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The website e-facturi.ro is specialized on online bills payments. But can we trust a company funded in March this year, who has the headquarters in an apartment and only one phone/fax number? And they don’t say what’s the commission for paying the bills online.
If you read carefully in the Terms and Conditions, you will see something about commissions, but no prices are stated on other pages:
Sunteti de acord sa fiti pe deplin responsabili pentru toate cheltuielile, onorariile (inclusiv, fara a ne limita la) orice comisioane aferente platilor facute, taxe, impozite si estimari ale valorii care decurg din utilizarea site-ului nostru.
Hmm… Could it be a 100% romanian business? :)
Yes, it is a Romanian business, which is good. The website is registered on the name of Theo Software from Baia Mare, but the technical contact is registered with Pay Trust SRL from Bucharest. I guess the first implemented the informatic system for the latter. There is no „About Us” page on the website and the 4,5% commission of the bill’s value is hidden in the Suport – FAQ section.
Very strange!
Honestly, I don’t trust them… But, if you try and it works, let me know :)
Well, that’s the problem: I would try it, but I don’t trust them for the moment. The Demo option on their website is just a childish explanation of how it works, not a real demo account.
But maybe they will improve the service and people will pour in. But I think Romanians are getting smarter and they think twice before doint it once, especially if the service involves their money.
Well, that’s a pretty narrow point of view. I suppose you suspect any online payments website of wanting to rob you, don’t you?
Unfortunately, this is Romania, every time someone is trying to rise there is always someone else who pulls him/her down.
I just want to tell you that I paid invoices through this site… TWICE ….and, surprise!, the money from my credit card account did not vanished misteriously.
You’re right, this is the country, we have to deal with it. Every business is growing in a vivid environment. A marketing strategy doesn’t hurt anybody. As far as small enterprises know the Romanian customers, they have to address their special needs.
So, for an online payment service in Romanea, I suggest:
– all commissions stated on the first page in big red letters and numbers
– a strong mission statement, or at least an About Us section
– nonstop support through phone (free landline phone and mobile phone), fax, e-mail, instant messaging and online tickets
– a big promotional campaign with a well organised press conference
– politeness in writing and answering to e-mails (some readers here will get this)
Yep, it’s tough, but if you want to make money you have to invest money. So, human resources shouldn’t be neglected. Work, work, work and the customers will gain confidence in you. Then we can talk about the actual technical details.
Well, you have right about some strange stuff regarding this site (registered addresses), but on the other hand I’ve tried them, and the bill was paid. In the payment process it is written the commission, something like “comision e-facturi 4.5” I like to see the full part of the glass not the empty one, but it’s nice to gossip :) In my opinion and not only mine, it’s a step made by Romanians. If the owners are thieves they will go under soon. Hope for them to be honest because I find this site very useful.
I’m not talking about technical stuff here, but about responsibility and confidence. You have to show your customers that, in a country full of thieves, you are not one. After seeing so many scandals about banks, so many phishing cases originated in Romanea/Bulgaria etc., Romanians started to lose that very little urge to pay bills online.
So, keep up the good work and please use comunicatedepresa.ro whenever you have something to communicate, if you don’t have a budget for PR.
Dear Mr Popescu,
First, I want to acknowledge that I am somehow related to e-facturi; I’m not a share holder though.
Second, my issue is not with the text body, which I find reasonable, it has to do with the title, which I find way overboard. Basically you express your thoughts regarding e-facturi, and then you conclude (at least, that is my understanding of the title) that it must be a monkey business. I believe that’s too much.
If you have other arguments for calling it a monkey business I’ll be curious to here them, otherwise something looks fishy here :-)
Sincerely,
Calin Anton
„Monkey business” is an English phrase, it doesn’t have anything to do with monkeys.
In short, here it is:
– no commission stated on the first page of the website
– the company’s headquarters are in an apartment and the company has only: 5 employees, 1 phone/fax, 3 corporate clients
– the company was funded in March 2005 and started doing a very important business in Romania in October
– you are the only contact person, there is no About Us page on the website
– you wasted your time replying vaguely to my blog post, instead of explaining why your company has such problems
My advice: solve all these problems and then come back in business.
Oh, now I see you have something about the company on the first page! Very good, I’m already starting to think I could use this service myself.
Wow, you even put a link to a page with the 4,5% commission. And even a link to my EVZ page with the news piece about you.
I’m starting to see you as a real business.
Dear Mister Popescu,
I do not intend to open the can of worms here, but I have to say what I have to say.:-)
I know what monkey business means, and that is why I was a bit offended in the first place. I saw the facts you gave and I believe they rather suggest poor business practice than monkey business.
On the other hand, I think that “without leaving the chair and the computer” one could have done a better job figuring out my relationship with e-facturi which, by the way, is not the one you asumed.:-)
Best regards,
Calin