It seems their goal is to get people to sign up for automatic payment. There are some people who are going to sign up for that. Not me. I like electronic payment, but I like to be in control of the process.
I find it interesting that there is no charge for mailing a paper check which has to be the most costly for them to process.
They say the fee is waived for folks who pay online via their bank's web site. They don't mention online bill pay via Quicken which it what I use for many payments, but not my Verizon bill. I've used an automatic payment for a while and never had a problem. I get an eMail about 3 weeks in advance of the due date that says when they will make the charge and for how much. Then on the due date the charge hits my Visa card and I get a "Thank You" eMail. That gives me plenty of time to contest any charges.
I pay several bills this way. I'm comfortable with the process as long as they charge my credit card on or near the due date. I won't allow anyone to hit my checking account nor will I set this up for vendors, like Comcast, who post the charge weeks before it's due.
