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How long does "Pay with Check Pay" take?

Perry Smith

I did my first "Pay with Check Pay" to State Farm on July 1st. They still do not have the check. How long should I wait before I give up and find another path to pay them? What are the experiences of others?

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jrich75

I have done some test mailings. One took about six days to reach a mid size west coast community. A couple others took 8 and 10 days to reach addresses in Hawaii. I'm not sure where they originate but the mailings had a postal permit from Denver. Also, you need to consider when it is initiated, I processed a check payment on July 4th and of course it didn't get mailed until the 6th. They do provide a date range for estimated delivery which seems a little excessive to me but since they rely on USPS, it's understandable.

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jrich75

Perry Smith

Ahh... good point. If the 3rd was a holiday, its just been 3 business days (not counting today yet).

UKR

After this check has been processed by State Farm, may I suggest you consider authorizing State Farm to automatically electronically debit your insurance bill from your checking account or a credit card account on due date.

This will ensure they get paid on time. No lost or late payments in the mail. No surprises with the bill pay service. And all you have to do in Quicken is to record a scheduled reminder in the chosen checking or card account on or before Due Date.

That's how I handle most of my recurring billing. Doing it this way, I haven't had problems in many years ... unlike a recent check payment which I mailed, only to have it lost somewhere on the way.

Perry Smith

I try not to allow others to pull from my checking. Ancient events with eBay but such an experience lingers a long time.

I let my electric and AmEx "pull" from my checking. Everything else I push from my checking to them. I don't actually "know" for sure that there is any real difference but I think there is

I'm pretty content using the credit union's web site but was trying Quicken to see. And... shame on me, I should have been making this test with State Farm almost a month ago. And, indeed, I was but kept trying to get "Quick Pay" to work. State Farm is listed kept failing on the "link" step. Then someone finally figured out that State Farm doesn't work with Quick Pay. Then I forgot until July 1st -- and here I am.

Chris_QPW

Perry Smith said:

I try not to allow others to pull from my checking.

Then have them pull from your credit card instead.

Like @UKR I have been used automatic payments instead of "bill pay" for more than 20 years without a problem, but using a credit card over a checking account has several advantages.

Credit card payments can be disputed much easier than check account payments.
Checks written and not cashed, can't really be "voided" by law (look at your check there isn't a "valid until date"), so if one goes "missing" there is always a chance that it will get cashed in the future.
It gives me between 20 and 30 days to know what I'm going to have to pay, and it is all in one lump sum so it makes cash flow much easier.
I get cash back on that credit card.

I do have a few bills that come out of my checking account for bills that I can't pay from a credit card like the credit card itself and my utility bills.

Of course it does make for a very "boring" bill paying experience. Where all I'm doing is making sure that I have enough money transferred to the checking account at the right time.

Perry Smith

Interesting ... I have a couple services charge my credit card directly. And I've paid my State Farm with my (now defunct) State Farm credit card but I've never thought about paying it with my AmEx card. Next State Farm bill, I'll see if I can do that.

You are correct about some of the features of paying things with the CC.

Dean Mechler

Nobody gets to withdraw funds automatically from my accounts.

Chris_QPW

Dean Mechler said:

Nobody gets to withdraw funds automatically from my accounts.

Are you so sure that is true?
What about the third party bill pay system?

It is certainly a person choice. Just as struggling with "Bill Manager" to pay bills is a personal choice. One that I personally would never do.