# Can you pay a bill with mulitiple checks?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 8, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152 "2004-02-08T18:53:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/1 "2004-02-08T18:53:05Z")
Let’s say you have a bill due for $100.
Instead of writing a check for $100, you write 10 checks for $10. Would this be acceptable? Could the company refuse the payments?
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### Author:  [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/2 "2004-02-08T19:00:04Z")
IMHO, I would say yes it’s OK to pay with multiple checks, as long as they are one-party checks.
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### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/3 "2004-02-08T19:00:51Z")
I imagine you could, but why? Even if you have free checking from your bank, you still have paid something to have the checks printed.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/4 "2004-02-08T19:01:52Z")
You can do it, but the more checks you write, the greater the chance of errors. If you had to because one account alone does not have sufficient funds for the full amount, it’s generally not a problem.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/5 "2004-02-08T19:36:26Z")
Absolutely. I see it all the time where I work. Roommates split the phone bill and each sends a check for half or a third or whatever. I also get people who pay part of the bill with a check and part by credit card.
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### Author:  [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/6 "2004-02-08T19:51:47Z")
I think the company could refuse payment if you got really silly about it.
From time to time, I see news articles about someone who has his panties in a wad over a tax bill or something, and tries to pay with a wagon full of pennies.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/7 "2004-02-08T20:27:32Z")
My roommates pay the rent and the power bill with three separate checks for each. Neither has gotten shirty about it yet.
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### Author:  [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/8 "2004-02-08T22:16:21Z")
Funny story … pardon the interruption …
Years ago on Johnny Carson I heard this story. This guy got a bill from the phone company saying you owe $0.00 to be paid immediately. So he ignores the notice. Next month he gets a nasty letter for the phone company saying, you owe $0.00, pay up or we will turn this matter over to a bill collector. So he just ignores this, wonders what the hell is going on. Next month he gets another nasty letter from the phone company, pay $0.00 immediately! So the guy says the hell with it, writes a check for $0.00, sends it with the bill back to the phone company. He never heard another complaint from them. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/9 "2004-02-08T22:38:44Z")
You can pay your bills with clam shells, collar buttons or shiney pebbles **if both parties are agreeable**. But your creditor is under no obligation to accept even one check, much less multiple checks. They are entirely within their rights to demand payment in cash if they so desire. That some creditors accept multiple checks for a single debt should not be construed that it is required of all creditors. The acceptable forms of payment are probably stated in the fine print of the agreement you entered in to when you contracted for services.
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### Author:  [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/10 "2004-02-09T00:23:19Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#):
>
> Let’s say you have a bill due for $100.
> Instead of writing a check for $100, you write 10 checks for $10. Would this be acceptable? Could the company refuse the payments?
Why in the name of Common Sense would anyone want to write more that one check to pay one invoice, bill, etc???
:rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/11 "2004-02-09T00:36:00Z")
> [@spingears](#):
>
> Why in the name of Common Sense would anyone want to write more that one check to pay one invoice, bill, etc???
>
> :rolleyes:
Hey, buddy, put them eyes back in your head. 😃
I have a friend who has, shall we say, difficulties with budgeting his money. Each week, he will write a check for part of a bill and then send them all to the company at the end of the month.
He says it helps him control his spending.
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### Author:  [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/12 "2004-02-09T19:37:04Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#):
>
> Hey, buddy, put them eyes back in your head. 😃
>
> I have a friend who has, shall we say, difficulties with budgeting his money. Each week, he will write a check for part of a bill and then send them all to the company at the end of the month.
>
> He says it helps him control his spending.
OK that’s a somewhat reasonable reason.
Don’t let him get his hands on a credit card!
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### Author:  [@Thinks2Much](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinks2Much)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/13 "2004-02-10T00:11:48Z")
I used to work in the payment processing division of the phone company. Most payments are processed by machines these days. If you only send your statement and one check in legible handwriting, no human being ever touches your payment. This is why you should never send feedback with your payments, by the way. The machines don’t read it.
Anyway, the first step is a sorting machine. It detects the thickness of the envelope. If you have more than one check in there, or if you folded it, your bill will be kicked out to be handled in a more manual process. There is more likely a chance that one of the checks will get separated from the statement with that process. As long as you write the account number on all the checks, there is no issue. Send lots of checks - any company who uses the type of processing equipment I saw won’t care.
For what it is worth, if you are upset with a company and are only paying in protest, put as many staples as you can in your check. That loses them the most money in processing your payment.
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/14 "2004-02-10T01:08:01Z")
I volunteer for a blind woman who has no checking account and pays all of her bills by money order. Since she can only get to the bank infrequently to purchase money orders, I often have to pay her bills using a combination of money orders of various denominations. I am very careful to write her complete information, including name, address, and account number on each money order in case they get separated during the payment process. We have never had a problem with her creditors refusing to accept the multiple money orders.
The insurance company which cancels her account at least once a year for non-payment (even though they always receive only a single money order) is another story.
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### Author:  [@abby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abby)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pay-a-bill-with-mulitiple-checks/228152/15 "2004-02-10T04:27:04Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#):
>
> Funny story … pardon the interruption …
>
> Years ago on Johnny Carson I heard this story. This guy got a bill from the phone company saying you owe $0.00 to be paid immediately. So he ignores the notice. Next month he gets a nasty letter for the phone company saying, you owe $0.00, pay up or we will turn this matter over to a bill collector. So he just ignores this, wonders what the hell is going on. Next month he gets another nasty letter from the phone company, pay $0.00 immediately! So the guy says the hell with it, writes a check for $0.00, sends it with the bill back to the phone company. He never heard another complaint from them. 🙂
Come on. This is the Straight Dope GQ, not tell an old story that ain’t even true. Sheesh.
> **[Zero Dollars Charge](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zero-dollars-and-zero-sense/)**
>
> Man battles a $0.00 charge that won't go away.