"Chris Cowles" <spam_magnet[at]remove-me-bellsouth.net> wrote in
news:ebdEaeiZIHA.3880[at]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl:

- quote -

Thanks for the info. It's not just that there would be surprises with
automatic drafts, but there have been times when I have not known how
much I wanted to pay, and times when my budget was so tight that I needed
to delay a payment as long as possible. And once or twice I even
depended on the local city utilites company who always took 10 days to
deposit any checks you wrote them.

Those days are mostly behind me now...

David

"David Walker" <none[at]none.com> wrote in message
news:OZYKNzhZIHA.4180[at]TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

- quote -

Other people share your view, but I'm comfortable giving large vendors
do it. For credit cards, you know well in advance how much it will be.
There should be no surprises.

- quote -

Yes, it varies by bank. Mine (multiple, primarily Chase) consider
anything paid into the account, including returns credited before the
bill due date. Long ago Discover did not, despite telling me they did.
I had just set up the automatic payment and was also told it would not
be effective until the next billing cycle. Wrong on both accounts.

I made a payment which reached the account before the billing date, on
which date they also drafted my checking. It was a large, and painful.
I stopped using Discover cards that day. They since have revised their
policies. I took advantage of it to flip some credit card balances
onto a teaser rate from them.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

"Chris Cowles" <spam_magnet[at]remove-me-bellsouth.net> wrote in
news:Obr3SbgZIHA.5900[at]TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl:

- quote -

I don't want lots of bills to draft my checking account. I would rather
do it myself.

I didn't know that card companies would cancel a scheduled minimum draft
if you pay more than that. Maybe I should look into this option. Does
the option vary depending on which Visa holding bank it is, for example?

And you think that the "paid using the address information" part is not
always the truth...

I still don't want to have to make sure that the mailing addresses are
always accurate. If a payee is a Visa or Master Card (or Discover or
American Express) all that MSN Bill Pay should need is the card number.
The address should be irrelevant...

Thanks for your comments.

David

"David Walker" <none[at]none.com> wrote in message
news:uUhwQLgZIHA.4696[at]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

- quote -

The offered that many versions ago but it didn't last long.

I don't have any problems with payments as you describe. I've found
that some initial payments may say 'paid with payee address' but the
third-party service eventually figures it out and lumps it in with
their electronic payee.

I avoid all of this by having the credit card draft my checking
account directly for either the full balance or minimum, depending on
my goal. There's only one card that I pay monthly that doesn't do
either. I have the minimum set to pay automatically, but my Debt
Reduction Plan pays increasing amounts each month. I do that with an
ePay. The scheduled minimum draft by the credit card bank cancels
itself because my ePay from my checking account bank exceeds that
amount. I have it scheduled just in case I forget. I don't want to pay
late fees or cause the account to lose the teaser rate, by not paying
on time.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

Money 2003: I believe that the notice "this payee is paid using the
address information" when setting up "MSN Bill Pay - Online Billing
Details" means that Checkfree/MSN Bill Pay actually prints out a check
and mails it to the payee, right?

It seems that, lately, my credit card companies have been changing their
remit-to address more frequently. With various cards of mine, and my
partner's, I end up having to double-check ALL of the payee addresses
every month, and changing one of them on average every other month or so.

This has become a frustration that I don't need. Especially since I have
opted to stop several paper bills, which makes the actual remit-to
mailing address a real chore to find.

Since I have two Chase cards, and I have one Citi card and my partner has
one, I name the payees with things like "{D Bord} Chase" to mark my
Borders Visa card (which is a Chase imprint).

Maybe because of this naming convention, Checkfree/MSN Bill Pay doesn't
seem to know that the payee is a Visa card. It seems silly that
Checkfree/MSN Bill Pay can't electronically pay all Visa and Master Card
bills instead of printing and mailing them a check. Weird!

So I have been toying with bill pay and e-bills on my Bank of America
site -- that's where my checking account is. They have next-day,
electronic delivery of payments to both El Paso Electric and City of Las
Cruces (gas & water), plus next-day electronic delivery of payments to
all Visa and Master Card accounts, plus e-bills from practically anyone.

OK, these have been my comments and not questions, but is there any way
to get electronic delivery of my Visa and Master Card bill payments from
MSN Bill Pay? I don't trust printed and mailed checks any more.

MS Money is still good for bill reminders and cash flow projections.

Any comments?

Thanks.

David Walker