter probably cost the state hundreds of dollars in salary now compare that to my penalty and ask yourself how Official Payments is saving tax payer dollars? I know the several hours I've spent over the past week fruitlessly trying to call Official Payments and the State has cost me personally more than just time.
I have sent a certified letter to the Ohio Attorney General's office with an invoice from Official Payments and a copy of my Amex statement showing that payment was sent to the Ohio Treasurer. I will continue to update this as things progress. If you get one of those many, many, letters from the State asking for money you failed to pay, hey, it happens, please just avoid Official Payments at all costs. I know we business owners would like our governments to enter the 21st century, but if Official Payments is anything to go by... Just buy a stamp and cut a check. As fun as it is to laugh at the "scary" $75 legal notice in the office, it is quite the headache.
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