Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

I will attempt to open the Lloyds US bank to start with to tide me over for the first couple of months and then when I start getting paid in the US I will need to set up an American account.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Many utilities do not accept credit cards for payment of utility bills.

Regulated utilities are not allowed to subsidize any one group of customers.

Allowing a customer to pay by CC means for every $100 billed they would receive a lower dollar amount in revenue due to the processing fee the banks take - usually a percentage (3-4%) of the transaction.

They dont want the percentage hit on the balance you owe them, since their primary revenue is provided by the customer.

In effect, for the revenue they didn't get, other customers would have to make up the difference - this is often prohibited by State statute.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

:confused: My electricity company accepts credit card payments.

Some state agencies I pay require a 'convenience charge' to accept payment by credit card to cover the cost, I suspect some utility companies prohibited by State statute may do the same.


As a business owner, if my credit card processor took 3 to 4% I'd kick them to the curb in a heartbeat. Our turnover was only $800k last year, and we only pay 1.59% - 1.79% in transaction fees. I imagine a utility company could negotiate better rates than that.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

I don't believe my electricity or gas company does either, though I can pay my cable bill with a credit card with no extra fees which I find frankly bizarre given in the UK there were huge fees involved for paying anything other than DD. I can even pay my car and renters insurance with my credit card, all at the same price! I wonder if they just charge the CC processing fee to EVERYONE by default, then make money on those who pay via CHAPS / DD (or whatever the equivalent is here).



Those sound like VISA / Mastercard fees. Is that for AMEX as well?

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

At one time we had all our utilities being paid automatically off the credit card, but each time the card was compromised that caused a big hassle.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Which is a regular occurrence now unfortunately. I've had two cards replaced and my wife one in 6 months.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Yup.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

I was going to say the same as above. I don't think I've come across a utility company yet that would accept CC payments, but you may get lucky with your local utility.

Other thing to consider, if you are going to an apartment in a major commercial property, they may want to do a DD of your rent. The last place we rented from did have an online payment system where we paid by our debit card every month (IIRC there was an add'l fee if you wanted to pay by CC). If its a private landlord, they will likely expect a check/cheque every month - you can't do a standing order in the US like you can in the UK. You may want to find out what your payment options are, until you get a US account set up.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

We do ours via 'direct billing', ie they make a request to pull the money from our account every month.

I don't mind it so much, but I do not like the fact that control is taken away from me on paying. ie, in the UK, if I fall out with the landlord and enter a dispute I can simply cancel the standing order. Here I would have to log into our online account and cancel the autopay, which I'm not sure would stop them taking the monies still as I'm sure they could find a way to refuse the cancellation.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

It doesn't make much difference when a business you've never heard of can present a cheque directly or indirectly (via their own bank) to your bank, with your account number on it, marked with "authorized by customer", "signed electronically", or something similar, and your bank will debit your account based on that cheque. :blink:

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Insane isn't it?

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

yeah, with a landlord, you almost feel like you don't have a choice but to go along with their billing procedures. But due to that exact issue of being able to pull money without my permission, is why I do not give any company our bank account details. I set up all payments (cc's and such) to be a recurring payment through my bank's e-bill pay. It's definitely one of those 'fine print' things that is easy to overlook and a Brit would find that completely unexpected I'm sure...and probably even most USCs don't know a company can do it!

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Beyond! :rolleyes:

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Yes, it depends on your local utility.

In LA both Electric/Water/Sewer and AT&T accept Visa with no add'l. fee.
Gas Company is a direct EFT debit from chequing account.

Re: Utilities & Banking set up before moving?
 

Must be a local thing.
We pay all of our bills through one credit card, with automatic drafting and no fees charged. The only one we don't do that way is our MUD district who want to charge $3.95 per billing cycle for autopay enrollment. Given that, especially in Winter, our MUD bill can be as low as $20, that is an outrageous amount which pisses me off so much I do them by online billpay from the bank. Does anyone remember the days when you used to get a discount for enrolling in autopay, presumably because companies realized it simplified their receipts section, and reduced the need for a collections department....?