Online fee for dog license waived month before license mandatory
20.05.12
Chicago aldermen agreed Thursday to waive the $1 “convenience fee” for purchasing a dog license online, one month before the owners of 470,000 unlicensed dogs feel the bite of a city crackdown.
City Clerk Susana Mendoza said it makes no sense to charge dog owners $1 more for registering their dogs online when the license for a neutered dog costs just $5. The City Council’s License Committee agreed and waived the $1 fee.
“One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who now are aware of the need to register their dog is, ‘Why do we charge a $1 surcharge?’ It’s 20 percent of the purchase. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a real inconvenience. We need to do whatever we can to try to incentivize people to use our online system instead of just forgoing purchasing the dog license,” Mendoza said Thursday.
“When people talk about online convenience fees, I’m gonna be honest with you. It is more of a convenience for us…It’s gonna be a great marketing tool for me to be able to tell people, `There’s no excuse now. We don’t even charge a convenience fee to register your dog online. It’s gonna save you time.’ “
Source: Chicago Sun-Times