If you use a Bill pay service, do you ever have problems with it?

[politicat]

Here's the situation: I've been using my bank's Bill payment system since October, 2000, so 6.5 years now. We average about 10 Bill pay transactions a month, because given the choice between writing a check and messing with my computer, the latter wins. So in those 770 transactions, we've had 6 that have not worked right -- the check didn't arrive, or didn't get deposited, or whatever. Normally, I'd consider a less than 1% error rate to be pretty dang good.

Except... that all 6 of those transactions that didn't work right were with the same company -- our property management company (that runs the HOA, our water service, parking management, common areas service, etc.) We've been with them since November 2001, so 64 transactions. Now the error rate is up to about 10%, and that worries the hell out of me. (In part because they can boot or tow my car, turn off our water, or file a lien against us if they think we should be paying them.)

Every time we have one of these problems, I can usually go in and complain, show documentation that they did the screwing up, and get them to behave (though not grovel, much to my displeasure) and amend their records, but every time I get the same response: "Well, if you'd just drop off a check, we wouldn't have this problem."

Now I don't believe that. The mail and the checks come to the same place, and in fact, my check is usually there early (it's due on the 5th, but I have it sent on the 22nd of the prior month, so it's usually there by the 1st.) Plus, if I go through my bank, I know for a certainty that they will get their money (if they bother to deposit the check) because the bank moves billpay funds into an escrow account as soon as the check is issued -- there is no possible way that the check can bounce if it goes through the billpay system (not that this is a problem, but I have heard paypal horror stories, and federal IRS horror stories and even horror stories about local cops freezing bank accounts erroneously thinking that there's drugs involved. If such happens, the LAST thing I need to be worried about is my HOA cutting off my water.)

Every other company gets their checks on time and without a hitch. So should I be really insisting that the property management company come into the 20th century and learn to handle their mail, or just give in and write a dumb check every month (and incidentally, get involved in the HOA and get these morons sacked?)

[trof]

1. Need a little more info

However...
If the HOA hired this manager to run things, I'd complain to the HOA board of directors, if there is one.

[politicat]

2. What information do you need?

My life's an open book.

The HOA didn't hire the manager, they contracted with a property management company who hired a part time office person (since there are only 100 or so households in our community, we're considered small.) So what we'd probably have to do is get the HOA to officially complain to the parent property management company, and then get the parent pmc to do something.

[grace0418]

3. Tell them to get with this century. Online bill-pay is not going anywhere.

If it's not you, other folks will be doing the same thing. Online payments are getting more and more popular.

I've been paying all my bills that way for as long as you have. The only problem I ever had was with the management company from whom we rent garage space. Part of the problem was that my husband and I have different last names and while he rented the garage, I pay the bills. I do wish the bank would allow both our names on the payment (like on our actual checks). Every month they would get a check from me, deposit it, but not know what it was for (even though I list the garage address in the memo), and not bother to figure it out. Every month we would get a late notice and a charge. Every month I'd have to call and get them to dig up the check and rectify the situation.

They tried to give me that "well, just send a real check" attitude as well and I wasn't going to give in. I ended up dealing with the accounting supervisor to get the problem fixed.

I will say that when I send payments to individuals for things, I make sure to tell them in advance that they're going to be getting a check directly from my bank and it will look a little like junk mail. Several folks have thanked me for warning them because they did indeed initially think it was junk until they remembered what I said.