I got a call from my cable company claiming I hadn't paid my last month's bill. I checked my records, and I used the bank's bill payment program to make that payment ten days before it was due. I think my bank dropped the ball. What can I do?
We suggest you go at this from two directions. First, let the cable company know you ordered the payment. Give them any transaction number detail you have available to make your case with them. Then, contact your bank. Find out whether the payment was, in fact made, and how. In other words, even though your checking account records show that the payment was charged to you, you need to know whether the bank issued a check or made an electronic payment. Ask for details on any payment actually made, including the check number or a trace number for an electronic payment. Then ask the bank to determine whether the check (if it was a check) has been paid, by whom it was endorsed, and when.
Sometimes, the bank could issue a blanket check for several payments, with a listing for the payee, so, for example, your payment to the cable company might have been part of a larger check, and the cable company may have misapplied your portion of it to someone else's bill (it does happen).
It's not impossible for a bank's bill payment check to get lost, just like a check that you send yourself could go astray in the mail, but you can ask the bank to intervene on your behalf with the cable company to convince them that payment was sent on time, and then to work out the details of any needed check replacement for you.
BankingQuestions.com is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers. Advertisers are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankingQuestions.com FREE by supporting our advertisers. When you see an ad for a product or service you may have an interest in, click through to learn more.
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
We suggest you go at this from two directions. First, let the cable company know you ordered the payment. Give them any transaction number detail you have available to make your case with them. Then, contact your bank. Find out whether the payment was, in fact made, and how. In other words, even though your 