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Thursday 20 March 2014

Do You Check Your Bank And Utility Bill Statements?



Many people do not check the statements they receive from their banks or utility companies. This is a mistake, since computers and companies can often make errors and mistakes that result in us having to pay more. It is always worth checking.

Checking your bank statements is the best way to keep an eye on your expenditure, make sure there are no unauthorised payments coming off, and it’s a great way of keeping your account in the black and avoiding unnecessary bank charges.

You will also see patterns in your spending and be able to make changes towards better budgeting when you see the full statement on how you spent your most recent wage.

Utility companies are notorious for making mistakes and over charging customers. Telephone companies are particularly guilty of this. If you keep a close eye on your call charges, and the breakdown of your calls and the associated costs, you will be able to identify which calls are costing you more, and ways that you can make savings too.

Gas and electricity bills can be much harder to decipher and read. The best advice is to take readings of your own meters and check them against the bills you receive. You will be given a unit cost and the number of units used. Check this calculation is right too. For households that pay monthly direct debits, they still need to keep an eye on things. Often you can be paying an amount each month and not using that amount of energy. By checking your account and statement you are more likely to save money by either spotting mistakes or seeing where you can reduce your regular payments.

The trend towards electronic statements and paperless services has resulted in many people continuing to pay their bills with no clear idea of how much they are being charged or what for! You are entitled to receive your statements by email or on paper free of change. If you are not likely to be checking your email regularly, and many people still don’t, then you can ask for a paper statement to be posted to your address.


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