LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- When the National Processing Co. (NPC) here
began imposing fees last month on agencies that had not signed up
for its Agent's Choice electronic commission settlement system, it
unleashed a barrage of complaints from agents, many of whom accuse
NPC of poor communication.
In addition to earlier questions of whether or not the fees are
even fair, agents are concerned about the way NPC, which
distributes commissions on behalf of a wide range of suppliers, is
managing its plan for pushing agents onto its electronic
program.
The complaints include imposition of charges on agencies already
on the electronic system; fees for agents who had the mistaken
impression they would not be subject to them; failure to respond to
questions or complaints in a timely fashion, and poor explanations
about the new system.
NPC, which has offered electronic settlement and electronic
statements for some time, said it spelled out plans for the new
Agent's Choice in two letters to the trade with a followup
postcard.
In a letter distributed in early August, it said that, as of
Sept. 7, agencies that used electronic funds transfers and chose
NPC's "basic" electronic statements, accessible via the Web, would
pay no fees.
Agencies choosing paper checks and/or printed statements pay a
new fee of $2 per supplier when the supplier's total commission is
more than $4; if the payment is less than $4, the fee is 50%.
Agencies have to opt for both electronic settlement and
electronic statements to avoid the fees. If agencies go all
electronic and choose the "advanced" e-statements (offering a
minimum of 12 months' data rather than 60 days' worth), NPC charges
1.5% of the total commission, with a minimum of $1 and maximum of
$15.
The "advanced" statements allow agents to query, sort and
download the data, NPC said. However, for the first 90 days after
activating e-statements, agents can use the "advanced" choice for
free. In the weeks after Sept. 7, agents aired their gripes in
places like the Legal Ease Forum on Travel Weekly's Web site.
The comments indicate that agents were also frustrated over
their inability to get responses from NPC personnel.
Paul Ruden, ASTA's senior vice president, legal and industry
affairs, said the Society was getting similar complaints but said
ASTA does not have "an effective relationship with NPC" for airing
these issues.
NPC refused to comment for this story, complaining that previous
Travel Weekly coverage was too negative and claiming there were
mistakes in earlier stories. A spokesperson declined to spell out
those alleged errors.
One agent in the Travel Weekly Legal Forum said she has been
charged fees although her agency was fully electronic before Sept.
7. She later reported that NPC acknowledged an error and she was
awaiting a refund.
Another agent also said his agency was being assessed although
the agency had signed up for Agent's Choice. An electronic message
to NPC produced an automated reply saying the company is "buried"
in e-mails, the agent reported.
Other comments indicate that some agents did not understand that
the 90-days-free offer applies to the "advanced" e-statements and
that agencies have to sign up first for Agent's Choice to get the
privilege.
Rob Rowan at Travel Professionals in Los Angeles said that when
he spoke to an NPC representative in early August, the individual
did not make it clear to him that he had to sign on for
e-statements before Sept. 7 to avoid the fees.
He understood from the conversation that he had 90 days from
Sept. 7 to decide. His agency has been getting commissions
electronically "for years," he said. Participants in the Legal
Forum also complained about the whole program on the grounds that
NPC was taking fees from them "without authorization."
ASTA's Ruden said NPC is a company that does business in a
take-it-or-leave-it fashion. He said ASTA is talking with suppliers
that distribute commissions through NPC asking them to look into
agent concerns and, in particular, asking them "if it is fair to
charge agents fees to get the commissions they have earned."
As for the complaints about the practical problems with
implementation, Ruden said, "NPC was in a mighty big hurry to
implement this. Why didn't they test it, why didn't they wait until
it was ready?"