Matt Swain at InfoBlog put together a nice little, personal example of why surrending to the marketing pressures, and "turning off" his paper billing, may not be a good thing.I know all the "big iron" folks have for years watched the clicks tumble as more and more utility and credit card customers decide to recieve bills and statements via email.
Sounds like a good deal, right?
Supply your bank your email addy and expect a bill or reminder to find its way to your inbox.
From his post,
"...I cannot think of a single instance where I did not receive a paper bill or statement in the mail in a given month. That physical mail piece is my trigger to take action.
Even if I choose to pay the bill online, the visual signal of a bill on the corner of my dining room table is my reminder. With my move to electronic presentment for this bill, I lost the physical reminder and paid for it. It cost me $39.00 in late fees and $15.58 in interest..."
He illustrates his frustration over poor customer service and did the right thing, he closed his account.
Here.
Click to email me.
Research: also "digital" generation prefers to receive important documents by mail
ReplyDeleteNearly 50% of young people under 34 years prefers to important documents such as invoices, bank statements and policies to receive by mail. The ease in a paper version can nazoeken business, having a paper certificate and readability reasons as mentioned above. Consumers who express their preferences for receiving digital post-especially seeing benefits in less storage space and maximize their online business to handle.
(Google translation, origin is Dutch)
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.docufacts.nl%2F19754%2Fonderzoek-ook-digitale%25e2%2580%2599-generatie-ontvangt-belangrijke-documenten-het-liefst-per-post%2F&sl=nl&tl=en
The article contains a link to the research data.