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* I manage finances on line and by using DD don't have to worry about bills. Use Papal a lot.
*never been pressurised but as I do most things online would not worry me so no pressure.
*yes paper should remain, including cheques! for those that need it. Also talking bills for those with sight problems.
*the use of any paperless system makes it more inflexible and unable to cope with the exceptions that prove the rule! Need to be able to talk to humans with the authority to make changes, to cope with the exceptions.

I have been managing most of my financial affairs online for ages, not really encountering any difficulties apart from needing to keep a secret checklist of passwords! Just spent an annoying couple of hours, however, having to devise new passwords after following Apple's instructions to rid myself of an annoying 'malware ad' that popped up all over the place. The jargon confused me!! Easily done...

I prefer paper billing because my broadband connection is unreliable and I like to see everything on paper

companies want me to be online and try to pressurise me by charging more for paper bills

I do feel the right to receive paper bills should be protected by regulation because not everyone goes online

If paper bills are phased out entirely this will be a problem for people without internet access

I agree that there are still many reasons for keeping paper billing especially the need for paper proof of ID and the fact that many people do not have internet access and should not be penalised for this.
However personally I prefer to keep it on line. The amount of paper shredding I had to do after my father died was immense and required the purchase of a new shredder to cope. A big burst of decluttering at home resulted in many more sacks of confetti. I find it so much easier to have it all online, if I can remember all the wretched passwords of course!

do you not notice they are disposing of staff too; as well as papers and `shops' where one could go into to pay bills and make inquiries, plus complain??

only phone numbers for any service these days, no face to face!
nothing is personal , yet they try to tell us they care about how we feel ??

this is also happening with the rules and laws being handed out by the European union; they wish to tell us how we should live here in our ENGLAND;

ITS OUR MONEY - OUR LIVES- WE CHOSE!

Petallus, did it make you jump?!

Fuck me! - wrong thread.

Not clever

Get off your high horse. It Wasn't meant to be clever. It was a mistake.

GN can always delete it. [shrug]

I agree that you should be able to choose how you do your banking etc. My husband does ours online but I dont have a clue how to go about it should he go first!

Eventually I feel we will all have to be computer literate, we will have to do what we're told because it will be easy for 'them' and there will be less choice. This will happen whether we like it or not - we will have driverless trains and a new runway at Heathrow Airport whether we like it or not and that, I think, is that!!

Definitely should be a choice. And I agree that it's easier to forget to check an online bill/check it less thoroughly.

I know lots of people who don't use a computer at all. Why should they be excluded from discounts/special offers?

The power of attorney aspect is an interesting point; hadn't thought of it before.

I love the convenience of online billing but think the option should be kept open by law if necessary.
Sometimes, it's just good to get a paper bill for ID purposes too.

I use a mixture of paper and online as my husband still prefers the paper variety. I have made a signficant effort to become computer savvy since I retired as I don't want to be left behind. However I have persuaded DH to allow our gas bill to be totally online as they offered us a good deal. I don't think you pay more to be paperless - you just pay less to be online. It is much cheaper to administer so I think it is fair to offer a discount to customers but the postal option must continue until everyone is ready to cope. I do worry about the multitude of passwords, though. I try to get DH to do some of the online stuff so that he can manage if I can't. I am in the process of simplifying our finances to reduce the puzzle that will become our son's problem when we die.

I used the internet and paperless billing when I worked because I was sure that my firm's firewall was up to date and effective. Now I have retired I am more reluctant to use the internet for financial transactions. My concern is the safety aspect how can I be sure a site I am using has not been compromised and if it has why should I have the stress of dealing with it. I do remember attending a course in the early 1970s about the future paperless office, I retired in July last year and paper was still there. Re the ID use of a utility bill that could be replaced with a check on the electoral roll. I think there should be choice but eventually it will come into being like credit/debit cards, ATMs we will get used to it.

Though I'm paperless these days, I do think others should have a choice, not everyone has internet access or indeed wants it

The second statement offers the greatest protection.
Thanks for an interesting thread!

We are paperless and I have been doing everything online for years including banking even finally managed to get OH to do his banking online.
Its just so much simpler not having the bother of filling in forms then queuing at the bank /post office.

I wouldn't want them to do away with bills altogether as some will always want bills by post.

I think the second statement sounds as though it offers better protection and is definitely easier to understand - simple and to the point!

I use a mix of online and paper, partly because our broadband is so hopeless that half the time I can't access the net. I find paper is easier for tax return purposes. Also, it's easier to have paper bills to hand when complaining to utility companies!! I do pay by DD, though.

As others have said, we are constantly required to produce some form of bill with our home address on it for ID purposes.

What really annoys me is the way companies try to kid us that they're encouraging us to go paperless to make it more convenient for us! Just how stupid do they think we all are??!!

I want to be able to put a paper copy of bills, my finances etc to mull over with a cup of coffee at my convenience, relaxed in a comfy chair and flip pages over, lie side by side to compare etc and it takes me seconds to do it. I can constantly refer backwards and forwards when I forget what I have just read (which is often!) rather than get all the websites up of each individual company, shrink to menu bar and have to keep opening and closing and forgetting which is which, then closing by mistake.....takes me HOURS. Its the same with books, I want a paper copy in my hand to touch, to experience and access at my will without logging in, getting a wifi connection etc. And as stated by more Gransnet members as soon as i.d. is needed they all want a paper copy..so then you have to download and print. Comes down to choice again, I want both and choice of how and when I choose which method I want to use.

i like paper bills, there are far too many computer faults with banks etc that make me nervous, i file away bills and prefer it that way i have been heavily pressurised by some institutions to do it all on line and always refuse but have to then pay extra for paper bills, the choice should always be the consumers and we should not be penalised for preferring to manage our transactions with paper, i understand the environmental issues but if its a once a month or even quarterly bill then i believe its our choice

There is no doubt in my mind that consumers need to have a choice regarding how bills and statements are received.

I manage most of my finances online but do choose to receive paper statements/bills as well.

Last week our computer totally and unexpectedly failed to start so we had no access to the internet. We did manage to get the problem fixed quite quickly but that situation showed how vulnerable internet communications with service providers can be.

It might have taken some time to identify the problem and get it fixed or in the worst case a while before we sourced a new computer.

Also, I believe, there are still pockets of the UK that have no/limited broadband so it is vital that they have a choice.

I have absolutely no objection to online billing ... BUT I fully support those who cannot make this move. Although my sister (65) has high speed broadband she flatly refuses to do anything transactional online.
She just doesn't feel that data is secure.

I'm the opposite, if there's an option to do something online or to go paper-free, I'll take it. My life is so much less cluttered and so much time gets saved as a result.
No need to queue in banks or post offices or remember to send cheques (with expensive stamps).
I think there will be a minority who don't trust online data systems for a very, very long time and the established ways should stay in place to support them. Once or twice a year I have to write a cheque and it's very useful to still have that facility.

Over the last five years, we have slowly switched over to online billing for just about everything. This initially had more to do with saving money than anything else, as lots of utility companies were offering discounts for it. I very much resented the fact that we were being coerced into doing this.

I'm still not entirely happy with online billing as computers can be temperamental things, and there are always niggling doubts about security too!

Also, if you need to produce utility bills as proof of identity/address, it can be surprisingly difficult sometimes go back in time and print them out.

I definitely feel that the right to paper bills - without extra charge, too - should be protected.

If paper bills are phased out entirely, what happens to those - mainly the elderly - who have never learned to use computers, or those who cannot afford to own one? We're talking about personal financial matters, so surely not something that should be done on a public computer.