7 On Your Side fixes woman's costly online bill pay mistake

LOS GATOS, Calif. (KGO) -- Paying bills online can be much easier than writing out checks; however, it also can be much easier to make a mistake.

A Bay Area woman paid thousands of dollars to the wrong company and she couldn't get her money back until 7 On Your Side's Michael Finney stepped in.

Patricia Horton of Los Gatos still likes a good old fashioned newspaper

"I get my coffee, and go out and get the paper, and sit and read for half an hour," Horton said.

For the past 30 years, she's started her day flipping through the pages of the San Jose Mercury News.

Horton gladly pays $350 a year to subscribe. However, she wasn't willing to pay $2,800 for it, which she did by mistake.

"I inadvertently paid the Mercury News almost $3,000," she said.

It happened when she went online to make her house payment. The bill-pay list puts the mortgage company next to the Mercury News.

"And I clicked on the Mercury News instead of the mortgage company," she said.

She suddenly realized her house payment just went to the newspaper. She called the newspaper to get it back.

"She said, 'Oh yeah, I see that but I'll try to put a rush on it. We'll get it back to you,'" Horton said.

Customer service promised to send her a check for $2,800, but weeks passed, and still no refund. She called the paper again.

Horton got worried maybe the check got lost, or stolen. She kept calling the 800 number, and getting the same promise of a check.

Horton never did get the check. She contacted 7 On Your Side. We contacted the Mercury News and immediately, she got a call.

The Mercury News quickly issued a credit to Horton's bank account, saying, "It took longer than it should have to refund the money and we apologize for the delay. We value Ms. Horton as a subscriber and we're glad you called to make sure we got it handled."

Horton is way more careful now when she pays bills online. She's still a loyal reader of the printed news, especially when it didn't cost $2,800.