Banks’ bill pay services make it easy for customers to pay their bills online. With just a few clicks, you can set up one-time or recurring payments to people or businesses. This keeps you from having to write and mail paper checks every month.
While bill pay is convenient, occasional issues can arise. One common problem is when the recipient claims they never received or cashed the check you scheduled. Having a bill payment go astray can be frustrating. But by understanding the potential causes and available remedies, you can get the situation resolved.
How Often Do Bill Pay Checks Go Uncashed?
There are times when uncashed bill pay checks cause problems, but user reports suggest that they don’t happen very often. Only a few of the over 35 comments on a Bogleheads forum thread talked about major problems with payments not getting to the right people. Others said they haven’t had any or very few problems with bill pay in years.
On a Money Stack Exchange thread, someone specifically asked about Bank of America’s bill pay service. Of 6 responses, only 1 mentioned a potential delay in check delivery. The rest said Bank of America’s bill pay works well and checks consistently arrive on time.
So problems like checks that aren’t cashed or not delivered can happen, but they don’t seem to be common or built into bill pay. A very large percentage of bill pay checks get to their destinations and are cashed.
Why Might a Bill Pay Check Go Uncashed?
There are a few potential reasons why a recipient might not cash a bill pay check:
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Lost in the mail—Checks sent through the USPS can sometimes get lost or be held up in transit. The recipient may say they never got the check.
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Processing error – If bill pay is set up for electronic/ACH transfer, an error in account or routing numbers could prevent the money from transferring.
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Recipient issues – The recipient may have changed addresses without informing you. Or they may have received the check but forgot or neglected to cash it in a timely manner.
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Bank error – In rare cases, the bank could make a mistake such as sending the check to the wrong recipient.
What To Do If Your Bill Pay Check Is Not Cashed
If you scheduled a bill payment but the recipient says they never received or cashed it, here are steps to resolve the issue:
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Contact your bank – Inform your bank or credit union that the bill pay check was not cashed. Ask them to investigate on their end and provide records to confirm the check was sent.
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Work with the recipient – Have the recipient double check their records and watch for the missing check. Ask them to cash it immediately if they locate it.
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Stop payment – If needed, your bank can place a stop payment on the original check if it is still outstanding. This prevents the check from being cashed later by someone else.
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Cancel and reissue – As a last resort, you may need to void the original payment and issue a new bill pay check or electronic payment. This ensures the recipient gets paid even if the first check remains lost.
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Review bill pay setup – Take time to double check your bill pay details like recipient name, address, account number, etc. Update anything that may be incorrect.
Tips to Prevent Bill Pay Check Issues
While problems are occasional rather than common, here are some precautions to minimize risks:
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Set up recipient details properly – name, address, account number must match exactly what the recipient has on file.
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Schedule payments at least 1 week before the actual due date to allow time for any mail delays.
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Choose electronic payments over paper checks when possible – electronic payments have faster delivery and clearer tracking capabilities.
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Review statements carefully – follow up on anything indicating payments were not sent or cashed as expected.
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Update recipient contact information if they move or change accounts.
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Allow time for adjustments when changing bill pay providers – recipients should watch for checks from the new source.
Are Bill Pay Protections Available if Checks Go Astray?
Most bill pay providers offer certain protections in case payments get lost or delayed:
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Late fee reimbursements – Many providers will cover late fees if a payment is delayed past the due date due to bank error. Reimbursement amounts often range from $50 – $100.
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Overdraft reimbursements – If a botched bill payment causes overdrafts, banks will usually refund the fees.
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Liability policies – Bill pay terms may specify the bank is liable for any properly scheduled payments that fail to send as requested.
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Stop payment abilities – Banks can quickly stop payment on outstanding checks from their bill pay service that go astray.
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Tracking records – Banks keep payment records including recipient details and check issuance date/time. This provides proof the payment was initiated properly on your end.
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Customer support – Most bill pay providers have customer support teams to help resolve any payment issues.
Is Bill Pay Still a Good Option Despite Occasional Issues?
Overall, bill pay remains an efficient, convenient way to pay bills that’s valued by millions of customers. The benefits generally outweigh the small risk of payments going astray.
Studies show high satisfaction with bill pay services, exceeding satisfaction with traditional payment methods. Bill pay usage continues growing, with over 50 million U.S. households now using bill pay.
For vital payments like rent or utilities, paper checks may still be preferable to minimize even tiny risks of delays. But for most bills, bill pay represents a solid option that eliminates hassles of mailing payments yourself.
By understanding the potential issues like uncashed checks, you can take steps to avoid major disruptions. Monitoring payment activity closely, planning ahead, and organizing recipient details are key to smooth bill payment experiences. Taking advantage of provider protections also offers peace of mind if any checks do go astray.
So while the occasional uncashed check can certainly be annoying, bill pay still simplifies paying bills for the vast majority of users. With proper precautions and follow-up, you can benefit from bill pay’s convenience while minimizing risks of payments gone amiss.
Version 12.2 – Bank Issued/Bill Pay Checks
FAQ
How long does it take for a bill pay check to clear?
How long it takes for a check to clear. Usually, it takes about two business days for a check to clear. That can vary from check to check, though. It’s important to read your bank’s deposit agreement because it will tell you how long they usually hold checks.
What happens if a check is never cashed?
After one year, the US Department of Treasury automatically cancels all checks that haven’t been cashed and sends the money back to the agency that issued the check. Stale-dated and uncashed checks can only be re-issued within 6 years from the original date of issue, per the Barring Act 31 U. S. C. 3702(b).
Do bill pay checks expire?
In general, personal and business checks are only good for 6 months. However, some banks will still accept older checks.
Why would a bill pay check be returned?
What happens if Bill Pay is not received?
Bill pay is sent electronically and not received – call the bank and they will have to research what happened. Often times it’s sent to the wrong account or it’s in limbo, but the bank will have to do the research. Bill pay is sent via paper check – call the bank to determine if the check was deposited.
Does a bill pay check have a stamp?
Most banks don’t change for this service, which “saves you a stamp”. However, in contrast to hand-written checks, the bill-pay checks get funded immediately when they are sent, not when they are cashed. Occasionally, a check might never get cashed, because it gets lost in the mail or the recipient fails to cash it for whatever reason.
What happens if a check is not cashed?
If the check isn’t cashed in a certain amount of time, the check expires and you get the money credited back to your account. Once you have made a bill payment online you can check on the status of your check by looking at your payment activity, finding the payment in question, and following the “proof of payment” link.
What happens if you send a paper check via bill pay?
When sending a paper check via bill pay, they withdraw the money from my account immediately (it appears as a debit transaction on my statement) and move it to a temporary account somewhere. The recipient gets a check drawn on the temporary account, not on mine (it doesn’t have my account number on it but a different one).
How do I know if a payment was sent?
The funds for the payment are deducted from your account when the pay to recipient cashes the check, just as if you wrote the check yourself. To determine how your payment was sent, click the “Payments” button in your Bill Pay service. Select the “view payment” link next to the payment. Payment information is then displayed.
What happens if a bill is sent to a wrong account?
Often times it’s sent to the wrong account or it’s in limbo, but the bank will have to do the research. Bill pay is sent via paper check – call the bank to determine if the check was deposited. If not, it’s refunded to your account (via stop payment) and you need to do some research to find out what happened.
