Not receiving invoices

[Benjamin82]

New here, just have a couple questions.

I've started paying my bills by check since it's easier for me to keep track of everything and I like to have my own personal paper trail for what I've paid. Other than rent and utilities, it's some medical bills and student loans. For the most part, it works out fine. I send out about 15 checks a month. However, a few places are either not sending an invoice in return (no acknowledgement of payment and the new total due) or not cashing the checks altogether. In some cases, it's been almost 60 days. I haven't received any calls or emails from the companies, nor debt collectors. The money is still in my checking account, so I know they will clear. I've checked with the post office and there are no issues there, and confirmed that they have my correct contact information. I'm unsure of what to do or how this will affect my credit. Any suggestions?

[StormRichards]

New here, just have a couple questions.

I've started paying my bills by check since it's easier for me to keep track of everything and I like to have my own personal paper trail for what I've paid. Other than rent and utilities, it's some medical bills and student loans. For the most part, it works out fine. I send out about 15 checks a month. However, a few places are either not sending an invoice in return (no acknowledgement of payment and the new total due) or not cashing the checks altogether. In some cases, it's been almost 60 days. I haven't received any calls or emails from the companies, nor debt collectors. The money is still in my checking account, so I know they will clear. I've checked with the post office and there are no issues there, and confirmed that they have my correct contact information. I'm unsure of what to do or how this will affect my credit. Any suggestions?

Call the companies you sent the checks to and ask them why they haven't cashed your check.

[disneysteve]

Have you called the companies to confirm that they've received your payments? I would think that would be the first step.

You really are taking your chances by mailing checks today. It is far safer to pay electronically because then there is documented proof that you actually made the payment. Anyone can say, "Oh, I mailed you a check 2 weeks ago."

I'd suggest you switch to using your bank's online banking services. You can still have your "paper trail" by printing out the payment confirmations and there will actually be proof of payment.

[HundredK]

I pay absolutely everything I can with my credit card. It's far less of a gamble in terms of fraud protection. I do know that it can take a very long time for checks to clear if you are sending it to a big organization. I used to work for an extremely large nonprofit, and I remember shaking my head at times because the check processing was so slow. Not at all uncommon to see checks being cashed 60 and even up to 90 days after issuance. And just think, during all that wait time, where is your check at? Is your privacy being protected?

For your particular problem, you could call the company and ask if they have a backlog of checks to process.