Automate bill payment? Pros/Cons?

[Sirka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Montecfo I have utilities autopaid by CC, maybe one or two pulling direct from bank account- including CC. Only way to go I think.

Same here, let them charge the cc. There should be no late fees that way.

[Caskem]

We automate as many payments as possible to our Visa and then get points that we redeem for cash into the checking account.

[levindb]

In my previous life, I was involved in computer security...I DO NOT AUTOPAY.

I do get electronic bills for EVERYTHING, and use my bank's BILL PAY to schedule the amount and the date. I also pay by CC if no fees are involved and I get cash back on my card.

I do not want any computer to take money directly from my checking account unless I press the button...computers make mistakes and can make foolish choices.

Two months ago, I had an 11 cent refund mailed to me using a 48 cent stamp...maybe when I get older, I will change my thinking, but right now I do not like AUTOPAY.

[wildsun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yipper What are people’s thoughts on automatic payment of bills - like utilities, cell phone, cable, etc? I like the convenience but maybe I’m missing a key downside? I do watch the bills each month before they’re paid to avoid surprises. What do you do?

A related question -- how many people allow "electronic billing". In my world, electronic billing means I get spend time going to the company's web site, finding the billing area, and downloading PDFs. With a family and 2 small businesses, I would have to do such downloads 60 to 70 times a month. Now why would I do that so the biller can save a stamp? There's no "convenience" factor here. If they would SEND their bill "electronically" via secure emails, then I would be fine with electronic billing.

I do Bill Pay via US Bank, which works pretty well. About 3 times a month I schedule payments for the bills that have come in since the last time, and when I do that I enter the payment into my cash flow spreadsheet, that has a running bank balance for my 3 different checking accounts, so I can see on a daily basis if I need to put money into a checking account, and for the most part, this is a major convenience. Because there are 3 checking accounts, I reconcile everything daily, which takes from 2 to 5 minutes most days.

Every thing that can be paid by credit card accounts that give 2% or 5% cash back. I write a few checks for highly irregular bills, and I only allow direct debits of my bank accounts if it saves me money in fees or earns me a discount.

BUT I don't review bills as carefully as I should. Some of the people posting here sound like that are pretty good about that.

[Kabowest]

Automate as much as I can, and set alerts on what’s being paid when. Makes life so much easier.

[rk911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kabowest Automate as much as I can, and set alerts on what’s being paid when. Makes life so much easier.

this! ^^^

[JJpop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yipper thanks - this is the kind of thing that worries me... how often does something like this occur? And while 700 isn't going to change anyone's life... what if the decimal place was even further askew and PECO took 70,000?

You could get hit by an asteroid tomorrow or many other one in a billion something things.
The good thing about them taking too much money by mistake is you know it will be returned. It is not like someone hacked your account and it is gone.

[Out_the_Door]

If I can put it on a credit card I do. my mortgage is taken directly from my checking account and credit cards are on autopay in full each month. I only write checks three times a year, property taxes and car registration. I figure since I live alone that it would take about six months before the taxman comes looking for me and find me dead by the front door after I've fallen and couldn't get up.

[levindb]

Just to be clear, this is MY definition of AUTOPAY:

The recipient determines the AMOUNT and the DATE of payment...whether by Credit Card or directly from my bank account.

This is different than BILL PAY - RECURRING:

I determine the AMOUNT and the DATE (even if it is adjusted a day or two for holidays.

There is a significant difference between these two items in my mind.

[BillL14FF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yipper What are people’s thoughts on automatic payment of bills - like utilities, cell phone, cable, etc? I like the convenience but maybe I’m missing a key downside? I do watch the bills each month before they’re paid to avoid surprises. What do you do?

It’s just easier for me to have it taken straight out of my account. Also some are paid by credit card. Keep track of everything you pay for with these accounts. No more writing checks waiting for them to clear. Good Luck ��

[Tracer]

The fear mongers out there make me laugh! "DON'T DO IT" "TOO DANGEROUS" "MISTAKES CAN HAPPEN". Come on.. How often does that happen? I've been using Autopay for years since it was available and it's NEVER happened. Am I going to stop on the chance it MIGHT happen? You have a chance of getting into a serious accident every time you get in your car. Should I stop driving because that might happen? Or get on a plane because it might crash? At least an error on Autopay can be corrected fairly easy with a phone call if you monitor your transactions or have alerts in place as a safeguard. Fixing yourself in a plane crash? Not so much!

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracer The fear mongers out there make me laugh! "DON'T DO IT" "TOO DANGEROUS" "MISTAKES CAN HAPPEN". Come on.. How often does that happen? I've been using Autopay for years since it was available and it's NEVER happened. Am I going to stop on the chance it MIGHT happen? You have a chance of getting into a serious accident every time you get in your car. Should I stop driving because that might happen? Or get on a plane because it might crash? At least an error on Autopay can be corrected fairly easy with a phone call if you monitor your transactions or have alerts in place as a safeguard. Fixing yourself in a plane crash? Not so much!

+1

[JDRbole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash The Fido account is set to autopay from a high yield savings account.

Where did you find a “ high yield savings account”?
🤔🤩

[Car-Guy]

After reading all the responses so far, this topic/question simply reaffirms my typical contrarian POV on this forum. The only two bills I have on autopay are Netflix and Medicare... Auto paying Netflix was my choice (sort of), Medicare wasn't.

[Dash man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracer The fear mongers out there make me laugh! "DON'T DO IT" "TOO DANGEROUS" "MISTAKES CAN HAPPEN". Come on.. How often does that happen? I've been using Autopay for years since it was available and it's NEVER happened. Am I going to stop on the chance it MIGHT happen? You have a chance of getting into a serious accident every time you get in your car. Should I stop driving because that might happen? Or get on a plane because it might crash? At least an error on Autopay can be corrected fairly easy with a phone call if you monitor your transactions or have alerts in place as a safeguard. Fixing yourself in a plane crash? Not so much!

Exactly! Any mistakes, which are rare, are quickly resolved. I used to prefer using credit cards to pay the bills, but I’ve changed my important accounts to payment from my checking account. If something happens to me, it’ll be easier on my wife. Credit cards expire and have their own security issues that require changing account numbers. This requires going in and changing every account being paid by that credit card. I don’t want utilities or other important accounts to miss payments and cause problems until she figures out what’s paid or not.

[scrabbler1]

Autopay and electronic payments are not the same, and one does not imply the other.

After a few checks have gotten lost in the mail over the years (which caused some minor aggravation but nothing too terrible), I wanted to get the Post Office out of the picture, at least my picture. In one case, I began paying the bill through the merchant's website using my CC. It's not autopay, but it gets the PO out of the picture. In the other case, I have my bank mail a paper check to the merchant. It's a form of autopay IMHO because I don't have to remember to do anything except once a year to change the amount. The PO is still in the picture, but from what I have heard having the bank mail out the check as part of its bulk mailing program is more efficient and supposedly more reliable than my mailing it from my mailbox. The bank will take responsibility for any late payments, too.

Having straight autopay proved very useful when I was unexpectedly in the hospital for 12 days back in 2015. I had a few bills due in those 12 days but they got paid automatically. I had no real internet access while I was in the hospital, so I would have needed someone to handle the bill paying for me (I live alone but have a steady ladyfriend), either by signing into my bank's or other websites, or get me my checkbook to write out checks. Either would have been difficult and/or cumbersome. Autopay was a godsend.

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 Autopay and electronic payments are not the same, and one does not imply the other.

I agree with that but I thought the difference was obvious.. Maybe not to some.... I make almost all my payments on-line/electronically these days using my CC, but not using auto pay... It's actually pretty rare (compared to five+ years ago) for me to write a check and mail it these days... I may pay a bill using a paper check every other month or so. Maybe...

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Car-Guy I agree with that but I thought the difference was obvious.. Maybe not to some.... I make almost all my payments on-line/electronically these days using my CC, but not using auto pay... It's actually pretty rare (compared to five+ years ago) for me to write a check and mail it these days... I may pay a bill using a paper check every other month or so. Maybe...

For those of us who don't have online banking, paying over the phone is a decent alternative to it. My (snake-bit) friend uses the phone to make some of his payments, the ones he didn't want me to set up ACH autopay through the merchant's website. He arranged to have others go through his CC which he pays over the phone. He rarely writes checks any more, maybe 12 a year.

I pay my dad's CC easily over the phone because his CC is from the bank as his checking account (after his mailed check took 6 weeks to arrive and I had to call the bank to pay it and get late fees and interest charges removed; the delayed check miraculously got posted a few hours after the phone call!).

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 For those of us who don't have online banking, paying over the phone is a decent alternative to it.

Once in a while, I'll "call one in" but that seems to take to much time, IMO, but it's better than nothing... When I call it in, it's usually because the website I'm trying to use is either down or fubared. That's why I started paying my bills a few days before they are actually due... That way, if a site is down, I can try again later. Worse case, I can call it in but that's only happened to me a few times in the past ~five years.

[bolt]

"More moneys been stolen/misappropiated since the inception of the web/net(67'iirc) than has been stolen since the beginning of money itself."

I believe it. I forget where I heard it. I do not know whom or what various search engines attribute the quote to either.

Thats one claim on top of many, many others! https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/23/cons...last-year.html

Another: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021...hes-it-online/

Good luck & Best wishes.....