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My life is filled with way too much paper and I just dont want my house cluttered with it. Wherever possible, I opt for online statements for banking, utilities, mobile phone bills etc My husband is not nearly so good at getting around to this, and month after month we get credit card statements which we dont know whether we have to keep or not. Do we honestly still have to keep hold of paper bank/credit card statements anymore? No-one seems to be really sure and before I have a massive shred-a-thon, I'd really like a definitive answer as to what it's essential to keep and what can be shredded.

I think there should always be choice for those that don't want to go paperless or don't have the computer skills. I was very surprised at the statistic of only 1 in 10 people over 65 being computer literate though. Seems that this issue is actually much larger than the right to choose not to go paperless. We should be shouting just as loudly for those in this age range to have the right to be brought up to date with the use of this technology should they so wish and be fully integrated with what is becoming part of society so that they don't feel alienated and pushed out of our technologically functioning 'social system'. I'm pretty computer literate but when I have problems and things go wrong I often have to ask my daughters to get me out of difficulty and its not an altogether pleasant experience to have to ask the younger generation for help, it makes me feel past it!.

I have personally felt a sort of collective pressure from society and business as a whole, as service providers often appeal to you to help them reduce their carbon foot print by going paperless or help them to direct the money wasted in sending out individual statements to support local community projects, charities or relief of third world suffering. Excuse me if you hear a slight cynical note coming in my thoughts there.

There is then the 'incentive' to go paper less I think you can get reductions on some bills, energy, telephone, tv etc, I forget which if you agree to opt for online banking or billing. When first introduced this is seen as a positive reason to change as your saving a bit of money compared to Mr Average but when all those who are computer savvy sign up to this and the majority are getting this saving it becomes the norm which means effectively that it becomes a penalty against the 9 out of 10 over 65's that aren't. Soon they will be saying "well if you want a printed written statement sent to you every so often you are going to have to pay us a bit extra for the privilege". This is an example of what I mean by people being alienated from society. Once it becomes okay and accepted to cut some people off from services because they aren't computer literate and society changes more and more over to technology then people will get more and more alienated.

I have moved to online statements which I prefer for my bank accounts, and have done the same for all utilities where possible, however my husband and I have found that credit card companies are less keen to do this online - we have had a problem recently where a paper statement never got to us (and presumably is lost into the Royal Mail ether or mis-delivered) whereas even if they ALSO sent an electronic copy, there would be no problem if a paper one didnt arrive - as it happened it made our payment late because we were waiting for the paper one to arrive to pay. We never have received it! And it is hardly a cost thing as they are all computer generated anyway! We feel there should be a choice and this isnt the case for most people.

I've had problems when places want to see an utility bill or bank statement to prove your address and won't accept a print out from online

I like online everything, but there should be a choice, and not charge people extra if they cannot go online
I sometimes get muddled with my verisign passwords...

I save my bills to the cloud, in case the computer dies, and store log ins there as well

Having seen friends incur penalties for being unable to deal with their finances online I am very much against having all information only available online. Also fraud is a constant worry and until there is an absolute guarantee of no possibility of this happening again I am very much against things only being available online. Also when you need proof of address for opening things or even getting access to things like a parcel from the sorting office or opening a basic account without official letterhead how can there be proof that it is real if simply printed from a PC? So many reasons like unexpectedly being locked out of your PC or the cost of printing off at home on top of other expenses or memory loss for all the passwords or approaching debilitating illness in old age like dementia which make online difficult to gradually impossible. All these and more make me very concerned about online use only and I am very irritated by constantly being asked about changing to what companies/organisations consider to be MY "better" option.

I personally prefer on line bank statements etc, as I feel you get really bogged down with the amount of paper you have to sort out, dispose of, file etc.
I have never felt pressured into this and there is the option to change back if you wish, well there is with my bank.
My pension provider does not provide paper statements either but I haven't found this a problem. Of course not everyone has the means or the desire for on line statements so there should always be a choice.
Maybe in future times most people will be computer literate and there will be no need for any other than on line.
Also can't envisage any legal problems resulting from lack of paper statements.

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.

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.

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 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

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 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??!!

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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!!

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!

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

GN can always delete it. [shrug]