[MONEY] Still Paying Bills With Paper Checks? - Comments Page 2

I try to refrain from using electronic payments because of three little words: HACK, HACK, and HACK.

My hubby and I live in the UK and neither of us has written a cheque (check) in ... years. We pay everything electronically. We do have a paper cheque book, but I'd actually have to dig it out. And we are both over 55.

While I do 99.9% of my paying via electronic methods, direct through company websites or via Bill Pay, there are still some isolated times where a good old paper check works best, usually at local businesses.

I also have some concerns with a third party service, such as Bill Pay, because if there is an issue of a payment being properly credited against your account you have to deal with that third party to get it resolved. I have a family member who is now retired but used to have to deal with that on a regular basis at her company.

But I do overall like the convenience and security electronic payments provide but I still have my checkbook as a backup.

I'm 75 and I have been a bill pay user for years and love the convenience - both automatic for recurring, fixed amounts and individual bills. I always sign-up for paperless, email billing, but I will never agree to the automatic deduction method of payment. As others have already pointed out, too many known potential pitfalls in that method.

I still pay 2 bills with checks and prefer to have the paper bill arrive in the mail as a reminder. Most of my bills are paid online, saving me the cost of checks. Eventually I will get the last 2 switched. The daughter's school is another story, checks work best there. Some places are cash or check only (like the estate sale I just went to), so I have to keep checks around for now.

Nothing on any computer connected to the internet is completely safe. Many of us have comprehensive hack and security prevention, but nothing including inscription.

I pay most bills electronically or have them auto-deducted, but I still use checks for donations and also to pay individuals.

I am 74 and pay majority of my bills electronically. However the City requires a paper Check, It charges for Money orders and $10.00 for credit cards. The State also requires a copy of my Paper check to obtain my Senior Citizen Home Rebate. Several Charitable organizations only accept Checks. maybe 3 or 4 checks per year at the most. I still require CC Companies and other such as Utilities must send me paper copies.

On two occasions I found charges totaling 0ver $500.00. For pizza deliveries to a neighbor kid. The Credit Card used never left my pocket. The Pizza Companies never asked to see the card.

The Mail Carrier deliver the bill to the wrong house. We have different mail carrier almost every day and some just put the mail out on the front step. I have had a Mailbox on my Screen Door for over 37 tears The regular carriers know if the inside door is unlocked they open it and place the packages on the inside on the Porch.

I see this ad on the top of this page.
Checks from $3.99
LOL

I'm all for paperless. Last time I bought checks the bank charged me $50 for 200. That is the last time I pay for checks. We just moved and it was $93 (canadian) for postal forwarding. We don't get two meaningful pieces of mail per month. Now to get businesses on board with electronic tax forms then I'd be free of the postal service completely.

57 here.

I've used online payment methods for as long as they've been available, but I also keep a paper checkbook, just in case. If I want to send a check, but I don't want to write it myself, I use BillPay (Wells Fargo), which does it for me.

But now there's this:

https://checkbook.io/

"No more paper, just send Digital Checks ™, for free."

I'm not sure I get the point of it, really, but it seems simple enough to use.

Bob, I agree paper checks are on their way out. But, and it's a big B-U-T, for those of us who are expats and reside overseas, and especially in third world or developing countries, doing away with checks means bringing in technology almost across the board in towns and villages that simply may not have the expertise or resources to deal with it. It's not always as simple a matter as doing an interbank transfer. If checks go away, the avenues available to us as expats may either be exorbitant, or even politically, a nightmare.

There is a couple of places I go to that will only take cash or checks, no debut or credit cards. They are small businesses and it cost them extra money to use these services. There is one good thing about paying bills online. If a paper check has to be sent to a place and it is lost in the mail, most banks doesn't charge you a stop payment fee. When something is paid, you can set things up with your bank, letting you know the moment it was paid.

For the most part, I pay by computer. While I am sure there are problems with that, there are greater problems with paying by check. Sometimes, I pay by check, though, because I doubt some companies have set their websites up right. It's a matter of them not being in the computer age, not me.

Mail paper checks-help the Post Office out!! Since the government stopped mailing out checks the PO has declined and is almost ready to go out of business.

There are a few things that I use a check for. I use them when I'm concerned the person/company might use my credit card or bank account info to automatically re-charge me for another year's subscription or membership.I've never had them do that if I paid by check.

I find it interesting so many respondents are more afraid of hackers than mail being lost or stolen. I wonder what the actual numbers are. I use my banks bill pay option as well as some business' auto pay features. I write checks very infrequently, maybe three or four times a year. It is almost always easier just grabbing cash from the ATM or using debit or credit card than carrying around a checkbook. Besides as someone above pointed out, checks are ridiculously expensive for anything that looks nice.

I am one of those "over 55" & do all my business y paper checks. I have no plans to change. When I read recently how the IRS had been invaded & all the thousands of people had their information stolen, that just showed me no where is completely safe.

I am 58. I still have a checkbook. I use it every week to give to my religious institution. I don't know they have a way to get anything besides checks and money. I like checks so I can keep track of my contributions. I also need to use a check when a vendor coming to my house has no way of taking a credit card. All that being said, I pay most all of my bills electronically. It is also really irritating when I go to use my credit card and they charge me a "convenience" fee.

I'm hitting the double nickels myself in a couple of months! I've used e-pay and setup auto-payments years ago with my bank. This not only saved me the time, it also ensured my bills are always paid on time, especially when I travel.

I do write two checks a year to my piano tuner who doesn't take plastic.