No Credit Check Checking Account
I've been paying my utility bills via credit card over the phone, to
avoid check printing fees and postage fees. I'm moving in a month to
Boston, and the utility companies up there don't accept credit cards,
but said that they have "check by phone" payment. What is that? Do you
give a check #, etc or can they directly remove money from your checking
account? If it's the former, then I would still have to get a new stash
of checks printed soon. I have not used online bill payment before
either, but given that I only have 3 utility bills+2 credit card bills
to pay, I don't know if this would be a frugal alternative, since I
think that there's a monthly fee for these services.
I work in customer service and my employer accepts check by phone as
a payment method. Basically you grant the company one time permission to draft
your checking account for an amount you specify. However, be aware of fees! I
am required to charge customers $5 every time they pay with a check over the
phone. I have used check by phone once to pay my mortgage, and that particular
company charged me $12! If you happen to have a debit card (with the Visa or
MasterCard logo) that will draft from your checking account, use that instead.
There is almost never a fee associated with using a charge card (even if the
money is coming from your checking account) because Visa/MC pick up the tab.