Why You Need to Scrub Those Bills!

The other day I was reviewing my credit card statement and there was a $49.95 charge for a magazine subscription.

Huh?  I don’t subscribe to magazines, let alone the business magazine that was on my statement.

I immediately called the magazine company to inquire.  (Their 800 # was listed on my statement.)  They were straightforward and refunded the charge with no hassle.  For that reason, I have left their name out of this post.

But, it was still disturbing that they had charged me $49.95 for a subscription that I had not authorized.  My only theory is that it was a promotion that my credit card company slipped by me and then set up for recurring charge.

This situation is not uncommon.  And many people do not catch these “extra” charges on their bills, whether on their credit card or utility statements.

With the holiday season approaching, this is a great time of year to scrub those bills.

Let’s get them cleaned up!

What’s On Your Bill?

In these busy times, many of our providers have a simple solution: automate your bill payment.

This is easy for you and them, because they automatically take payment from your bank account each month.

I automate many of my bills.  However, the danger in this time-saving automation is that you are less likely to “look” at your bill.  This is especially true with e-bills.

(In fact, I believe that there are companies out there that make it difficult to log into their website just to keep you from viewing your e-bills.  My electric company is guilty of this.)

So, be careful in automating everything when it comes to bills.

I found the $49.95 magazine charge immediately upon receiving my statement.  However, a good friend of mine was charged a recurring charge from their cable company that they did not catch for 9 months!

Scrub Those Bills

It is important to “scrub” you bills on a periodic basis.  Not only will you catch things that might have otherwise slipped by you.  But, you will probably find unnecessary fees and services that you can cancel to reduce your monthly bill.

Here are some things to look for when scrubbing those bills:

• Fraudulent Charges – The sooner you catch fraud, the quicker you can clean it up.  It is scary how many people do not catch this right away.  Don’t let this be you.
• Unexpected Charges – These may not be fraud, but nonetheless, charges that you were not expecting.  (Nor necessarily approved!)  Catch these right away so that you can remedy them with the vendor involved.  Worst case you can dispute them with your credit card company.
• Extra Fees and Services – Check your normal bills for extra fees and services that you don’t need.  Most people can save up to 20% be removing extra services from their cable or cell phone plan.  Are you really watching channels 450-900?  If not, remove them and save some money.
• Recurring Bills – Have you ever signed up for a recurring membership or subscription that you then didn’t use?  (Gym, website, club, etc.)  That $10/month subscription is now costing you $120 a year.

Keep Them Clean

Cleaning up our bills is something that many of us don’t think of, nor do we enjoy doing.

Like other tasks that are put off, bills unchecked can cost you more time, money, and headache later.

So, take some time to scrub those bills.  You may just be surprised what you find.

When was the last time you scrubbed your bills?  What was the most surprising thing you discovered?