How to Tell a Bill

2006-03-21

This is just a quick note for those of you who have or are planning to have your own web site domain name. I received an item in the mail that looked very official and said I needed to pay $40.00 to maintain my domain name. The small print was important.

You see, I get my domain names from GoDaddy.com. I could also get them from the same people that sell me my web space but I?ve gotten some really good deals from GoDaddy. I don?t really need to change the listing service for my domain name.

The letter came from Internet Listing Service Corporation in Chicago looked very official and said I need to pay the forty dollars. It seemed strange so I looked a little closer. In all honesty, they did not try to hide the statement that it was an offer and not a bill; the text was plain to see. That bit of text was the only thing that did not look like a bill.

The clear part said, ?This is not a bill. This is a solicitation. You are under no obligation to pay the amount stated unless you accept the offer.? This is pretty honest, but you needed to read the entire document to be sure you read this part.

The point I wish to make is that you should never assume that something that looks like a bill is actually a bill, no matter how official and bill-like it is. Of course, if you get a bill and don?t recognize the payee, question it before making any payments. If the bill comes from Nigeria and you pay it, there?s a good chance everyone will laugh at you for years to come.