NO automatic payments!

[grsthegreat]

i use auto pay on cellular bill for one reason only. american express gives me 5% rebate if i do. never been an issue.

 

[Jchonline]

Am I the only one who doesn't allow these? I have done so in the past with disastrous results... on one occasion I had to close out my checking account to stop them. That was years ago yet it now seems to be normal... I still can't bring myself to do it.
I would rather pay a year in advance than give somebody unlimited access to my finances.
Among other things I have to wonder how many people are paying for "services" they stopped using long ago. Granted that's their fault for not paying attention to their statements, yet still isn't right.
I've even had "exit questionaires" with that as one of the questions. Sirius for one, yet they still haven't done away with it, despite trying to get me back for the last 3 years.
I signed up for access to the local newspaper, not realizing I was agreeing to automatic withdrawals. It turns out that what they consider "news" is mostly opinion, and I get better local news from my MSN news feed. Go figure...

I only do auto payments from my credit card. Never my bank accounts.

Another option is a pure online payment system such as Paypal. With that you can cancel any "subscriptions" or auto withdrawals from the website. However with Paypals most recent policy change stunt I cancelled the account immediately. I had it for 12 years. Not putting up with that ridiculousness.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

We pay most bills online, but NO auto payments.
Anything we purchase local is done in cash same day of purchase.

 

[/pine]

What irks me is...most companies charge you to send you any type of (hard copy) bills or statements etc...even if you pay automatically and request a hard copy receipt they charge you for it...!

Like McDonald's charging $1.50 to use the drive thru...!

 

[newbury]

Some time last year the USPS announced that first class mail would not be delivered as quickly as we have/had been used to...

That is part of Dejoy's plan to privatize the Postal Service

 

[drssg]

You must go to work automatically too

A lot of people work from home these days, and paychecks are usually on automatic direct deposit. If management got sloppy, a guy could cease to exist, and his financial life would live on!

 

[scootr]

A lot of people work from home these days, and paychecks are usually on automatic direct deposit. If management got sloppy, a guy could cease to exist, and his financial life would live on!

Not if my wife got hold of it

 

[Lastkidpicked]

There is one advantage to automatic payments. When we had to take over bill paying for ageing parents, automatic payments were truly a lifesaver. No way could we have kept track of all of that each month.

I haven't had any bad experiences, but I'm also very reluctant to allow automatic payments. I have used sort of a sacrificial checking account that contains just enough money to pay the bills.

This is exactly what we do. That way if there is fraud, our loss would be limited.

 

[seville009]

i use auto pay on cellular bill for one reason only. american express gives me 5% rebate if i do. never been an issue.

Similar situation, but Verizon gives me the discount for using automated payments.

They also notify me 11 days in advance as to what the withdrawal will be, so I have time to review or contest it.

 

[ljjhouser]

No, you are not. But today, you are right. Even using security software required Auto Renewal at purchase. For and of those types of purchases (and most others) I look for a "cancel auto renewal" policy and instructions to do so. Then I ask How to cancel XXXX subscription. If many say it is easy, do this, or many say - it is a nightmare" ....That makes the decision. The same is with Disney Plus, Netflix, etc.

And yes, I have been stuck - with Serus XM - had to cancel and change credit card number. They continued to bill AFTER I request cancellation. I will NEVER subscribe to them again.