Pay my bills?

[summer12601]

Is there a way to pay my bills without credit cards or checks?

If not,
Is there a service that will pay MY bills from THEIR account? So money can't be taken out for anything else except bills?

Please ... Let me know...

[Greebo]

Is there a way to pay my bills without credit cards or checks?

Yes. Online banking if you want to initiate the payments, or EFT transfers if you want the payee to initiate the payments (bad idea).

If not,
Is there a service that will pay MY bills from THEIR account? So money can't be taken out for anything else except bills?

I don't understand what you're asking for here...

[DonnainME]

I pay most of our bills online using our check (debit) cards and the companies website. I do this with my home phone, directv, electric, and cell bills.

[lwlynch]

I have never heard of any place. I guess you are asking that a place to pay your bills and not have any extra withdrawls (gov, collections, or just someone taking a double dip) I did hear of a long time ago, a friend of mine had an accountant that did that.
I think I would just set up a new account and keep just that amount in there for the bills and do it online. Just dont let anyone do a automatic withdrawl. ( I am not too fond of those)
just throwing my 2 cents in

[DonnainME]

I agree automatic withdrawls can get you into trouble. I'm pretty sure though, if someone if someone is taking money out of your account and you haven't authorized it, the bank can STOP it. You just have to contact your bank and tell them that you didn't authorize that withdrawl.

[mombottoo]

I'm with Greebo here, I really don't understand what you are asking...if you don't want to have a bank account then you will have to buy money orders & mail the bills out yourself. But, without a bank account you will most likely be charged a check cashing fee at the time you cash your check at the bank you use.

[Contrary Housewife]

You can usually pay your utilities in person. Sometimes local grocery or drug stores accept payments (our takes gas company payments), sometimes you have to go to the main office of the utility itself (like our electric service, or the cable company). I know around here I can pay my phone bill at a certain chain of title loan businesses, for a $1 service fee.

If you pay at the utility company in person they credit your account right away. If you use a 3rd party it generally takes 24 hours or more for them to transfer the money and credit you.

In any case, you should call ahead and find out what types of payment they accept, some will only take cash or money order if your account is really behind. Others might or might not let you pay with a check or debit card. You want to know before you get in line.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I use automatic withdrawal and I haven't had a problem with it, even starting with the mortgage. The banking system here is pretty good and they won't withdraw on bank holidays, weekends, etc. I'd say I pay 75% of our bills with automatic withdrawal. Now there is a catch to it: you have to budget in the A/W amount in advance. Depending on your bank and your account set-up, some banks will charge you for overdraft withdrawals and some places won't withdraw from the account, even if you have overdraft protection.

Both DH and I have ODP, even though we don't need it anymore. The ODP is primarily for CashBack, meaning that when we deposit a check then we're covered. My CashBack is $550, $50 more than my ODP amount. I never deposit a check of more than $550 into the machine anyways; I go into the bank during working hours and deposit it there. My bank takes six business days for checks to clear.

If we know that we're going to be short on a cheque, then we pull from the BEF or we use the CC to cover bills that we pay by online banking without the A/W, like our cell phone and our cable/internet/phone bills. Once we get the money, we'll put that amount that we charged back onto the card so that it's wiped and we're not charged interest before the next statement. We do this with YDS and his dental work, primarily because we get a reimbursement cheque within five business days and DH deposits it on his way home from work.

[spyzvixxen]

I come from a long line of check-cashing, at-store bill paying, money-order purchasing, non-bank account owning family. The IRS and collection agencies will still find you.

[Wendy99]

I agree I love online banking ... not sure what else you are asking ??

[LynnLC]

You can usually pay your utilities in person. Sometimes local grocery or drug stores accept payments (our takes gas company payments), sometimes you have to go to the main office of the utility itself (like our electric service, or the cable company). I know around here I can pay my phone bill at a certain chain of title loan businesses, for a $1 service fee.

If you pay at the utility company in person they credit your account right away. If you use a 3rd party it generally takes 24 hours or more for them to transfer the money and credit you.

In any case, you should call ahead and find out what types of payment they accept, some will only take cash or money order if your account is really behind. Others might or might not let you pay with a check or debit card. You want to know before you get in line.

Agree. My grocery store and other stores take payments for many types of bills.

[phoeny_moonstar]

I like many others do not fully understand what you are asking in your second question. I don't use any time of A/W or anything. I pay with my debit card at the place or online.

[winner]

I am paying my bills on-line for so many years, and never had a problem. Always make sure to write down the confimation number after you paid the bill. At the begining you might find it confusing, but after a while you will be gratefull. Paying on line will save you money and time.

[Lilolme]

I'm a little confused with the question myself! I just use my debit card to pay most of the bills, one time payment though. I have had numerous problems when doing the automatic withdrawal. It is good to hear that others have never had problems with automatic withdrawals.