You can't just cancel an automated draw on your bank account (paying, credit)

[don6170]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

That why I don't let ANYONE draw from my Checking account, I PUSH money to them. I don't let them Pull it.

Me too. There are too many horror stories of cable companies, mortgage companies, etc "forgetting" that they are no longer supposed to draft your account and restarting things. You are then left to fight to get your money back.

[Suncc49]

Tie it to you debit card if you must and then just cancel the debit card. But make sure you have notified whatever company you are cancelling.

[Threestep2]

You set up ACH arrangement with company A, company A drives the train, you have to deal with company A.

A bank will not get involved in a customer dispute with a company. A banking customer can request research on transactions but the dispute is between him/her and the company.

[freemkt]

Originally Posted by Lowexpectations

Another item of note 90%+ of my bill transaction go to my Amex not my bank. Overdrafts aren't an issue in that case, maybe look at rerouting your payments

Perhaps a reduction in spending would be in order.

[Petunia 100]

I use bill pay on my bank's website, and do push transactions only, never pull.

I set up every recurring bill possible to automatically charge my rewards card, and earn cash back on my electric bill, my water, sewer, garbage bill, my phone bill, etc.

It works for me.

[flyonpa]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Perhaps a reduction in spending would be in order.

90+% of My Spending goes on to my Credit Card, Pay it off each Month. Only Pay cash for item <$10 (and depending where I am I'll Charge items even less).

Keep me from carrying large amounts of cash. All my transaction are downloaded transaction by transaction into Quicken, So I can categorize every Thing I spend very easily.

For Cash item I try to use my Quicken App on my phone, but often forget to.

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Perhaps a reduction in spending would be in order.

Makes no sense.

I also put as much as I can on the CC - AND I pay it off weekly. So worth it for the perks.
That does not mean I have excessive spending at all.

[aus1ander]

Originally Posted by freemkt

Perhaps a reduction in spending would be in order.

I wish we could take away reputation points. Just because the poster charges 90% of his bills to his AMEX, which he likely pays off in full every month, does not mean he needs to reduce spending. I prefer autopayments to go to the credit card instead of ACH from my checking account because I get points for those recurring charges (which are paid off every 30 days in full).

I've never had problems with ACH payments. I use it for my monthly mortgage payments, utilities, and car payment. If you need to change something, you need to contact the entity that is pulling the money. Most of these are setup online and you can discontinue it through the same process.

[Delahanty]

Originally Posted by Weichert

Thats why I don't use automated bill pay. I do use one credit card for most purchases but don't even have automated payment with it.

Anything that comes out of my checking account I write a check for it. It only takes a few minutes each month and is worth the time to do so,

I've seen too many problems with automated computer systems over the years to trust them.

Same here. And we don't pay online, either. We use automated phone-pay.

[Sunbather]

I have done nearly solely automated billpay (with the exception of paying a local contractor by check or something) since I graduated college 7.5 years ago and pretty much have had 0 problems. I hear of "too many problems" but I never run across them myself. Super convenient for me.