It's not unusual for companies to charge a convenience fee when you make a last-minute payment over the telephone but some companies are tacking convenience fees onto other forms of payments as well.

“I resisted online payments and using a check card and all that,” said Rod Broyhill.

Broyhill is slowly evolving.

“I decided I would pay online,” he said.

He quickly found that this convenience of the 21st Century has a downside. After successfully paying his phone and credit card bills online, he decided to pay his Missouri Gas Energy bill online after he saw a promotion for the service online.

“Save time and over $3.50 on postage,” the promotion says.

What it doesn't say is, instead of postage, online bill payers will have to pay a convenience fee of $4.25 per payment when using their credit card online. That would cost a total of $51 per year, for a total of $46.08 more than sending it the old fashioned way.

Missouri Gas Energy isn't the only company to add a convenience charge. Empire District Electric charges $3.95 cents for online credit card payments. Both companies tell us the fees simply offset what it costs them to process credit cards.

Not all companies pass along those fees. City Utilities of Springfield, Ozark Electric and White River Valley Electric do not charge customers who pay online. While not a lot money, Broyhill says every penny matters.

“They all add up on retirement income. It’s getting worse all the time,” he said.

Like Missouri Gas Energy, many companies don't tell you there's a convenience fee until after you've entered your credit card information so, before you hit that submit button, make sure you read all of the fine print to avoid a charge.