To prefer paying bills manually rather than by direct debit?

[ForCleverOchreFish]

I don’t really use direct debits and tend to prefer paying for things manually instead. I like having more visibility and control over what’s going out and when, rather than it happening automatically. I know most people seem to rely on direct debits for bills, subscriptions etc, so just wondered if I’m in the minority here.

AIBU to avoid them?

Yanbu, same

I only avoid monthly direct debit when paying the cost in full annually is cheaper. Other than that I automate paying my bills/savings/ by direct debit. I feel I have control because I set the date they go out of my account and I have visibility because I check my account. I wouldn't like to have the extra mental load to manually do something that is so straightforward to automate.

You're not unreasonable to avoid them if you're happy with the extra admin time and potential extra cost - some suppliers charge extra if you don't pay by DD. Also that it's on you if you forget to pay.

I like that as many bills as possible are automatically paid, the cost is the least I can pay and that I don't risk mucking up my credit record by paying late. If they accidentally took the wrong amount, I can get it back immediately due to the direct debit guarantee.

Of course, like @ToSayYouHaveNoChoiceIsAFailureOfImagination says, if DD is more expensive (car insurance being the obvious one here), of course I'd pay that in one go.

@ForCleverOchreFish so do you manually pay around 10/20 payments each month?

Personally I like things automated where they can be!

I mean you do you - but seems a terrible waste of time.

I would imagine we have 30DD a month - could not be arsed with that.

I work in utilities and i pay my quarterly bill in full, but i can afford to do that.

Paying monthly by DD means your usage is being projected for the next year partly based on previous usage, but it obv can’t take changes in circumstances into account, which we’ve had over the past few years.

I’d be too worried that I might forget to pay in time and incur penalty charges. Thats before you consider how much time all this would take.

I probably pay around 4-6 bills by DD a month and a further 6 or so annually. I cannot think of a single reason why I might want to pay for these manually.

I’ve no direct debits at all. I budget better paying in cash.

But what about the things you cant pay in cash?

Your choice, hope you don't get pestered with reminders.

Too easy to miss one and fuck your credit score

I don’t have that many DD’s. Some small ones of under a tenner. I pay CT manually so that I know I have money in my account to cover it. H pays the other bills by DD.

I wish energy bills were still paid by sending in a meter reading.

I wish energy bills were still paid by sending in a meter reading.

I send in a meter reading every couple of months. Takes about 5 minutes all told. The company adjusts the DD accordingly. A couple of times I found I had built up a credit balance of about £100. I messaged them over their website and they refunded it.

Easy peasy. Definitely less hassle than remembering to pay every month…

I prefer paying by DD just incase, but I do check my bank account daily.

Big swizz how anyone with smart meters is not explicitly told they can instruct their energy supplier to switch to variable monthly direct debit - pay for what you use. Absolutely no reason for all this inflated guesswork and refunds hassle, apart from the energy co earning interest on your credit balance.

Then I pay online as a one off payment. I’m not completely against paying digitally, I’m happy to buy stuff online etc I just don’t have any DDs set up for recurring payments.

God no. Id never remember and end up missing payments and paying late. Everything i pay is direct debit that way I don't need to do anything. I get a text if my bills account is low and I then top it up but apart from that I do nothing

In the late 90's I recall going to the post office with cheques/cash to pay bills. All my bills are DD now and I can't imagine wasting so much time queuing and paying bills like that again. I get cashback from santander and I wouldn't want to miss something which could affect my credit score. As mention, many suppliers provide a discount if paying via DD. I also have my credit card paid off monthly on DD, because I never spend more than I can pay off.

If, like my nearly 80yr old mum, who doesn't use online banking and doesn't work- then I can understand (to some degree) manually paying.

If you have online banking, then you still have full oversight of what is coming in and going out so I'm unsure what the issue/concern with DD is? 🤷‍♀️

Too many

I would forget routine stuff all the time so it's all on direct debit. Might pay a bit extra here and there but it would be nothing compared to penalties for being late!

Not much I can do about that!

But surely you must have some bills that are monthly?