I've been helping my parents with some renewals of their utilities and neither use the internet, so they don't always get the best deals. I am annoyed that they lose out on the paperless bill discount, which is £5 per bill. They can't expect old people to have internet access and discriminates. Paperless billing should be a choice, I know broadband companies do the same and charge for a paper bill and I do think it's wrong. Just because an email is sent, doesn't mean it is received because technology does fail. Why should old people with no internet access pay more to receive a bill?
I know, it is unfair, especially if they cannot afford it. Also, there are a lot of viruses and people who can take advantage of older people. But that being said, my grandparents are now in love with technology! It took them a few years to become savvy and they are still learning, but it has given them something new to learn and has kept them actively happy at home now that they are not as mobile. If you can find an affordable way to help them get internet, it might be just the thing for them!
It's not that they can't afford it, they feel too old to learn and don't want to. Mom has a phone which she has never used, my brother has given her a tablet which she gave to me. There are also older people with poor vision and arthritis in their hands, so they can't use computers. People should consider them.
I can feel for you. My uncle set up internet for my other Grandma and she has no interest whatsoever. I think the coupon deal should not apply to people who are over the retirement age. They make other allowances or give discounts for retirees, so I think this would be a great topic to bring up to the companies you are dealing with. Some phone companies will work with you and who knows, maybe if you pursue this, you could make a difference in the lives of many older people who are struggling with the same issue.
I actually think online billing can can be a benefit to older people. Yes, they have to take the time initially to learn to use a tablet or computer...but then they can zoom in and make the text very large. My paternal grandmother kicked and fussed about technology but as her vision started getting bad, being able to get any book on a kindle and blow the text up to huge readable size has helped her a lot. Being able to have her laptop or tablet read a webpage to her or zoom in to make it large enough to see comfortably has helped her a great deal. Her hands are arthritic...but she has a holder that holds the tablet on the edge of a table in front of her or on the edge of the table beside her chair at a comfortable place. She can touch the screen with any part of her hand, not just the tip of her fingers. And some apps and/or programs allow her to do most of her usual things without even touching the screen. Voice controls have gotten pretty great these days. I was with her in the store a few months ago and watched in awe as this 84 year old women used a very big phone (galaxy mega) to snap a picture of a price tag on a bottom shelf (as she stood beside it) and then zoom in on the photo on her phone so she could read the tag. If they sent Gram paper bills, she probably couldn't read them without scanning them into the computer and blowing them up or using a magnifying glass anyway. Do I think they should be REQUIRED to learn or pay more to recieve paper bills? Maybe not. I understand why companies charge for paper bills but if you can 'prove' that you don't have a computer or internet access, they should waive the fee.
I work for a cellular phone company that has gone completely paperless. We text customers when their bill is due and I have seen a few older ones who have missed payments and had services suspended because they don't know how to check text messages. I understand that not everyone knows how to check text messages or email when their bill is due, but I appreciate the thousands of tons of paper it saves the planet on a yearly basis. Its not hard to learn to read a text. My mother has never sent a text in her life, but she knows how to read one when her bill is due.
Before the internet, paper bills were the norm and no one charges for them. They still have relevance as you need them for ID and they state they cannot be ones printed off the internet, but must be from the bank, utility company etc, especially when getting a bank account or applying for something. Also consider areas where there is no phone reception so texts or call don't go through, or if you live on a remote farm and there is no internet. Why pay for internet when you don't use it, but a company wants you to so they can bill you for something like gas. If an old person can barely read or type is it fair to expect them to look for a bill online? I don't think so. This also assumes everyone has a computer and many people cannot afford one as they struggle to pay for food.
I honestly think that charging extra for paper bills is another rip off that companies are getting away with. Paper bills have been used for I don't know how many years and now all of a sudden you have to pay extra. They hide behind saying things like its better for the environment and its easier for the customer etc but all it means is that they're making an extra £5 for doing something that where doing before for free.
I am shocked at £5/bill. However I am now saving £1.90/bill and only recently changed, and I'm only 22! I do like having a paper bill, but it just wasn't worth the extra money.
I am shocked at that too, £5 a bill? I don't think that is fair at all. I still prefer to receive my bills in paper, it's more convenient to me and I don't think they have the right to charge us for that.
The £5 extra for me was from our cable company, we have a mixed package, TV, internet and landline phone so I'm assuming if you didn't go paperless they would have to send 3 different bills, so I'm guessing that's why it was so much extra? Paperless billing works better for me so I'm not too bothered, I certainly don't think it works best for everybody though and I think as long as you keep paying your bills, as a paying customer you should have the right to choose how to receive them without being penalized.
The issue is that we have rights, we had the right to receive a paper bill for free and all of a sudden they decide to charge for that and it doesn't seem fair. For me it's more practical to receive them in paper and I am not an old person.
