VCDD Utility bill

[Yucatan2]

Hello fellow Villagers,

We have received our first VCDD bill. I pay everything that I possibly can on our bank bill pay. It appears that VCDD cannot or will not give you an e-bill, rather than sending the paper bill in the mail.

I know I could set up the electronic draft with them, but if I do, I would still get the paper bill to see what was charged, correct? I e-mailed VCDD to ask, and was told I could e-mail them each month to get a billing amount due, but would not be able to get a copy of the bill!

Seems like it is time for VCDD to come up to regular billing standards, with The Villages nearing 100,000 homes. As more and more baby boomers move in, we are familiar with online bill paying and smart phones, and are trying to get away from snail mail.........

Anyway, does anyone use their banks bill pay for the VCDD bill, rather than letting them auto-draft?

Thanks!

[George1938]

I use my bank to pay. My bill doesn't vary very much, so what I do is pay a little more than the average, automatically. I build up a small credit and the next month it is applied. This works for me. I also would prefer to be billed via the computer but it doesn't look like it will be done anytime soon. I would think it costs much more to bill via snail mail !! Handling all that paper? Why?

[Xavier]

Hello fellow Villagers,

We have received our first VCDD bill. I pay everything that I possibly can on our bank bill pay. It appears that VCDD cannot or will not give you an e-bill, rather than sending the paper bill in the mail.

I know I could set up the electronic draft with them, but if I do, I would still get the paper bill to see what was charged, correct? I e-mailed VCDD to ask, and was told I could e-mail them each month to get a billing amount due, but would not be able to get a copy of the bill!

Seems like it is time for VCDD to come up to regular billing standards, with The Villages nearing 100,000 homes. As more and more baby boomers move in, we are familiar with online bill paying and smart phones, and are trying to get away from snail mail.........

Anyway, does anyone use their banks bill pay for the VCDD bill, rather than letting them auto-draft?

Thanks!

We've been doing the auto-draft since the day we moved in. We've never had a problem. Works well for us. I do use bill-pay through our credit union for the mower and the landscaping guy, but even then I have them set up on auto-pay because the monthly amount is always the same. Other than that I only pay the occasional bill with bill-pay. Generally I put everything through on a credit card and rack up the points. We always pay our credit card bills in full each month.

Xavier

[gomoho]

I recently called as well inquiring about e-bills. And I am shocked they don't have this technology in place. I use my bank pay every month and it works out well. Yep, they should get with the program.

[Barefoot]

Each month, the amount of our VCDD Invoice is automatically deducted from our Citizens Bank Account. No action required by us. No problems.

[zcaveman]

I use auto-pay and I scan the bill into the PC and save it for prosperity and shred the paper bill.

This is what they sent me in January when I asked about a VCDD utility bill in PDF format:

A funding request to generate the necessary programming changes to allow for electronic e-mail bills was included in the FY 2012-2013 budget. A companion funding request to allow customers to discontinue receipt of paper bills once they received the e-mail bills was also included. Unfortunately neither funding request was approved for the current year (FY 2012-2013) budget, therefore there are no funds to accomplish the necessary programming.

In the FY 2013-2014 budget upcoming, the Finance Department is going to request a completely new utility billing system, because of the many shortcomings of our existing software. The existing software is of 1980’s initial generation, and it has been modified to the extent that it is becoming difficult to administer. As part of any new billing software we obtain, assuming funding approval in the budget, will be the ability to generate electronic bills and delete receipt of mailed bills at customer option.

I realize this process seems slow to you, but I believe the new software will be approved in the upcoming year’s budget (begins October 1, 2013), which will allow us to move forward on the electronic billing and many other software related issues we have to resolve.


Z

[Yucatan2]

Well, zcaveman, that is good news. Maybe there is an end in sight to this antiquated system of billing.

I will decide on the autopay. I don't like businesses having my checking account number, but the above suggestion of having it go to a charge card is also interesting, to build up those points!

[kfierle]

You can actually look up the amount of your bill online. I do this since it seems to take a very long time to receive the paper bill. It has arrived at my home in New York state the day before it was due. I now access it amount due online and pay it immediately. The paper bill usually arrives 7-10 days later. Just to clarify--I do not pay my bill through this site--I use the bill pay through my bank

Here is how to access the amount owed for the VCDD bill:

1. Go to districtgov.org
2. Scroll down the left side and click on PAY UTILITY BILL
3. Click on MUNICIPAY LLC ON-LINE PAYMENT SERVICE in the blue box in the middle of the page
4. Type in your account number and street address and click search

This will bring up the amount owed on the current bill. You do not have to pay your bill through this site.

I have been doing this for about 5 months and it sure helps when I do not receive the paper bill in a timely fashion.

I believe you are charged a processing fee if you use your credit card to pay the bill, though I may be wrong.

[jojo]

Like Xavier, our VCDD utility bill is directly paid from our Citizens checking account.

[Yucatan2]

You can actually look up the amount of your bill online. I do this since it seems to take a very long time to receive the paper bill. It has arrived at my home in New York state the day before it was due. I now access it amount due online and pay it immediately. The paper bill usually arrives 7-10 days later. Just to clarify--I do not pay my bill through this site--I use the bill pay through my bank

Here is how to access the amount owed for the VCDD bill:

1. Go to districtgov.org
2. Scroll down the left side and click on PAY UTILITY BILL
3. Click on MUNICIPAY LLC ON-LINE PAYMENT SERVICE in the blue box in the middle of the page
4. Type in your account number and street address and click search

This will bring up the amount owed on the current bill. You do not have to pay your bill through this site.

I have been doing this for about 5 months and it sure helps when I do not receive the paper bill in a timely fashion.

I believe you are charged a processing fee if you use your credit card to pay the bill, though I may be wrong.

I just tried this, and signed up for an account to be able to see the bill, but nothing shows up. I have an outstanding bill so you would think it would be there????

[Yucatan2]

instead of Firefox, and then the amount showed up. It still would be nice to see the breakdown as well.........but at least we can get the amount due if we are somewhere we are not getting our mail! Thanks Kfierle!

[kfierle]

There is no need to sign up for an account or log in to see the balance due. Keep in mind that you will NOT see a copy of the bill, only the amount of the current bill. All you have to do is search by account number and address. The search is on the left side of this screen:

VCDD Bill (https://trx.npspos.com/payapp/public/ECInvoiceSearch.html?siteId=13543&urlKey=34d8f133278f1518770980d962ac8e***ceac44e)

Let me know if this link does not work.

[kfierle]

instead of Firefox, and then the amount showed up. It still would be nice to see the breakdown as well.........but at least we can get the amount due if we are somewhere we are not getting our mail! Thanks Kfierle!

I use Firefox all the time and it works just fine for me. If you clear out your cookies and history, Firefox may work for you.

Glad I was able to help out!

[Paperboy]

I'm a snow flake & when I get the bill I transfer from my ING acct. the money due; I schedule a wk. prior to my Wis. checking acct. & when the bill is due they debit my CHECKING ACCT. Very simple.

[asianthree]

i have a control problem i pay everything thru my bank...no auto pays

[billethkid]

all our bills for TV...gas/electric/vccdd all done through the banks bill pay since day one almost 10 years ago.
Not one issue since.

btk

[CFrance]

i have a control problem i pay everything thru my bank...no auto pays

Me too, don't trust auto pays, and it's a pain to get them canceled if you move or something changes.

We're having our TV mail held while up north, so don't know what to do about paying vcdd because we left rather abruptly due to surprise sale of MI condo, and I don't know what our account # is.

Can anyone look on their bill and give me a phone number to call, please?

[obxgal]

VCDD customer service phone number (352) 750-0000

[Mack184]

This seems to be a "Villages" thing. Unless things have changed recently you cannot subscribe to The Daily Sun over the internet, WVLG does not stream it's programming and as the OP noted you cannot e-bill your VCDD. Maybe they are just computer UN-friendly.

[jojo]

I don't know about subscribing to the Sun but I regularly e-mail stops and starts to the Sun. Again you can and I do e-bill the VCDD and have for four years.

[gomoho]

I don't know about subscribing to the Sun but I regularly e-mail stops and starts to the Sun. Again you can and I do e-bill the VCDD and have for four years.

JoJo - are you saying you get an electronic bill from VCDD??? I called them last month to inquire and they said they are not set up for that.

[OldManTime]

I use my bank to pay my bill, have been since 2002

[KathieI]

VCDD is the only company I allow to draft payment from my checking account. Works very well, and I get a confirmation bill with all the billing particulars and showing paid in full. I've had no problem with it. All others I pay directly on line to their websites, again no problem.

[jojo]

JoJo - are you saying you get an electronic bill from VCDD??? I called them last month to inquire and they said they are not set up for that.

It functions as regular bill pay. I get a snail mail bill (not electronic) well ahead of the due date. The bank pays it automatically as an ACH transfer each month.

[jblum315]

Same here exactly. I file the bill, the bank pays it automatically.

[Bavarian]

Hello fellow Villagers,

We have received our first VCDD bill. I pay everything that I possibly can on our bank bill pay. It appears that VCDD cannot or will not give you an e-bill, rather than sending the paper bill in the mail.

I know I could set up the electronic draft with them, but if I do, I would still get the paper bill to see what was charged, correct? I e-mailed VCDD to ask, and was told I could e-mail them each month to get a billing amount due, but would not be able to get a copy of the bill!

Seems like it is time for VCDD to come up to regular billing standards, with The Villages nearing 100,000 homes. As more and more baby boomers move in, we are familiar with online bill paying and smart phones, and are trying to get away from snail mail.........

Anyway, does anyone use their banks bill pay for the VCDD bill, rather than letting them auto-draft?

Thanks!

So, to get back to original point. The problem IS NOT with not being able to pay electronically, the problem is getting rid of the PAPER statement and getting a PDF sent to you, probably by logging on to their website for security.

I have eliminated all other paper bills, just save the PDFs to the hard drive, once a year burn a CD with the previous years statements, bills, bank, brokerage, etc and then stash that away and delete the old year from the hard drive. Saves trees and space.

[batman911]

Please keep in mind that these are not for profit enterprises and any new fancy programs or computers will add to the cost and your monthly invoice. Just saying.

[gomoho]

Please keep in mind that these are not for profit enterprises and any new fancy programs or computers will add to the cost and your monthly invoice. Just saying.

What information do you have saying these are "not for profit" enterprises???

[Quixote]

We've been doing the auto-draft since the day we moved in. We've never had a problem. Works well for us. I do use bill-pay through our credit union for the mower and the landscaping guy, but even then I have them set up on auto-pay because the monthly amount is always the same. Other than that I only pay the occasional bill with bill-pay. Generally I put everything through on a credit card and rack up the points. We always pay our credit card bills in full each month.

Xavier

This is EXACTLY what I've done since I live here and have NEVER had a problem. This bill is paid automatically from my checking account; others that allow credit card payments without extra fees sure do help accruing the frequent flyer miles. And I too pay credit card bills in full every month.

[hdandydon]

I use my bank bill pay , all you need to do is set the account on your bill pay and when the bill arrives in the mail pay it on bill pay. help this helps.

[zcaveman]

So, to get back to original point. The problem IS NOT with not being able to pay electronically, the problem is getting rid of the PAPER statement and getting a PDF sent to you, probably by logging on to their website for security.

I have eliminated all other paper bills, just save the PDFs to the hard drive, once a year burn a CD with the previous years statements, bills, bank, brokerage, etc and then stash that away and delete the old year from the hard drive. Saves trees and space.

I agree that the thread has strayed. Like most threads do. My post said that they are thinking of going to an electronic copy of the bill but it will not be any time soon. Maybe 2014. Until then I scan the VCDD bill and save it to a file and shred the paper one.

Just an FYI: Do you occasionally try to read the discs? With the changes in technology I have found that some of my old discs are unreadable.

Z

[batman911]

What information do you have saying these are "not for profit" enterprises???

ARTICLE VII — NON-PROFIT OPERATION
SECTION 1. INTEREST OR DIVIDENDS ON CAPITAL PROHIBITED
The Cooperative shall at all times be operated on a Cooperative nonprofit
basis for the mutual benefit of its patrons. No interest or dividends
shall be paid or payable by the Cooperative on any capital furnished by
its patrons.

Or you can read the entire Corporate Bylaws:


http://www.secoenergy.com/pdfs/CorpDocs/ByLaws_2012.pdf

[JB in TV]

SECO is the electric company, I believe the thread is about the Water, trash sewer....VCDD

[batman911]

SECO is the electric company, I believe the thread is about the Water, trash sewer....VCDD

A Community Development District is a public non-profit unit of local government with the special purpose of providing the services described above.

[url=http://www.districtgov.org/yourdistrict/]VCDD Your Community District[/url


Both are non-profit.

[BJDRunner]

I'm reviving this thread, as I never saw a resolution to this back in 2012. I have been paying the VCDD utility bill automatically (no action required by me) -- that is wonderful -- but that is also NOT the issue that the first person in this thread was writing about. My problem not that my bills aren't paid automatically -- it is that I'm still getting PAPER sent to my home. I've spent hours on the districtgov site trying to get this changed, and nothing works. I'd like to stop the paper and only use electronic means of getting me the information (e.g., via email, or through an online site). Anyone solved this problem yet?

[Barefoot]

I'm reviving this thread, as I never saw a resolution to this back in 2012. I have been paying the VCDD utility bill automatically (no action required by me) -- that is wonderful -- but that is also NOT the issue that the first person in this thread was writing about. My problem not that my bills aren't paid automatically -- it is that I'm still getting PAPER sent to my home. I've spent hours on the districtgov site trying to get this changed, and nothing works. I'd like to stop the paper and only use electronic means of getting me the information (e.g., via email, or through an online site). Anyone solved this problem yet?

Have you called VCDD and asked them if the bill is available electronically?
I thought it was supposed to happen some time in 2014.
I'm sure they will let us know when electronic bills are available,
and give us the option of going paperless.

[zcaveman]

There was a question on the 2014 Villages Survey as to the VCDD bill going paperless. If I remember correctly it was one of those would you want it or not questions.

Z

[Sable99]

I agree that the thread has strayed. Like most threads do. My post said that they are thinking of going to an electronic copy of the bill but it will not be any time soon. Maybe 2014. Until then I scan the VCDD bill and save it to a file and shred the paper one.

Just an FYI: Do you occasionally try to read the discs? With the changes in technology I have found that some of my old discs are unreadable.

Z


Our VCDD bill is the only bill that I have automatically taken out of my checking account. It is so much easier when traveling. I have never had a problem with it.

Like everyone else, I am inundated with paperwork. I am curious about scanning the bill to a file and then shredding the paper copy. What if your computer crashes? Do you use a backup device? I bought a backup drive and it works on my mom's computer but for some reason doesn't back up my Windows 7. I need to call the company but I hate to call Customer Service.

Sorry about hijacking the thread, but I'm curious.-- probably because I'm filing paperwork this morning!

[zcaveman]

Our VCDD bill is the only bill that I have automatically taken out of my checking account. It is so much easier when traveling. I have never had a problem with it.

Like everyone else, I am inundated with paperwork. I am curious about scanning the bill to a file and then shredding the paper copy. What if your computer crashes? Do you use a backup device? I bought a backup drive and it works on my mom's computer but for some reason doesn't back up my Windows 7. I need to call the company but I hate to call Customer Service.

Sorry about hijacking the thread, but I'm curious.-- probably because I'm filing paperwork this morning!

I backup certain volatile folders to a second hard drive weekly and most of my folders to an external hard drive monthly. I use a basic batch file process that I created to do this. I bought a 2T external hard drive but cannot get it to backup my W7 system yet. Still working on it.

Z

[Parker]

Teco is another monthly bill where e-bill hasn't been available, but stated it would become available sometime in 2014. I can't wait. Hope these businesses read this thread!

[zcaveman]

Teco is another monthly bill where e-bill hasn't been available, but stated it would become available sometime in 2014. I can't wait. Hope these businesses read this thread!

All my TECO bills are e-bills and have been for years. They send me an email every month and I sign on to the site and download the PDF to a file.

You have to create an account with TECO and tell them you do not want paper.

Z

[Steve & Deanna]

We receive our paper VCDD bill, pay it, file it and drop the check off at our mailbox/pool area. Not a big deal.

[CFrance]

We receive our paper VCDD bill, pay it, file it and drop the check off at our mailbox/pool area. Not a big deal.

Yeah, it's not a big deal if you live here year round, but if you go north for the summer you've got to be constantly changing your address with them and risking delayed payment costs if the bill doesn't get forwarded in time.

This is so byzantine. Everybody in the WORLD has e-bills.

[CFrance]

...

[Barefoot]

Yeah, it's not a big deal if you live here year round, but if you go north for the summer you've got to be constantly changing your address with them and risking delayed payment costs if the bill doesn't get forwarded in time. This is so byzantine. Everybody in the WORLD has e-bills.

We never change our address with VCDD. We just have our mail forwarded to Canada.
Our bill is automatically deducted each month from our bank account.
So when we're up north, we never have to worry about late payments.

But I agree with CFrance, it's dark ages. Most utility companies have electronic billing.

[CFrance]

We never change our address with VCDD. We just have our mail forwarded to Canada.
Our bill is automatically deducted each month from our bank account.
So when we're up north, we never have to worry about late payments.

But I agree with CFrance, it's dark ages. Most utility companies have electronic billing.

I do not like to give anyone control over my checking account. I've had double deductions taken in error on occasion. And then if you move or change accounts, it's a hassle to get all of that switched off or over. When we were snowbirds, our mail was frequently delayed in being forwarded. The fault was usually with our MI post office. We had horrible problems with them. I've had bills come in two weeks late. The solution was to change our address with VCDD, but you had to time it just right so no bill sat languishing at your other residence.

E-billing is not a new idea. The TV area really needs to ramp it up. Not only VCDD, but wifi everywhere, signing up for sports clinics online, printing out guest passes, etc. It's like we're half in the dark ages down here. The golf people are the only ones who seem to be into it.

But that's one of my buttons, so sorry for the rant.:pray: