Do you sign up for e-bills?
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
March 14, 2011 6:00pm CST
Many service providers now offer e-bills. Instead of getting a paper bill in the mail your power or cable bill will be available through the Internet, and you'll get a notification in your e-mail. I've noticed some companies even offer incentives for signing up for e-bill service. For instance my power company charges me $0.75 for issuing a paper bill. If I signed up for e-billing I'd save 75 cents a month. Seems crazy, right?
I generally do not sign up for e-bills. I'm afraid I may forget that a bill is due, even if I get the e-mail reminder. I also worry about what will happen if my internet gets shut off for some reason (though that hasn't happened in a few years). I typically do pay most of my bills online.. so you'd think it would make sense to enroll in the e-billing.. I guess I just like to stick with what I know, and I like seeing my charges on paper.
Have you signed up for e-bills? Did you do it to save paper, money, or time? Have you found any advantages or disadvantages to e-bill services?
2 people like this
10 responses
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
15 Mar 11
I think only my electric bill is signed up for ebill. I'm like you, I may get the reminder in the email but I'll glance at it and then forget it. I get so many emails a day it gets pushed down the list and I totally forget it's there. So at least the paper bill comes to and I sit it on my desk and it helps me remember. I also frequently forget to pay my internet bill lol..so I wouldn't have access to pay it once that happens. Though we're through comcast and all I have to do is call them and make a payment over the phone and it is usually turned back on within the hour.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
16 Mar 11
I'm careful not to get the internet shut off, but things happen, you know. I just think it's best to continue to get a paper bill.. even if I do end up paying the bill online.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
15 Mar 11
I am like you...I like seeing it on paper and I also like writing a check as proof that it's been paid. I do pay one bill online and that is it....it's interesting though too that my bank this year wouldn't take any paper money for tax returns...they all had to be direct deposit....strange!
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
16 Mar 11
I do pay most of my bills online because it's easy and convenient and I don't have to run to the post office to buy stamps. But I still don't like the idea of not getting a paper statement.
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
16 Mar 11
Until about a month ago I didnt have a bank account so I would just get money orders to pay my bills each month. They were about 90 cents at the post office. Then I had to pay the 44 cents for a stamp. Now that I have a bank account they set me up with a big batch of checks. Since I usually only have about 3 checks to send out for bills each month it will take me along time to go through those checks before I would have to order more. I dont think I will order more though because I can just go to the bank and give them the amount and they print you out a money order free of charge. I dont think thats very cool that your power company charges 75 cents if you pay by online billing :( Glad to hear the online billing is working out for you though. My friend pays all her bills online I just havent migrated to that yet. I'm a little leary that something will go wrong and my bill will show up not paid. I kind of like doing it the old fashioned way for now at least.
@shaggin (72116)
• United States
16 Mar 11
Actually now that you bring that up your probably right as it makes more sense that a check would get lost in the mail then a payment would get lost if I sent it directly from my bank account to theirs. Luckily I have never had anything like that get lost in the mail. My luck right after saying this it will happen lol.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
16 Mar 11
I think worrying about the company not recieving their payment would be a bigger issue when mailing out checks because they can be lost in the mail. When paying the bill online you know the payment is going directly to them. I've not yet had a problem with it at all.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
16 Mar 11
Hey kats! I'm sort of with you on some of my bills I prefer
getting them in paper by "snail mail". Especially my electric
and cable bills because, as you said it makes me nervous in case
I miss an e-bill! I also get my charge cards bills on paper by
snail mail too even though I do pay one of them online and the
other by phone. I guess I still just don't trust the Internet
100% for everything and it will be a long time until I do
especially when it comes to paying bills that come with some
hefty "late charges"!
1 person likes this
@jesssp (2712)
• Canada
21 Mar 11
I use e bills for everything I can. When I get a reminder email I immediately go onto my online banking and pay it, then save the bill on my computer with my bank's confirmation number as the title. So far it's worked great BUT, I also sit in front of a computer ALL DAY, lol. And we always have the money in the bank to pay them, if we didn't then I'm sure it would be a lot easier to forget. I'm also pretty sure one of my providers neglected to send me a reminder one month, which REALLY ticked me off. So it is definitely far from perfect but for the most part it's been really convenient and it's nice to have that much less paper laying around the house. Plus, like you said, some companies are charging for paper statements. I'm pretty sure the phone company charges $2 a month which is pretty crazy.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
22 Mar 11
If I used my online banking to send payments, I'd be charged like $0.25 per payment. Some places charge up to $5 for phone transactions.. it's like a no win situation. I will generally pay the bill on the company's website.. as thus far that has appeared to be free, but I still want the paper bill. Not only for the reminder but also so I can analyze the charges.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
15 Mar 11
I actually have for several years now and like it very much, because I do have some on auto pay so I do not forget and or some I go online and pay them on the due date.
I set each one on my blacberry calendar to remind me in advance of the due dates. I also get email and text message alerts of due dates, so for me I do take advantage and find it really convenient. Since the billing is all online I can view my full statement and if I need anything I always have it in the history.
I suppose it is a matter of preference and convenience.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
15 Mar 11
Lately I have been looking at the statements online before I get the paper bill, but I worry that if I stop recieving the paper bill I will eventually forget to look and see about when my bill is due and how much it is. I'm not always as organized as I have been lately.
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
22 Mar 11
Personally I think it really depends on the Bill. There is a couple of them I have elected to get the Bills or such electronically but trying to make sure I pay the right amount owed is always the trick sometimes with them as well. I think the Best thing is to just pay your bills and manage your checking etc, online... With my bank you can set up when you want your payments taken out for a Bill, etc which is a nice think to have for sure.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Mar 11
No, I haven't. Not yet. I can see how it would be more convenient. I like the float. Mail the check, it doesn't clear until the end of the week or whatever. But I can see how it would be really convenient to do it online.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
15 Mar 11
Saves a little money too.. no buying envelopes, stamps.. saves a few checks. Granted we're talking less than $1 to pay one bill.. but still.. just works out better for me to pay online. I still get the float too, it rarely takes the money out of the bank immediately.. usually it waits about 3 days.
1 person likes this
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
21 Mar 11
Yes I have.
Our set up here is in such a way that we could get an e-bill account from the post office website. I still of course get notification from my email account. And since my payslip is also an e-slip, I am forced to look into the post office account every payday, which makes me see if I have to pay the eletricity bill.
An advantage for me is that it lessens the paper clutter at home.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
21 Mar 11
I can see how less paper clutter would be a benefit. I still like the reminders though. Plus with my power company I've not yet figured out how to view my bill online, and I don't know if that's something that will change if I sign up for e-bills. Since I like looking at the bill and my usage, I don't want to change not being able to see that.
