Utility bills? Do they still exist?

[rds100]

As you know some hosts ask for a scanned utility bill as a way to verify your address. But i wondered - what kind of utility bills do people have?

I for instance don't receive any utility bills on paper. I pay the electricity and water bills online. I don't have a phone in my name, but pay my wife's phone bill online too. Even my bank statements are online, i don't receive those on paper either.

So do you guys still receive utility bills on paper? Do these ever exist? I imagine it varies by country...

 

[MannDude]

Water and electric bill are still issued to me on paper.

Electric bill is addressed to my landlord actually, so I just give him cash money. Water bill I don't pay each month and usually wait 2 or 3 months until I get the shutoff notice and pay it online in one lump sum since it's usually only like $30/mo.

Aside from that, most bills are done online. Car insurance and stuff is paperless. I do all my banking online though I still get monthly statements from my credit union that I never open and instead just rip up or cut up and toss out. I wouldn't mind a paper shredder though...

 

[fastboxes]

Here even if you pay your bill online you can still download a PDF version of your utility bill.

 

[Steven F]

Water and electric bill are still issued to me on paper.

Electric bill is addressed to my landlord actually, so I just give him cash money. Water bill I don't pay each month and usually wait 2 or 3 months until I get the shutoff notice and pay it online in one lump sum since it's usually only like $30/mo.

Aside from that, most bills are done online. Car insurance and stuff is paperless. I do all my banking online though I still get monthly statements from my credit union that I never open and instead just rip up or cut up and toss out. I wouldn't mind a paper shredder though...

Why not set up auto-pay?

 

[drmike]

I refuse to accept digital billing.

I get attempts to lure me into such all the time.  Get $10 credit for going paperless. Blah!

Paperless means things can and will change.  Like  policies elsewhere online, so will companies you owe money, if you let them.  Me I have the papers to refer to and bust them if I am feeling ambitious.  The hall of records for their misdeeds.

Pretty easy to slide in all sorts of skimming in a digital-only billing arrangement.  Utilities and related IOU debt companies aren't exactly the most honest lot of folks.   Regulation happened due to their insanity on many fronts.

PS: I read the title hoping to read about some way to eliminate by electric bill.  Oh well!

 

[serverian]

I refuse to accept digital billing.

1990s called.

 

[KuJoe]

I try to switch to paperless for everything but my wife still likes the bills to be mailed to us for our own records. Every single thing that has a paperless (online) bill offers me a PDF version that I can download/print out easily but most of the time I can just use my driver's license as proof for purchasing online services if needed (only ever needed to do this twice, one for a dedicated server I ordered while spending a week at Cisco's office in Georgia and the other was when my Battle.Net account got hacked and they needed proof to update my e-mail address).

 

[DomainBop]

As you know some hosts ask for a scanned utility bill as a way to verify your address. But i wondered - what kind of utility bills do people have?

Almost all hosts will accept a .pdf of your online statements (utility or bank). 

The only company I've ever dealt with that wouldn't accept an online statement was Moneybookers/Skrill.  If you don't have a paper bank statement they require you to fill out this form and have it signed by your bank (at least for US customers they do).

 

[RTGHM]

All bills I get in todays age is electronic. If a company asks me for it, I just print it, take a photo, send it.

 

[Joshua-Epic]

I myself enjoy online billing. Less clutter in the mail to deal with and makes it easier for my accountant to keep track of.

 

[rds100]

 Water bill I don't pay each month and usually wait 2 or 3 months until I get the shutoff notice and pay it online in one lump sum since it's usually only like $30/mo.

Isn't this bad for your "credit"? I know you americans are very dependent on your credit score.

 

[drmike]

1990s called.

Oh, I indeed remember the 1990's  Heck I remember decades before the 90's.

 

[iWF-Jacob]

The only bill I still receive via snail mail is the electric bill; that being said all of my bills that I receive online you're able to create a PDF of..

 

[KuJoe]

Isn't this bad for your "credit"? I know you americans are very dependent on your credit score.

Credit is good for certain things but it's not critical unless you depend on credit. I'm not sure if utilities are reported to credit agencies though, maybe if you have an outstanding balance and then move you might but I've never heard of utilities impacting your credit score (good or bad). Then again, I've read that cell phone bills are reported so maybe utilities are also.

 

[TruvisT]

I refuse to accept digital billing.

I get attempts to lure me into such all the time.  Get $10 credit for going paperless. Blah!

Paperless means things can and will change.  Like  policies elsewhere online, so will companies you owe money, if you let them.  Me I have the papers to refer to and bust them if I am feeling ambitious.  The hall of records for their misdeeds.

Pretty easy to slide in all sorts of skimming in a digital-only billing arrangement.  Utilities and related IOU debt companies aren't exactly the most honest lot of folks.   Regulation happened due to their insanity on many fronts.

PS: I read the title hoping to read about some way to eliminate by electric bill.  Oh well!

Same. I like paper trails for my record sakes. Can't touch local copies.

I actually know many people, several as our clients, who hate anything electronic wise.

On a side note, which hosts have ever asked for a utility bill? 

 

[nunim]

... On a side note, which hosts have ever asked for a utility bill? 

Pretty sure OVH asks for a utility bill to remove VAT for non-euro residents, however you're able to substitute something else.

Almost all of my bills are electronic, I've begun moving my wife over to online payment for her cards and whatnot but she's old school in that area and likes to pay the bills in person

 

[danielm]

Pretty sure OVH asks for a utility bill to remove VAT for non-euro residents, however you're able to substitute something else.

They asked for one when I ordered one of their cheap .ovh domains and they didnt seem to like that what I gave them was digital, not paper.

 

[MannDude]

Why not set up auto-pay?

For the same reason I don't do VPS payment subscriptions. I just like being in control and paying for things when I want to pay for them. It helps me comprehend and know exactly where my money is going and lets me see the bill before my money just disappears, which lets me catch any errors that may exist.

Isn't this bad for your "credit"? I know you americans are very dependent on your credit score.

No idea. I don't have any credit cards and last time I tried to check my credit score there was insufficient data to even populate a score. If I can't afford it with cash, then I don't buy it.

 

[trewq]

No idea. I don't have any credit cards and last time I tried to check my credit score there was insufficient data to even populate a score. If I can't afford it with cash, then I don't buy it.

Won't that be a bad thing when you need a mortgage for a house?

 

[Joshua-Epic]

Won't that be a bad thing when you need a mortgage for a house?

It very well could be but then again, when you depend on cash instead of credit, it makes for more responsible spending habits. I myself only have 1 credit card for personal and only 1 for business. If we cant pay for whatever we want upfront, its not something we absolutely need.