Bill payment program becomes more and more popular

[img_assist|nid=7420|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]eBill online program was launched in the city of Naperville to enable customers to pay their monthly utility bill over the Internet in 2001. At that times initially there were some problems where residents were being double-billed.

"It doesn't happen often now, but some customers may create a new payment rule when updating their credit card information," stated Lisa Mills, the billing and collections supervisor for the city, when asked about some customers still being double-billed. "An automatic payment rule in our system is setting up a recurring payment schedule, as opposed to going to the site each month to make the payment. Our system allows customers to set up more than one. They can choose a limit to what can come out - in case of fraud or high bills - and set an end date to the payments."

10,003 out of 59,591 residential and commercial utility customers are using the e-Bill program which accounts for about 17% of the city's customers.

"This is a fabulous milestone for this successful program," says Doug Krieger, Finance Director. "The e-Bill program is beneficial in so many ways. It's easy and safe for the customer to use, and it saves environmental resources that would otherwise be used in the production of a paper utility bill. It also saves our customers time that they otherwise would have to spend looking for a stamp or getting the bill in the mailbox."