UNITED STATES—I am a paper bill guy. I have always been, and I think I always will be. Why? I don’t get surprises or hidden fees that I miss. A lot of these companies love to toss this paperless billing crap, especially the save the environment people, by eliminating a paper bill in the mail. Think carefully before you make that choice. I had a company once sign me up for paperless billing and I never received an email or alert of my bill each month. That did annoy me quite a bit to say the least, when you ask the company about it, you get nothing.
It is like c’mon already, you have to do your job and proper diligence to ensure your customers are taken care of. I get it; I understand why people don’t like paper bills though because you run into a situation where you have all this mail, and you have to review it or ensure your personal information once you’ve reviewed what you need to know is properly discarded. This is why they have paper shredders. Yes, we need to save the environment, but at the same time I need to ensure my financial safety as well.
Just because you can do everything electronically nowadays, I don’t think it is the smartest thing in the world to do. You would be stunned at the number of Americans who have NO IDEA what their monthly bills are. No, I’m not talking about the various bills you pay; I’m referring to the actual amount you pay each month. There are plenty of companies that attempt to charge you surprise and hidden fees. Fees that you don’t know about and fees that don’t even make sense most of the time. When you call out the company it is a struggle to get the answers explaining what you’re paying for. Not to mention you could be charged for something you don’t even use or don’t even need. So now what?
There is a lack of transparency with a lot of companies. They are not going to tell the consumer the full truth because it hurts their pockets. It is like going to the grocery store and not checking your bill before you leave. Why? It leaves you realizing you could have been overcharged on multiple items and guess what, the grocer is not going to say anything if you’re not saying anything. Your electric, gas, telephone, insurance company and a host of others will do the same thing and you turn a blind eye.
Take a close look at your monthly bills. Ensure things are accurate and you’re not being over charged for a service that you are paying for. That is becoming more notable for those dealing with those streaming services where the prices are rising each month, and you tend to see you’re being charged for a service twice or something that was ‘added’ in without your approval or notice in advance. Companies are sneaky when it comes to money. The more they can make the better it is for their bottom line, even if it hurts yours.
