Late arriving Cellular Bill - Am I culpable?

[JustinH]

I worked for a bank for 5 years, I know how payments are received to a Lockbox.

Payments go directly to the bank in most cases, not to the vendor.

Presenting a one time check to a vendor does not give authorization to draw the account again.

I would be interested to see an online bill pay check, and see if it actually has the payers bank account on there or not. I'm not sure if some banks use an escrow account to get the money to the vendor to protect their customer. This part I do not remember, it has been at least 4 years since I was in banking.

Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Originally Posted By: JustinH
I like paper bills for everything also. I use my online bill pay to send the company a paper check in the mail, it works fantastic.

This way no company has my debit card number, or access to draw money from my account.

My bank sends them a paper check.

For cell phone service we pay them with paypal because they don't accept checks, again they never have my debit card number or bank info.



Do you know what happens once they receive that paper check? They run it through a machine that reads your routing and account numbers off the check, and then your payment gets processed electronically just like it would if you paid online.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
I worked for a bank for 5 years, I know how payments are received to a Lockbox.

Payments go directly to the bank in most cases, not to the vendor.

Presenting a one time check to a vendor does not give authorization to draw the account again.

Not trying to pick an argument although I have been known to do that. Why would the check not go to the vendor when that is where you send it? Also I have gone to a retail place a number of years ago and they scanned the Routing and Acount # to verify I had the funds so really the genie is already out of the box...before you even pay.

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: Al
Also I have gone to a retail place a number of years ago and they scanned the Routing and Acount # to verify I had the funds so really the genie is already out of the box...before you even pay.


The account verification is not a universal requirement though.
This is a service because that vendor doesn't want to accept checks that might be bad.

This maybe because a retail place is not equipped to deal with the hassle of handling with bad checks and hounding a customer to get payment for an order; or their item back. That is not the business they want to focus on.

Other companies that have a recurring service or deal with Accounts that have transactions over long periods of time, may decide they are equipped to deal with bad checks, and so decide they will not pay for verification service and skip over that.
So instead they will take your bad check, and just tack on penalties to your balance-which may exceed their NSF fee. At the same time, your bank may also tack on a penalty to you as well for the NSF fee.

For the question on the Lockbox: I encourage you to google banking Lockbox and it will fully explain the purpose of this mechanism.

 

[Cutehumor]

I know walmart will run the check electronically when you pay with a paper check. so, the money is taken out instantly.

 

[Subdued]

Originally Posted By: SumpChump
#lowexpectationsforcorporations
#ninetypercentofsheepleagree

Sounds like you need to probably move to a mountain somewhere and live completely off the grid

 

[KrisZ]

I fully agree with OP here and do not understand all the backlash from others.
It's a very simple concept. I have a service agreement with a provider, I use the services and they send me a bill each month telling me how much I used and how much I owe them and then I pay the said amount. It's a really simple concept that some california lawyers here are trying to make complicated for some odd reason.

If the bill gets in late, they will get the payment late and I will refute any late charges coming in on the next bill.
I don't really care what they have in fine print on the bill because they can add/change it at any point in time, so if they play that card, the services get terminated immediately. They get their late fees, but lose the customer. Again, a simple concept that when presented with, usually gets rid of any extra charges, if not then it's bye, bye.

And before all the "holier than thou" comments that I'm playing games come in, if I'm late with the payment because it's my fault, then I pay the late fees. I have no problems with that.

Edit:
Part of the reasons I do not have any pre-authorized payments, except for my mortgage, and prefer a paper bill is because I do not have to fight for my own money to get it back. All corporations are all too quick to take the money from you, but drag their heels when it comes to giving it back. They will try to give you their store credits, points and other useless stuff, but not your money.
By having no pre-authorized payments, I have full control of what I pay them.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Subdued
Originally Posted By: SumpChump
#lowexpectationsforcorporations
#ninetypercentofsheepleagree

Sounds like you need to probably move to a mountain somewhere and live completely off the grid

Its hard to troll off-line.