Who Likes to Pay Bills?
by Margaret Fleming
Paying bills is something I hate to do. Not only do I see my bank account eroding with incredible rapidity, but I have to participate in its decline by sorting statements, writing out checks, stuffing envelopes, and licking stamps. It's bad enough doing this in the U.S. where I speak the language and know the system, but in Puerto Peņasco it means collecting the bills from where they have been shoved under the door or stuck into the gate, making trips to various agencies--the electric company, the water company, the telephone company--and trying to understand and be understood with my limited Spanish. Furthermore, if bills are not paid on time, electricity will be turned off with no warning, so property owners who are not full-time residents are at risk of having this happen.
I recently discovered that there's a way to avoid all this hassle. Perez Financial Services will collect your bills, pay them promptly, and send you an accounting every two months. And the fees are quite reasonable: $44 (including tax) per year for electricity, telephone, or water; $22 (including tax) per year for bank trust fees, city taxes, federal zone concessions, or insurance policies. So for $132 a year ($11 a month), you can have all your utilities paid, and for only a little more, your other necessities as well.
The service is managed by Patricia Perez, owner-broker of Mexico Bonito Realty and a long-time resident of Cholla Bay. Patty, who is fluently bilingual, has lived here for many years, and is well known throughout the community for her integrity and willingness to help others. The service began when she was asked by several friends to pay their bills, as a favor to them, when they were out of town. These friends told others about Patty, they asked her for help, and she was able to go into business with a whole list of clients, which has kept increasing. She now pays bills for over 100 persons.
The way it works is that clients pay Patty's fees in advance and leave her a deposit of $200 as a drawing account, which they replenish as necessary. Instead of 100 persons making separate trips to the electric company, for instance, Patty makes one trip and pays 100 separate bills. She does the same with water, telephone, and other accounts. It's much more efficient. She has been doing this for years and says that she will pay anything that needs to be paid for anybody.
One potential client asked Patty, "How do I know you won't take my money and run?" She replied, "I've been here 40 years. I own a house and a business. Everybody knows I'm honest. I'm not going anywhere."
This is a perfect example of the way Mexican businesses used to operate in small towns where everybody knew everybody. The owner's reputation in the community was part of her stock in trade. As Puerto Peņasco has grown, many outsiders have moved in and started businesses. Unlike Patty, they are not well known and have no established reputation to put on the line. The old order is changing--has to change. But for now, we can take advantage of a useful service operated according to the old model.
