Required Billing Notice?

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

I attend a PA university whose billing policy states that all spring semester balances must be paid in full by January 6. Failure to meet this requirement results in a $150.00 late fee being charged to any defunct account.

I did not meet this January 6 payment deadline, and was charged a $150.00 late fee as per the policy, however, some charges to my account were not posted until January 2. Furthermore, some financial aid credits were not posted to my account until January 7- which means the status of my account was not even final until this date.

Given that I only had at most a 4 day notice to pay the balance on my account, and the balance of my account was not certain until the day after the payment deadline, am I responsible for this additional $150.00 late fee? In general, how much notice must be provided to customers before action (such as a late fee) can be taken?

Thanks for any help.

[JETX]

"Given that I only had at most a 4 day notice to pay the balance on my account, and the balance of my account was not certain until the day after the payment deadline, am I responsible for this additional $150.00 late fee?"
** Unless there is some exclusionary clause in the student handbook or policies, yes. However, what did the office say when you brought this to their attention.

"In general, how much notice must be provided to customers before action (such as a late fee) can be taken?"
** In this case, you were obviously 'noticed' by receiving the billing policy that you referred to. This payment requirement is also very likely in the student documents previously given to you.

I haven't had the opportunity yet to contact the accounting office to discuss the matter. However, I have little doubt that they will be willing to remove the charge. In the past they have never charged for lateness. I had assumed that this was because of the lack of timeliness in regards to their aco****ing. I guess I was right, as this is the first time they have ever posted all semester charges to the invoice before the deadline, and coincidentally the first time they have issued me a late fee for not paying off my aco**** by the deadline.


For my own reference though, is there any legal requirement for the minimum amount of time a company is required to give an individual to pay off his balance before they apply penalty charges?

For example, if my electric comany were to send me an invoice on February 1 for January's electricity usage, could they penalize me for not paying the bill by February 3?

In a more extreme case, could they penalize me for not having paid the balance before they have even calculated it, ie: if I don't send them a check for the amount I think I will owe them for that month's usage before they inform me how much I actually do owe them?

Thanks again for any help