Many of us have elderly parents and/or other elderly relatives who are basically shut-ins. Although they still live independently, we often pay their bills online using our debit or credit cards.Their accounts are not registered online. They don't have Iphones, computers nor cellphones of any kind. Many still have the old-fashioned landline phones. And that works for them. These individuals are basically shut-ins, who are rarely able to regularly venture outside, except for doctor's appointments, limited grocery shopping, etc.
Today I went online, as I've done for a while now, looking for the guest option where you don't have to sign in, to pay an elderly relative's cable service bill.
One of the highlights of their day is being able to watch CNN on the cable station. At over 90, the relative still lives alone, cooks their own meals often and basically remains independent. Today, however, the "pay as guest" option was no longer there.
I looked and looked/clicking on this link, that link, any link, in an attempt to pay as a guest, but it appears guest option wasn't there. I tried the online chat, but I don't think it was a live person. Chat kept telling me I needed to sign in to an account, using ID/password in order to receive any assistance. There is no online account registered. Just the old-fashioned paper bill in the mail. Then attempting to pay online, as I've been doing for over a year now.
I don't want to set up auto-pay through my bank or use a credit card. Autpay, especially when set up through the company, can be even more frustrating when attempting to shut down. It took me nearly three months in another situation to shut off autopay on a personal bill. Even then I had to reactivate an old social media account I hadn't used in over a decade in order to get to a live person. The system kept charging my credit card - although the service was supposed to have ended three months prior. None of their online links to end the service worked. The contact phone number wasn't any better. Worse actually.
I'd read about people who set up to have money automatically deducted from their bank accounts or pay automatically using their credit cards, having their bank accounts go into default and their credit cards maxed out, but I didn't believe it until it nearly happened to me. Therefore, I'm especially leery of using auto-pay. I pay my own bills online manually. I don't even transfer money automatically. Manually only for me.
Although some companies offer all kinds of perks and discounts if you set up auto-pay through them. That extra five or six dollars you save upfront can end up costing you hundreds, thousands even in the end. And don't even think about dying. If your family doesn't have access to your info through the company to shut down the payments, the banks don't either and both your credit card and bank account will continue to pay the bills until there's nothing left in the account, and any credit cards are maxed out. It's my understanding. At least I was once told, your bank only retains the information when you set up payment through them and not the company. Even then, someone will need to know or have access in order to alert the bank or your departure from earth.
Sorry to get off on a tangent, maybe not, or rain on anyone's parade. But it's been a frustrating day. Something that normally takes less than a few minutes to do, ended up taking much longer. I ended up going to the local Western Union to pay my relative's cable bill service. Which cost $1.50 extra. That's not the issue. The issue is, not everyone has access to technology. Especially the elderly, and wouldn't understand it much if they did. So there needs to be other options available when paying bills and understanding that the person paying the account may be doing so for someone else. And that's why "pay as guest" is needed.
Brenda Washington