Every day I get a new letter from one of my creditors or the bank requesting that I stop receiving paper bills and receive them online. I don't feel it's safe to stop receiving paper bills for everything. Why? Because i don't trust the credit card companies mostly and I don't trust any other possible errors. More than once my credit card has suddenly switched it's terms on me and I've had the paper to prove what my previous terms were.
There also are several manipulations that companies pull when you sign up to pay online. My mortgage company wont send statements now. There's a disclaimer when you pay online that you agree to stop receiving statements, period. They wont even send them online, I have to remember to log into their website and do it every month. They also charge me a user fee if I don't pay it 5 days before it's due. The user fee goes up for every period of time I pay late. It's $3 if I dont pay 5 days before due. It's more than that if I pay the day it's due and it's over $10 if I pay the bill late. That is on top of the late charges they charge me. I've resolved the issue by using my banks bill pay system. It's not the best system, but since I already pay for my checking account, it's at no additional charge.
Another thing to be aware of is sly user agreements. I was signing up to pay one of my credit cards online because it had been purchased by one of the gigantic card companies and I couldn't use the old online payment system any longer. I am signing up and the user agreement pops up. I read it carefully and it only contained the usual so I clicked on the 'accept' button. Then a second user agreement comes up. The second agreement contains a bunch of waivers. They don't say they are waivers, but if you know your consumer rights, they are a bunch of agreements that are asking you to waive all of your consumer rights. It stated things like, "I agree to binding arbitration from an arbitrator of the banks choosing. I agree to pay this bill under any and all circumstances even under bankruptcy and I agree to pay any and all charges made on this bill even if they are fraudulent." These are all things that go against our consumer rights. Some states don't allow these user agreements to be binding if they conflict with state law, but some do.
One more caution about using online billing is that you don't have a paper copy to prove your case. I enjoy watching the court shows and many times they have brought in a home print out of their bill, checking account or other account and the judge has stated, "how do I know this hasn't been tampered with?" It is almost impossible to get some companies to send you a paper copy and copies can cost you a lot in fees. Also, some companies may take MONTHS to send you the documentation and when you receive it, it may be illegible or in some strange format that only their accountants would be able to understand. If you need to go to court or prove something for your credit record or collections, you might find yourself in a pickle if you have nothing but self printed copies to show.
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