Pensieri di un lunatico minore

Why online bill-payment sucks

Overall, I’m reasonably happy with Chevy Chase Bank. They have, in general, not dicked me over, screwed up my account, or otherwise done what every other bank has managed to do. I’ve been with them for 8+ years, and so far, so good.

That is, until it comes to electronic bill presentment and payment. You see, I’m lazy. I want most of my regular, predictable bills to get paid automatically by the bank. So, I sign up for electronic bill presentment, and this works fine. But, some people, like Verizon and State Farm Insurance, either don’t provide a “due date” or it’s not formatted correctly, and so my “auto-pay” feature doesn’t work. Ever. Rather than just assume that I want to pay it “immediately” when it shows up, or asking me what to do with that category of bills, it simply ignores my settings and I have to pay it manually.

This is bad design. Obviously multiple parties are at fault, but the bank is, in the end, responsible for performing my wishes.