Today's How To or Rather How Not To

Don't worry, we haven't stopped remodeling House#1.  We're just a non-photogenic point.  How many times can you take a picture of a 2x4? 

Instead I will give you a little lesson.  Today's lesson involves paying bills. 

I am the bill payer in the house.  Not that Walt Kowalski can't, but I have taken over the role because most of the bills are paid online.  Which. I. Love.  I am online more of the day than he is.  I was one of the first to jump on the online banking bandwagon. 

I love being able to set up a pay date and check the next day to make sure the money is out of (or into) the account.  I can time when the bills are paid.  This also means that I wait and pay a bill on the *exact* day it is due. 

I can pay the bills from either account.  The truck payment comes out of Walt Kowalski's account and the electric bill comes out of mine. 

It is also convenient because Grammy can call and say "I missed the mailman, would you pay my gas bill?"  Click, click, click, done.

At my bank, the bills take a day to pay.  If the bill is due on the 4th, the money comes out at close of business on the 3rd.

I had a $217.77 bill for the department store (lots of Christmas presents) due on Tuesday, February 4th.  I left it sitting on my desk so I would pay it first thing Monday morning.  As it turns out, Monday, February 3rd was the day of the BIG snow (one of them).  Work was closed!  Woo hoo!

I didn't think about the bill until Tuesday morning.  Crap.  Now the bill will be a day late. 

That's fine.  Tuesday morning, I set up a $217.77 payment.  Just like it was planned, the bill was paid the next day. 

Fast forward, 10 days.  Walt Kowalski brings up the mail and inside is a bill from the department store.    Hmmmm, we haven't been shopping since.  Crap, and double crap, it's a bill for the late fee.  25 smackers for a late fee and a reminder that the bill was now over due.  Now the bill has totaled up to $242.77.

My desire to pay on the due date has bitten me in the butt.

The payment and the paper bill must have crossed in the mail AND I'll probably still have that late fee, which totally ate up part of the coupon savings in the first place. I'm still mad at myself.  (Mentally, I'm thinking of a way to "earn back" that $25 in late fees.)

Everyday for the last week, when we returned home from work, there was a missed call from the department store.  Wow, they must really want their late fee. 

Today there was an email from the department store about an unpaid bill, late fee and now service charges and interest.  Now the past due bill is up to $248.77.

This makes no sense.  16 days later I'm still getting correspondence about the bill that was due on the 4th and paid on the 5th?

I logged into the banking site and I can clearly see that I made a payment and the payment was withdrawn from the account on the 5th. 

What is going on?  I am getting notices that the bill is still due yet the money was withdrawn from the account.

Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. Maybe two ton of bricks.

The shopping trip prior to Christmas was with Grammy.  She had the 30% off coupon and put everything on her account.  When the bill arrived, I paid the bill on her account.

Her account. 

*sigh*  I paid on time.  I just selected the wrong account from the list. 

After, I figured out the problem, I spoke with the department store and they were kind enough to drop the late fee and service charge.

I paid the correct bill this time. 

Grammy now has a $217.77 credit on her account.  Anyone want to go shopping?