Online Bill Pay

[sarah]

I've noticed in some of the other threads that some of you use online bill paying services and I was wondering how happy you are with them. My bank charges 4.95 (US) monthly for the services. I am considering it for the convenience. I am very bad about mailing bills. How do they actually work? What problems should I anticipate? Are they worth it? Thanks for helping me out?

[sdc2027]

I personally don't like them and therefore don't use them.
1> I like to control my bill paymnts, either call myself or mail the check
2> I've worked billing for companies and I have more problems with bill pays than people putting the wrong check in the envelope/ or none at all.

I would advise calling the bill companies and see if they have either an auto withdrawal from checking or a debit card you could set up as an alternative. my 2¢

[crosses]

I don't use an online bill paying service, but I do have automatic withdrawal payments made by all the companies that have a system for this. The companies just take money from my checking account on the same day each month.

I think this is better than an online bill paying service because there are no middlemen. I just feel safer this way than having a third party paying my bills. More and more companies have systems to automatically take money from your account so it's very convenient

[Tree0164]

I use online bill pay for the past 5 years. I love it. I spend maybe 30 minutes a month paying my bills. I am able to keep everything up to date really easy.

[DivaJen]

I've never used a service like that. Like someone else mentioned, we have had things paid directly out of our checking accounts, like our mortgage and a gym membership, which is nice. I signed up directly with the phone company to pay that bill online.

$4.95 a month - that seems like a lot to spend, but if you have a lot of late fees doing things the traditional way, coupled with postage, it might be worth it. it certainly sounds a heck of a lot more convenient.

[PennyPincher]

I'm a little confused as to how the bank is justifying the $4.95/month when you can usually set it up directly with the companies. Everyone's trying to get their share...

I use automatic payments for my mortgage, condo fees, car loan, and utilities. I never have to worry about being late, and I save more than $30/year on postage! (With just 8 monthly bills...it adds up to $35.52 in postage!) Of course you want to make sure the money is taken out when you know you have enough to cover, or this system could get ugly.

If your bank is charging for those types of services, maybe it would be worth it to take a look at a bank that might offer you those options FREE, or at least talk to them and see if there is room for negotiation. (By the way...what happened to the days when banks gave away toasters and money for new account holders?!?!?!...and they felt the need to EARN your business...)

[mbhunter]

Originally Posted by PennyPincher

I'm a little confused as to how the bank is justifying the $4.95/month when you can usually set it up directly with the companies. Everyone's trying to get their share...

I'm on the Supervisory Committee of our Credit Union. Our CU recently moved to make this option free for its members. However, it does in fact cost the credit union not only per member but per transaction to carry these services, so it's not as much getting their fair share as recouping their expenses.

I pay with automatic charges to my credit card whenever possible. It gives me a small rebate (1%) and I think it usually offers more protection than a ACH withdrawal from checking/savings account.

By the way, Yahoo! offers a free bill-pay service for up to 12 bills from their approved list.

John

[Bev S]

I hate writing out checks each month, so I also take advantage of the many places that will withdraw my payments directly from my account each month, like car payments, mortgage, insurance, credit cards, phone bills, etc. I just automatically write down the amounts at the first of the month in my check book and subtract it from my balance so that I don't forget that it will be taken out.

[samiam37]

You guys should move to Denmark. We've got this PBS system that is really easy to initiate and flexible to manage. ;o)

[samiam37]

P.S. Oh, and its free.