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> How many utilities, credit card companies require a checking account for autopay? In my experience, this is getting better! I now have all but one of my bil
by rootusrootus 5y ago
> How many utilities, credit card companies require a checking account for autopay?
In my experience, this is getting better! I now have all but one of my bills being paid by my credit card. Used to be that the utility companies made you pay extra and use a third party service if you wanted to use your credit card.
Not all, though. Verizon, for example, will let you pay with a credit card, but they give a substantial discount if you use a debit card instead. For obvious reasons. I hope that does not become normal. I'm used to Verizon being scummy, I hope it doesn't become the default behavior for the other utilities I pay for.
- Symbiote 5y agoThe US needs an automatic bill payment system with strong guarantees. In Britain, most people¹ pay bills (electricity, water, phone, internet, insurance, car loan, credit card etc) by "Direct Debit"². (Most European countries have a similar system with similar guarantees, but this one is described in English.) If anything should go wrong, the bank must fix it. There's a list of direct debits in the bank's interface, and they can be cancelled/suspended with one click (or by phoning or going to the bank). It isn't perfect (see 3 from two weeks ago) but that sort of problem is rare enough that it was reported in newspapers. ¹ "Direct Debits are used by nine in ten UK consumers to pay some or all of their regular bills". ² https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Dir... ³ https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/03/tsb-customers-double-charged-due-to-technical-error---here-s-wha/ https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/03/tsb-customers...