I actually got a paper bill from my long-distance phone company the other day that informed me of the following: If I wish to continue to receive a paper bill, I'm going to incur an extra charge for that. If I view and pay my bill online, I won't incur the extra charge. This is a move similar to what some airlines have done in imposing a nominal penalty for buying tickets over the phone instead of online.

I know why companies are eager to move customers to automatic online bill paying. It saves them tons of money in printing and postage. But is it really the best thing for customers? And are companies really able to provide accurate bills that we don't have to audit? (I realize you can still audit an online bill. I'm making an assumption, however, that in our busy world, people who get their bills online don't spend as much time reviewing them as those of us who still get paper.)

In the early days of automatic withdrawal for bills, I was a gung-ho advocate. It seemed like a great idea, largely enabled by information technology. Now I have a more conservative strategy regarding this "improvement."

Here's how I'm approaching the issue in my own life:

For recurring bills such as mortgage, car payment and insurance premiums, I'm perfectly comfortable with direct and automatic withdrawal from my bank account. These bills generally don't vary from month to month, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to save the effort of writing either electronic or paper checks.