"dedtired

My landscaper never includes an envelope. It's such a nuisance. I have to buy a box of envelopes just to pay that bill. I'd rather pay an extra 50 cents and get an envelope with his address or a window. It annoys me every time I pay the bill. I pay almost everything else online and appreciate the convenience."

Why don't you add him to your account on your bank's bill pay?

Just put his name, address and account number (not necessary) and your bank will send him his check when you enter the amount. At least that's how it works with my bank.

" It annoys me every time I pay the bill."

Really. Every time? It's that big of a deal to you?

I echo the other comment. Set him up as a payee in your bank checking account and let them mail the check. It couldn't be easier than that.

Nope, I like paying online, but I will NEVER set up an auto pay for anything. Just not comfortable with that. I want to look at it, select the date I pay, and approve the payment. I do understand not liking online bill pay. You have even MORE control over your money. If you are good with it, that's fine, but don't knock people that aren't. The tighter the budget, the less you trust the computer. If I could, I would go to a cash only system.

Have you ever tried online payments? There are several ways you can make a payment and it really can help to save a tree because it’s less paper or waste. You can pay with a check through your bank and they won’t even charge you the postage. You can go to the company website or call and pay with a credit card (often earning points or some cash back). Regardless of how you choose to do so, the benefits far out weight the discomfort of change. I used to be on the “I will never pay online” train, but once I tried it, I was hooked. Sometimes we cut off our nose despite our face.

Sherry hit the nail on the head, it’s auto pay that I will never do as well. .Years ago, I authorized Sprint to do auto pay. A couple of months later, I changed services and they kept taking out the payments even though they weren’t entitled to them. It took me months to get it rectified. Never again!

ded, I'd guess that your landcaper expects everyone to use online check paying services to pay their bills. That might explain the lack of envelope.

lukkirish, I have to say that the "saving a tree" sentiment is not really a valid one, though I appreciate your heartfelt thought. Much of the paper used to manufacture checks and other goods come from recycled products. The original lumber comes largely from the renewable and managed pulpwood plantations across the country. Wood from natural disasters are also collected and recycled into building lumber and paper pulp.

Yeah to all that, but sometimes a person just wants to vent. I can understand that!

I love autopay arrangements. Typically for recurring bills I have never had a dispute or problem with - utilities and other home services and the like. They do me a favor as I see it, not the other way around. When possible I have them charged to a credit card, extra points for zero effort.

Rhizo, I actually wasn’t referring to the checks; I was referring to the bills, the inserts that usually come with them and the two envelopes, one to send and one to return....I don’t think that those, for many companies, are made from recycled paper. I hope I’m wrong though.

Has anyone other than myself noticed that the envelopes apparently contain something other than just paper and glue. Although I have most things electronic and on auto pay my water bill comes in an envelope. I normally just rip the whole thing in half but the envelope and bill is very hard to tear. It is almost as if it has plastic in it. It is also slick to the touch.

If one pays by credit card, it costs the company some money. If you pay by check, then the company wonders about whether it is a good check.

We travel a lot, all utility bills are an automatic deduction from our checking account. It saves me the cost of stamps and I don't have to worry about a bill being past due while away (sometimes 6 weeks at a time).

Our utility company stopped sending an envelope with our bill after about 6 payments made on-line. makes sense to me. they even put a "note" on our bill telling us that 'since you have been paying on-line we will no longer send an envelope'. im fine with that! i still get paper copies since i like to have a copy. that's just me, i like a hard copy and i am not printing it out.

there is no discount for going paperless.

our TV/phon & CC company has done the same as our utility company.

been paying bill on-line for years now, so much easier, cheaper and faster. its set up through my bank, no auto-deductions from outside companies.

Maifleur01, I just noticed that tonight.^^^

I also have only a landline, no cell but I also have telephone banking so if I don't want to go online I just pick up the phone and enter my bank debit card numbers. My sister even had difficulty doing that sometimes because of her hand, so she was able to talk to the bank agent who paid the bill so she didn't have to keep pressing telephone buttons. I like onlne banking and I like Interact e transfer even more which is how I pay the handyman or if my brother orders something from Amazon for me I can pay him right away.

I’m on the governing board at my church, and I’m pushing to get an online contributions system set up. No more wondering if I have a check or cash in my purse (I don’t carry a checkbook anymore) to put in the offering plate . .

Am very happy and grateful when companies do not send envelopes, it helps me generate less trash.

My accountant includes a stamped and addressed envelope in her bills. She doesn't take online payments and I love how easy it is to just put a check in the prepared envelope. No looking up her address, no need to get out the stamps.

The main problem I have with on-line payment is I must have a computer (or smart phone) and an internet connection. Those items may not always be in my budget during my lifetime. I have those things now and for the foreseeable future, but one never knows . . . . I do wonder about those few who have never have had email or internet service.

My little town had been mailing the water/sewer/storm-runoff bill 4 times per year, and they never included an envelope. A post card bill was common. This town is small and we always had the option to drop a payment envelope in a depository slot at village hall. The town is growing. When I moved here, the population was less that 5000, and now it has gone over 10,000 and has 3 industrial parks. Starting next year, we will be billed monthly instead of quarterly, and an option to link for on-line payment, or link to your bank account is recommended.

I have a box of envelopes and its a only a 3/8 mile walk to the village hall.

Currently we are paying the employee portion of health insurance directly since DH is not yet back at his job. They sent a fancy magazine sized book of coupons and included mailing labels but no envelopes.

What irks me is that they have NO OPTION to pay online or even by phone. Only option is auto withdrawal from your checking acct. which you must authorize by snail mail also. Unbelievable to me in this day and age. Because this is a temporary situation I don't want to authorize that and then have some glitch occur. So every 2 weeks I mail it in (two payments at a time) and hope it gets there. It must be a check or money order. No CC either. I hate using snail mail for sending checks. Actually I hate writing checks at all. But it is what it is.

The world going paperless and "on line" no matter the incidence of hacking piling up is as you see fast becoming the way of things and there is little or no empathy for those of us who resist. Yesterday I heard a phone carrier CHARGING for not hooking up some black box they sent to spy on people!!! "No thank you" is more and more not an option. The Tech world is managing to do what China did with forced compliance 70 years ago.

I have paid bills online for years, but still write an occasional check. We have to remit sales tax to the state monthly, and when I set it up, the instructions indicated that I was required to do it online with a credit card. Problem was, they were passing on the CC fee to me. Understandable, but this fee, for a REQUIRED transaction, was a percentage of the total and would amount to $10-$20 per month! They sent remittance coupons (with envelopes) in the mail, and I have continued to use them. I will write a check and put a stamp on it, before I will pay $20 for "convenience."

aok, that an outrage!! they should not be able to get away with that!! i would mail a check as well. my God, they try to get u coming and going!!

What irks me is that they have NO OPTION to pay online or even by phone.

Here's where you go thru your bank's bill-pay system. They can send the check on their stamp. Regardless of what the vendor says, the bank can do it.

"What irks me is that they have NO OPTION to pay online or even by phone. Only option is auto withdrawal from your checking acct. which you must authorize by snail mail also. Unbelievable to me in this day and age"

like said above, set the insurance company up as a payee in your bank's Bill Pay section, and pay it there.

Aok, that smacks of something illegal to me. You might want to call your Attorney General's office and see what they think.

Lacey, I hear you on being forced to do something you don't want to do; change is often forced on us. Are you able to walk your bill into the office? My mother used to do that whenever she could, to save the stamp. :)

sjerin, you're suggesting she complain to a state agency, about what another state agency does? I don't think that'll go far.

I've encountered frequently (and you may have too) government agencies allowing credit card payments but the third party service provider levies a charge. No one is in business for free. Larger states, larger agencies, can afford to accommodate more modern payment means, often by automated ACH debits to checking accounts, and often at no charge (examples of county property taxes, the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board come to mind in my personal case) but smaller ones can't. For some larger ones, there's still a charge for accepting credit card payments. It's also because the credit cards themselves (Visa, etc) impose a fee for the charge.

"sjerin

Aok, that smacks of something illegal to me. You might want to call your Attorney General's office and see what they think."

It's a tax payment. I don't want to start paying more taxes to cover someone else's use of a credit card when paying their taxes. Does anyone?

I bet aok could pay using the bank's Bill-Pay feature, then the bank will send the payment. I hope she looks into it. We pay our taxes with Bill Pay, just have to be sure the account # of the payment is the same as the data on the coupon.

I'm not a fan of auto-bill pay. Okay - I AM a control freak and just don't like giving up that control.

I prefer to use my bank's bill-pay. It's free, it's easy, they ask the merchant how they want to be paid and pay it accordingly (a few I think get a check from the bank in the mail). Anything I can pay this way, I do! It is so easy and my bank accounts are protected by the FDIC. I like it all in one place - can quickly check my balance.

I'd have to be down to the choice between meds and my internet connection. It's my lifeline to the world as I age! Heck, I might still choose the internet!

As unreliable as our post office has become (both incoming and outgoing mail), I hate to mail anything of importance. Although they did recently arrest a gang that had been stealing mail from the outside mail drop bins, I have no doubt that someone will take their place before long.

I've only had one issue paying on line, recent one too. Someone accessed my Sprint account and bought a phone. Fixed it and asked to have a paper bill again for a while. It's really annoying though, the envelope they send is one you have to tear precisely and reuse to mail the payment back. I am now back to paying on-line. My water bill and mortgage are the only ones I pay by check. Usually laziness for the water bill, plus, the last time I paid in person which was last month, I got charged over a dollar for paying with my debit card instead of cash or check. Paying them on-line has a fee too so I will probably pay that bill via mail, 44 cent stamp as opposed to over a dollar in processing fees. I also have had to pay my mortgage by mail the past few months as their website hasn't even allowed me to log on to pay. I got an e-mail a few weeks ago from my mortgage company saying they were going paperless. I need to call them. Their website just goes to a white screen every time I try to log in.

Nothing is safe. I just left my bank after going in to question why my records show I have xxx amount of money but the bank shows a different amount of almost 500 $. After going thru transactions we found 2 gas stations ripped us off. One stop for 10 $ in gas and they also charged 99.00 went to Naples Fl.

Second station another 10 $ in gas but this time the gas station charged our account another 402.00. 59 seconds after thr gas was paid. Both of these were from a Visa bank card. The bank will give us the money back but we have to wait 10 days....like I can afford to wait.

The bank told me thousands upon thousands of dollars are ripped off of people using bank cards and credit cards many people may not even know. Geesh.

I told my husband to use cash only at gas stations.

Last year Walmart was having this problem.

mamapinky there are a number of gas stations that I go to that have signs on the pumps that a hold will be placed on your account if a debit card is used. The one I use is $200 but since I am a regular user it never happens. Your bank should have explained this to you as the reason for the charges. The signs are there although some only have them inside which is in my mind cheating. Go on line and watch your account. When the charge is sent through the banking system and the amount is deposited in the merchants account the hold will disappear you may not have to wait ten days. The way around this is to use your debit card as a credit card for most merchants. Not certain of the why it works,

Mamapinky, you were a victim of skimming. The thief attaches a credit card reader to the pump to record your info. They then use the card to steal. Yes, I use cash at a gas station. If it is an emergency, use a credit card, not a debit card and go inside to pay. I also don't use a debit card at a fast food place or online.

A debit card takes the money out right away. A credit card just bills you once a month. That way you are not out money while you dispute the charge.

It's a poor choice to use debit cards for retail purchases, because of the problems irregular activities can cause by tying up a checking account, as this incident shows. Unless you use a card from a second account you use on an imprest basis.

As sherry suggests, it's much better to use a credit card because fraudulent charges can be taken off and there's (usually) no freezing or other disruption of your normal life. When the card issuer wants to cancel the number and start you with a new one, most will dispatch a new card overnight or 2nd day delivery.

We've had several incidents locally of skimming devices on gas pumps. I've started using prepaid gift cards to buy my gas. There is one store in town where buying a Speedway prepaid card gets you a 10 cent/gallon discount, as well.

I have been told that if you have Bluetooth capability on your cell phone, you can check for a skimmer by scanning for a Bluetooth signal. Not all skimmers use Bluetooth but it is common, I read.

" you can check for a skimmer by scanning for a Bluetooth signal."

Sounds like that ought to be someone else's job, not something customers should need to be vigilant about. If a gas station don't want to pay attention to its pumps and charge mechanisms, what kind of care does it take of its tanks and fuel filters?

Pay with a credit card? Pay the cashier indoors? Go elsewhere? Lots of options.

I have been reluctant to convert to online payment for most bills mainly because I have experienced being without an internet connection due to equipment failure or a phone company failure. This has taught me that although presently, I enjoy a good computer and internet connection, but this can fade quickly in an economic downturn, a really bad downturn. I also was concerned about internet security and wished to reduce possibilities of a malcontent accessing my bank accounts.

I stuck to using checks where possible, and then, a bank official said to me, "Do you realize that your account number, routing number, and your official signature is on every check that you write and hand to a stranger? How secure is that?" That gave me pause, and made me reconsider. Maybe strong passwords and multiple levels of pass-codes is as or more secure than checks. The custodian of my IRA has begun offering a 3rd pass code for accessing accounts.

What I want for online payments is the requirement that I must initiate the transaction. There will be no automatic payouts. Its too easy to overlook a subscription that was made a year ago, or maybe I changed insurance companies but forgot to clear out the auto-payment feature. Once converted to online payment for most things, I will become dependent on having an internet connection (and equipment to do this). Its one more complication of modern life.

A 100 years ago, commerce and home existence was dependent on horse conveyances, telephone and telegraph; At present, we have become dependent on high speed communications, autos and trucks.; Next, it will be the internet.

All payment pages on any site are encrypted (https) so it's safe to connect from a public library. Or from a Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. Lots of places with free internet.

jemdandy, I think you're being overly cautious. Fraudulent access to any financial account is the responsibility of the institution, not you. Do you get monthly pension or social security checks by mail or by transfer? Look at the size of those entities, if they think electronic payments are safe, shouldn't you too?

I can't remember the last time I went into a bank, and the ones I use are mostly internet-only. I can do anything with an app or over the iternet, over the phone, through the mail. You can too. It's safe. Listen to your banker.

Jemdandy, you don't need to access a bill-pay site at the bank every day. When I have a bill (yes, I like paper bills), I enter it on the bank's site with the date that I want it paid. So a $100 utility bll comes today, and is due by, say November 5. I can access the bank's site today or tomorrow or next week. I enter the amount to be paid, and the date I want it sent. The program then tells be the day that the payment will be delivered. I always give it a couple of days. So if I enter that payment to be made on 10/31, the bank says it will be delivered on 11/2. Fine by me. It's done. Unless my internet is down for weeks, I have no problem.

Seriously, you are overthinking this. Nice thing about having the bank pay your bills is that you can try it for a couple of months. If you don't like it, you can buy more stamps and go back to your old process.

"What I want for online payments is the requirement that I must initiate the transaction."

Any bank's Bill Pay service allows this. Bill Pay is exactly like your check book, but more accurate.

After you have your payee accounts listed (easier then you may think ) you go to Bill Pay and enter the payment that is due.

I pay bills twice a month, most of my bills still arrive in snail mail. I make payments on the first and fifteenth using Bill Pay, I mark my paper bills paid (with the date) and hold the paper til the next month when they go to the shredder.

I realize laceyvail has now checked out of this conversation, but wanted to add that the reason I like using my credit union's online bill pay feature, is that all my bills (well, almost all) are now in one place, and the credit union emails me notifications when a bill is due. I have the option of setting up autopay, but don't do it for many of the same reasons cited above, however, I did set it up for 1 stubborn bill that does not want to link notifications, because it's apparently set up for notifications on the company website, and I cannot figure out how to discontinue. I can also schedule a payment for any date I choose.

I know security is an issue of concern to many. I usually use incognito window on my Chrome browser when doing online banking, and I never do any money transactions on my phone.

I also receive some of the bills in my account on paper as well, and mark them date due, and when paid. They usually sit in a pile in front of my computer. I like that I can easily check whether I paid something or not.

I am not a super math whiz, so I appreciate having the system do the calculating for me.

carolb, unless they've changed it, Chrome incognito mode offers no added level of security. All it does is keep browsing history and cookies, etc., from being saved on YOUR PC. The traffic crosses the internet, goes through the ISP, and goes to and from the connected sites exactly the same as any other session. Anyone intercepting the signal, or receiving the signal on the other end, has exactly the same information about the user as if any other browser or mode were being used.

Your security to rely on is that financial type traffic is encrypted, using https. Signals from a cell phone are encrypted at several stages through the path too.

Should your traffic be intercepted (highly unlikely), the risk belongs to the bank or other financial institution. Just as if a check of yours had been stolen or counterfeited and then used. No difference at all. They're more than willing to accept the risks on your behalf because it saves them a lot of money. You should accept their gesture and feel comfortable using it.

Thanks for the info. I really only use it when I have another window open and do not want to close it, otherwise I simply close the browser after logging out, as prompted by my bank. I am not the only person using my computer, BTW. Here's what I see when I open the incognito window:

You’ve gone incognito

Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads and bookmarks will be saved. Learn more

Chrome won’t save the following information:

• Your browsing history
• Cookies and site data
• Information entered in forms

Your activity might still be visible to:

• Websites you visit
• Your employer or school
• Your internet service provider

Exactly. That's what I said. The only difference compared to a regular browser session on Chrome or other browser is that the normal history items aren't saved ON THE PC BEING USED. Clearing any browser's cache, cookies and history when done does exactly the same thing.

Once any signal leaves the PC for the internet and is in transit, or returns from a website in a similar way, the info available to see in the data packets is exactly the same, whether an incognito session or not. Not so for an https session, as it's encrypted on each end. It can be decrypted but that takes effort and expertise and like door locks, is enough to keep most people out.

I prefer to pay from the warmth and comfort of my home. I still have the same chequebook the bank gave me when I opened up my bank account with them almost 22 years ago. I think I've used 3 cheques to make a payment and a few for direct deposit for different jobs I've had over the years. I simply go to my banks website, log in, pick my bill enter how much I want to pay and hit send. Done. I can pay my bills stark nekkid if I want. :)

I prefer online bill pay too. The only one I don't pay online is my water bill,because they charge a 3 dollar convenience fee,and the water company is very close to my house,so I just run cash by there while im out doing other errands.

I dont remember the last time I wrote a check. I get annoyed waiting for them to clear. Even some of my online payments take 3 days or more to clear out of my account. Grrrrr. But as a whole, it's way more convenient and simple to pay online.

A word of caution if you have older checks. Some of the routing numbers have changed. If you have really old checks the number of digits of your account number may now need more zeros in the front of your account number. The check may kick out as being invalid but it will be processed. My checks used to clear through my local clearing house now they clear through a New Jersey one that has a totally different routing number. They will eventually get where they should and show posted in your account but it adds to the processing time.

I read through the messages and realized I can pay my mortgage and other bills via my bank, just signed up for on-line bill pay and when I get home will add my accounts. Thanks.

I repeat: I am not the only user of my computer. My browser profile is password protected, but I usually leave it open.

You're the one that said "security is an issue of concern to many. I usually use incognito window on my Chrome browser when doing online banking," To which I said, using Incognito mode adds no safety, security or anonymity for banking or any other personal information passing to and from your PC over the internet.

If you share your PC and are concerned about other users having access to what you do, set the browser to not remember passwords and to clear cached files and all history when closed. Or do it manually when you're done with a session. Then, a new user starts with a blank slate and you have complete security of your sessions and access codes WITH RESPECT TO OTHER USERS OF THE SAME PC.