Do you autopay your bills?

[pb4uski]

Give someone the authority to raid my checking account for what "they" think is due them? You gotta be kidding. I've tried it and have had to go thru the trouble of getting refunds several times, no thanks.
...

Never had a problem in 6 years... I would only do it with vendors that I know and trust. I can always kiil it with them and/or my bank at anytime of my chosing and I know far in advance how much they intend to draw as I get the bill long before they pull money from my account.

Absolute worst case is that I move all my other autopays to my other checking account, transfer all the money to my other checking account and when they go to draw it they get a NSF.... it might take me an hour to do all that.

 

[Onward]

Give someone the authority to raid my checking account for what "they" think is due them? You gotta be kidding.

+1

 

[Midpack]

We autopay everything possible!

And when we have to write a paper check these days, we say to ourselves “are you kidding?”

 

[bada bing]

I automate everything - and I mean everything - that it is
possible to automate. All bills that will take credit card autopays
are set up. The credit cards themselves auto-pay in full every
month from checking. Bills that don't take or charge convenience
fees for credit cards are set up to auto-pay from checking. My
paycheck is auto deposited to checking. My savings deductions
for 401K, HSA and brokerage happen automatically. My 401K,
brokerage account, IRAs and HSA all auto-invest and auto-rebalance quarterly into my chosen AA.

I have written 5 checks so far in 2017 according to my check register. I am pretty good about instinctively knowing approximately where my bank balance is and I am lucky that my income after my automated savings is more than sufficient for what I generally spend. I virtually have no budget, but my spending equilibrium has stayed below my means.

The reason I do this is that I am flaky about money management. I am the opposite of a control freak - I don't pay attention sometimes for months. I've been doing better checking on things in the last couple years but I'm still absent minded and easily distracted. The plus side of automation is that I now enjoy a perfect 850 FICO8 score and my investment performance is far better in the last decade of hands off. 15 years ago I had crappy credit and miserable whipsawed investments.
I am much better off and happier with benign neglect. I know that isn't the case with everyone, especially on a forum like this, but a person has to know their own personal limitations.

 

[Swordplay Charlie]

I still like writing those monthly checks for all my bills.

 

[Music Lover]

Never had a problem in 6 years... I would only do it with vendors that I know and trust. I can always kiil it with them and/or my bank at anytime of my chosing and I know far in advance how much they intend to draw as I get the bill long before they pull money from my account.

Same for me. I only auto pay utilities and property taxes (monthly). Credit card payments or any other payments are done manually.

 

[RE2Boys]

We autopay everything possible!

And when we have to write a paper check these days, we say to ourselves “are you kidding?”

While I do not use autopay, I also do not write checks except to buy Boy Scout popcorn. I let the bank write and mail checks if the organization doesn't accept electronic payments.

Difference is that I initiate the fund transfers, not the vendor at his whim

 

[pb4uski]

.... not the vendor at his whim

A bit ignorant... it isn't at their whim... it is based on my instructions as to what to pay when and I can withdraw or amend those instructions at any time of my chosing.

If they do not follow those instructions then they do so at their own legal peril.

Stopping an automatic, recurring payment: If you have regular, automatic deductions from your checking account (to pay for expenses such as insurance premiums or utility bills), the EFTA allows you to stop those payments. First, notify the vendor. Next, tell your bank about your request at least three business days before the money is scheduled to be transferred. Your notice to the bank may be oral, but the institution may require you to provide a written follow-up within 14 days to ensure that no additional payments are made. If you fail to provide a written follow-up, the bank is no longer responsible for stopping future payments.

Stopping an automatic, recurring payment on a credit card is different. Start by putting in your request with the vendor. But if the vendor continues to charge your credit card, contact your card issuer. You'll have 60 days to dispute the charge, starting when the card issuer sends you the statement with the charges.

"Any time you need to stop a recurring payment from your checking or credit card account, it's a good idea to put your requests to the vendor and to the financial institution in writing, so that you have a record of it in case of a dispute," explained St. Germain.

Also, even though your financial institution may stop some payments, you may still be legally obligated for other payments depending on your contract with the service provider. For example, if you sign a contract to receive and pay for certain services for 12 months, and you cancel before the end of the agreement, you may still owe the entire amount.

 

[harley]

From best to worst:

• Give my credit card number directly to the vendor (no extra fee)
• Pay using my bank's "check-free" type solution
• Give my account & routing number directly to the vendor

I don't let anybody do the last thing. So nobody pulls directly from my checking account. In other words, I don't give out my bank's routing number & my account number. No "pulls" for me, because if they take your money, you're just out of luck. And if they get hacked, then the hackers have what they need to pull money out.

That's a rather silly concern. Anybody who has ever written a check has given someone their routing and account number, and an example of their signature for that matter. And probably their home address and phone number.

I've been autopaying some bills for over 15 years, and have never had a problem. I pay everything electronically except a few bills that don't allow it. I could probably use the bank bill pay for them, but it's just as easy to write a check for the very few (lawn guy, mostly).

I do it in your 1, 3, then 2 order. I basically autopay everything that is the same (or pretty close) each month, and personally e-pay everything else. Again, I've been doing this for both my personal and business bills for a long time, and have never had a problem (knocking on wood as I type this). If I had a problem I might be a little more paranoid about it, but so far so good.

 

[pb4uski]

1, 3 and 2 order for me too.

 

[audreyh1]

That's a rather silly concern. Anybody who has ever written a check has given someone their routing and account number, and an example of their signature for that matter. And probably their home address and phone number.

I've been autopaying some bills for over 15 years, and have never had a problem. I pay everything electronically except a few bills that don't allow it. I could probably use the bank bill pay for them, but it's just as easy to write a check for the very few (lawn guy, mostly).

I do it in your 1, 3, then 2 order. I basically autopay everything that is the same (or pretty close) each month, and personally e-pay everything else. Again, I've been doing this for both my personal and business bills for a long time, and have never had a problem (knocking on wood as I type this). If I had a problem I might be a little more paranoid about it, but so far so good.

Yep. Mailing a check has the same effect.

 

[RE2Boys]

A bit ignorant... it isn't at their whim... it is based on my instructions as to what to pay when and I can withdraw or amend those instructions at any time of my chosing.

If they do not follow those instructions then they do so at their own legal peril.

Surprised that you are into name calling! I always valued your insight and contributions in the past.

"Whim" was meant as an exaggeration. While most vendors are honest, I have been bitten several times and have found my negotiating position in settling disputes is much better if I have the money and not trying to recover from someone else. And I authorize electronic payments at the same time I also monitor this forum, or my favorite tax forum, so I gain a comfortable degree of control with very little time expended.

 

[pb4uski]

To be clear... I was characterizing the statement that a vendor could transfer money at their whim as a bit ignorant... there was nothing personal about it... I would have thought that would be clear from the wording that followed but perhaps is wasn't.

 

[foxfirev5]

All my monthly bills are autopay to a cash back credit card. No fees and does not allow access to my checking account. I would use the cc for taxes however the surcharge exceeds the cash back. I have found the cc company easier to deal with than a bank when problems or disputes occur.

 

[Onward]

Clark's take on it:

 

[PatrickA5]

Just about everything is autopay. Most using a CC, but my utilities charge a fee for CC, so they pull from my checking. We've been doing this for well over 20 years and I can't recall a single event where the wrong amount was taken from my account.

I had to write a check for my property taxes the other day since they don't take CC without a fee. I almost forgot how to do it. Had to find one of those stamp things too.

 

[harley]

I'm curious. Can those of you who have had bad experiences with autopay or pulling from an account give more details? Were these major companies like a phone or CC company? Were they mistakes, or malicious? I've never known anyone personally to have any problems like this, and would like to get an idea about the situations where they occurred. Basically, is it common enough to really worry about, or just a statistically insignificant chance? I would think if it happened regularly I'd hear a lot more about it, especially as I keep up with electronic security and risks issues.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm curious. Can those of you who have had bad experiences with autopay or pulling from an account give more details? Were these major companies like a phone or CC company? Were they mistakes, or malicious? I've never known anyone personally to have any problems like this, and would like to get an idea about the situations where they occurred. Basically, is it common enough to really worry about, or just a statistically insignificant chance? I would think if it happened regularly I'd hear a lot more about it, especially as I keep up with electronic security and risks issues.

Earlier this year Florida Blue erroneously drafted customer accounts multiple times. This affected 9500 customers! That's the only case I've ever heard of:

Florida Blue payment glitch: What you need to know - Orlando Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-florida-blue-folo-20170502-story.html

 

[pb4uski]

Looks like they had ~731,000 ACA policies in 2016... so a little over 1% were affected one time.... it would suck to be one of those impacted though.

 

[kaneohe]

I'm curious. Can those of you who have had bad experiences with autopay or pulling from an account give more details? Were these major companies like a phone or CC company? Were they mistakes, or malicious? I've never known anyone personally to have any problems like this, and would like to get an idea about the situations where they occurred. Basically, is it common enough to really worry about, or just a statistically insignificant chance? I would think if it happened regularly I'd hear a lot more about it, especially as I keep up with electronic security and risks issues.

some details in post#23 in this thread. Major companies/likely mistakes.

 

[scrabbler1]

I do use ACH from my bank account to pay my monthly health insurance premiums, but I don't have it on autopay because I have changed insurance companies several times in the last few years and I don't want to have to deal with stopping one and starting another, worrying about if the outgoing IC will stop drawing my money. By doing it manually every month with a simply point-and-click in their website, I maintain some control over each withdrawal.


I began using autopay back around 1993 for my mortgage. I was glad to do it because I had a tough time with that lender after doing a refi in 1992 and knew they probably wouldn't but me any breaks if a check arrived late in the mail. Using ACH autopay eliminated that possibility and put the burden on them to take the money. I had no problems with the lender.


Throughout the 1990s, the local utilities added autopay. They included the electric, phone, and cable TV. Internet went to my CC back then. Co-op maintenance payment still went via mailed personal check.

 

[Music Lover]

I never considered credit card auto pay, but I might as well do that and earn some points.

 

[DEC-1982]

No autopay on property taxes.

Autopay on many bills, but not all.

If something goes wrong even once on even one bill, I will have to revisit the auto-pay method. Whether for that one vendor or all vendors depends on the damage.

 

[scrabbler1]

In an earlier post I mentioned how I got my dad to start with autopay following an unexpected injury which left him in a hospital and rehab center for just over 3 weeks. I had a similar event 2 years ago when a trip to the ER became a 12-day hospital stay. I had bills due in those 12 days but because I had autopay for both the inflows and outflows, nothing was paid late and all the money was there to pay for them. My experience made for a good selling point to get my dad on board with autopay. I want to get him on board with online banking in case he is unable to get to the bank or mail a check, but convincing my 86-year-old dad who can barely use a PC to do that is a much tougher lift. Hey, I take the wins I can get, right?

 

[Tailgate]

Just counted and I autopay 14 accounts monthly. Always pay full amount due.