Paying The Villages Community Development District Bill (Utilities)
 

I currently have Auto Pay to pay my bill coming directly from my checking. Does anyone pay your bill through a debit card that would come out of checking but routed through the debit card. I called and they said that there would be a 2.75% addt'l charge. I can understand that for a credit card but not a debit card. I watched a video that is on their website and there is not indication of the extra charge. I'm purposely wanting it through my debit for better interest rate reasons. Thank you.

This is on their website:
E-Check went from $1 with Point and Pay to $.95 with Invoice Cloud.
Credit/Debit Card went from 2.3% with Point and Pay to 2.75% with Invoice Cloud.

The changes with autopay have not changed. If you pay with your banking account (checking or savings) there is no fee. Same thing with BillPay services.
Accounts can be accessed either by Name, Address, or Account Number
Name – Enter the last name associated with the account
Address – Enter the street address (beginning numbers only)
Account Number - Enter the Complete Account Number including letter at the beginning - X000-0000-00

You can avoid the $0.95 Invoice Cloud fee by making the payment directly from your bank account to the District using your bank's online bill pay system. And, you don't need to use autopay. When I get the email bill, I log in to my Truist account and make an electronic payment. No charge.

Thanks, but I'm not charged any fee.

I send them a check. I put it in the slot at the post office. No stamp required.

Good. But I think some people, who don't want to use autopay, are paying $0.95 to Invoice Cloud, when they could just make the payments through their online banking system for free. Frankly, I don't understand what Invoice Cloud does for the $0.95.

Your bank online bill pay sent electronically

Chase had Bill Pay with their accounts. I imaging any reputable bank does also. Set up the bill pay to pay it with the checking account. It’s an electronic check payment.

Interesting that we are charged a substantial amount to pay online, given that it saves The Villages quite a lot, compared to having a real person open the envelope and deal with the check. People can save themselves about $5 a month by putting the check in an envelope without a stamp and putting it in the free Villages slot at the Postal Center for each village.

It's NOT The Villages.

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As I understand it, the new payment system, including the hiring of Invoice Cloud, was designed to encourage more customers to use autopay. But, some people, including me, do not like autopay.

Note that on page 2 of your utility bill, there is a section entitled "paying your bill". This section conveniently omits the option of paying the bill using your own bank's online bill pay system. I think that is because they want you to use Invoice Cloud and pay the $0.95 fee, or to sign up for autopay. But you can use your bank's bill pay system, if you want.

Payment
 

Very easy and convenient to pay at your postal station. Pickup your mail, drop the payment into their mail slot. Easy peasy.

How do you get a better interest rate with a debit card?

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I use the bank's AUTO bill pay AND send in the payment just in time to be processed prior to the invoice billing, and then my monthly invoice shows near zero or slightly negative. I usually run a -30 credit which fluctuates up and down each month. .

So the only activity i perform is to open the bill to see a credit, and then file it away.

I love being lazy

No refund given if inadvertently a double payment is made by a computer error. You get a credit on the next bill.

It’s still a card processed by visa. It doesn’t matter if it’s credit ir debit.

I have my bill pay at the bank send the same amount every month. The credit balances on the utility department account in months whe water usage is low have always covered the underpayment when water usage is high. No sweat, no bother, and it has worked for several years now.

I understand, but I couldn't sleep at night unless I paid the exact amount every month. It only takes me about 30 seconds to make the online payment.

How do you do that?

Has anyone had problems with autopay with any services?

I believe I have it set up for five payments each month and have never had a problem. Over the years I have added some and removed others and the payments all started and stopped when they were supposed to.

Is there a real, actual issue with autopay or do people avoid it because in theory there could be an issue?

That would depend on your bank. In general, if your bank offered a bill-pay service (most do) then you would fill out a form online to have the bank create a check and send it to the vendor. Some banks will give you a number of free payments each month. It sounds lime some banks will even allow you to schedule recurring payments. I haven't used this service but I know my bank supports it.

Print out your utility bill. Log in to your bank website and go to bill pay. Add the payee and save it. Mine is the Central Sumter Utility LLC, or CSU. To add a payee, you need to enter the name and address of the payee, and your complete account number. Then, you can make an electronic payment. I would suggest that you send them a small amount to test the online system, especially if you haven't used bill pay before. I have been paying my utility bill that way for more than 6 years.

A lot of large venders are already listed in the electronic system to receive payments. But for some, the bank may need to actually send them a check. The bank should be able to tell if the venders you use are in the system.

Thanks for all the information.

I use Citizens First Bank. CSU is my area and not listed. Would that mean the bank would have to send a paper check to them?

I'm confused by that. I pay CSU every month, but I think the payment goes by Echeck. I would ask Citizens First.

Pay all your utilities with this 5% cash back credit card. You net 2.25% profit. You're welcome. Make sure you renew your 5% category selection (utilities) quarterly. You can even prepay and run positive balance, so you dont have to remember to pay monthly.

Cash back credit cards | Up to 5% in cash rewards | U.S. Bank

Check? Whatsa check? Haven't seen one in years. Can you buy them at Amazon? :D