When Josh Bucklen glanced at his grandmother's Suddenlink bill last month, he was surprised to see a notice for a $1 "paper convenience fee" customers will be subject to starting July 1.
This follows a February decision by Suddenlink to begin charging new customers the dollar fee for choosing paper billing over paperless billing.
Now, existing customers will pay the extra dollar, too.
Gene Regan, senior director of corporate communications, wrote in an email that the fee is in place to cover the postage and handling costs associated with paper statements. Paper billing, he wrote, is also an environmental concern.
"An electronic statement comes standard with Suddenlink services at no cost," he wrote, "and is a more environmentally friendly way for billing."
While he was not able to provide the percentage of customers who take advantage of paperless billing in lieu of paper bills, Regan wrote that Suddenlink has seen strong growth in paperless billing in recent months.
Bucklen, who is also a Suddenlink customer, said he believes the cable and Internet provider should have notified their customers via an automated or personal phone call rather than putting it in small print on the side of bills.
The fee isn't a huge issue for Bucklen, and he said he'll probably switch to paperless billing to avoid it. His grandmother, though, doesn't have Internet access and will have to pay the dollar fee.
Her dilemma likely isn't unique, with a 2015 study by Pew Research Center reporting that around 42 percent of seniors do not have access to or do not pay for Internet service.
Currently, Suddenlink is offering no exemptions for customers without access to the Internet or for customers who cannot access the Internet because of disabilities, Regan wrote.
Tom Hunter, associate state director with AARP West Virginia, said fees like these represent a "troubling trend" among utility companies, especially when it comes to the effect they can have on senior citizens.
"This is among the growing trend of surcharges and fees that you see cable, water, electric and gas providers trying to institute upon customers to bring in additional revenue," he said.
Seniors, he said, are typically on a fixed income with funds being provided by Social Security and retirement savings. Any increase in a utility bill for senior citizens, he said, can have an impact.
Hunter said the best thing consumers - senior or otherwise - can do is monitor their monthly bills to make sure unfamiliar charges are not being added.
Susan Small, the communications director at the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, said they have received four or five calls on the fee, but the commission has no jurisdiction over Suddenlink billing. The commission has also yet to construct a formal opinion on paper bill fees in general.
Customers wanting to switch to paperless billing should go to suddenlink.com and click on "My Account" in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. After logging in, customers should click on "My Bill," check the "I want to go paperless" button and then click "Submit."
From that point, they will no longer receive bills in the mail and will, instead, receive monthly bill reminders by email. Regan wrote that the online electronic statements look exactly like their paper counterparts and are in a printable PDF format.
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.