Hi @uzitgraphics, other members and I have already addressed your concerns in the comments above. Is there anything in particular you would like me to explicitly address? 
Actually I will re-address your comments in case you donât understand what has already been written to you.
Yes, electronic technology requires electricity to work.
What does your massive store of paper filing use?
- Large areas of land-clearing and trees being cut down to provide the paper material. This reduces habitat for native animals; reduces the amount of air-recycling and pollution absorption processes, which in turn affects the amount of carbon dioxide that can be removed from the atmosphere; increases erosion on the land and increase sediment build-up in all downstream regions, which leads to smothered aquatic ecosystems; and the list goes on. Did you know that a single tree only produces about 30 reems of paper? And that the 408 million tonnes of paper was produced in 2014 alone, with paper consumption increasing year by year?
- Copious amounts of water are required for the processing of the wood product into paper pulp, and then into the paper product. This water must be taken from the environment, energy and resources and money spent on cleaning the water, then the water must be treated and disposed of. Did you know that a single reem of paper requires 850L of water to produce? Thatâs 1.5L of water per sheet of paper.
- Vast quantities of bleach and other processing chemicals are required to make our perfect white pieces of paper. These chemicals mean health risks for the workers and health risks for the environment that the waste chemicals are disposed in.
- These production facilities also emit large volumes of air pollutants that can cause serious lung problems and increase cancer risk.
- The transport of all of this paper product from tree to processer to shop to office or home burns fossil fuels that contribute so much to the deterioration of quality of life.
- Once the paper has been used, it must be disposed of. This means investing more resources, energy, and money in recycling it; or disposing of it in landfill to create methane (26x worse than CO2) and having to chop down more trees and the cycle repeats. Did you know 40% of US landfill is paper product?
Do you see how this is not simply a paper vs electricity debate? There is so much more to it than you seem to be admitting.
Only if I have your permission 
This was in context with asking you to fact check your statements before spouting them as gospel.
This is why we back up our electronic data, like good citizens.
What happens if, in the future, something happens and you want to go back through your files, but your filing cabinet got water damage, or pest infestation, or your house burned down, or you misplaced the file in a different spot and canât find it, etc?
Electronic storage is essentially free, with respect to how much information you can store compared to how much it costs.
What about the filing cabinet you have to buy? The stationery required for administrative purposes? The cost of space it takes up?
Do you see, uzit? You are very polarised with how you view this discussion. Try breaking down that confirmation bias and see this discussion with a bit more clarity. 
I wish you the best
1 Like
A single size 12 shoe boxâŠthat will be recycled in 10 years time and replaced with a new one.
Regards hard drives they brake more often than you think so there go your emails an the rest of the back ups, It could cost you up to 1K to recover the dataâŠ
You see MR Nature I have retired from work and Iâm a pensioner for the rest of my lifeâŠEvery dollar counts âŠ
With your storage requirements being so small that they fit in a single shoe box I agree that electronic storage for you would be a gross overspend of your money, however you should photocopy (and have them certified if needed) all important documents and ID and store the copies both in your home in a secure storage (eg a fireproof container or safe) and offsite to avoid loss in the case of fire, theft or some other damage to your property. Many people have much larger storage needs and the ideas presented here in this topic and on this forum may be of benefit to them.
I agree with those who feel that the cost of receiving a paper statement should be borne by the company that issues the bill not the receiver of the bill. Take for example my Father in Law, he cannot use a computer due to severe Macular degeneration but can with the aid of a magnifying glass read a paper statement. For this he has to pay an extra couple of dollars on each bill he receives and he cannot receive the discount on his bills because he cannot use the computer/tablet/smart phone to receive them.
2 Likes
The obvious conclusion is that for various reasons one size does not fit all, and for those with minimal needs and simple lives, simple and paper works fine for them, while for others with more complex financial lives electronic is probably the way to go.
The âYMMV messageâ is truly appropriate.
2 Likes
I disagree with this charge - it âfinesâ people for wanting a hard copy bill. If customers want a hard copy bill - this needs to be respected. It is not Telstraâs role to question why or how - just let customers choose. E.g. Some customers do not have a computer.
4 Likes
Hi @Joe1, you may benefit from reading the thread above. Printing and delivering paper copies simply costs more money.
Most things cost money. It is a cost a company to have someone sit at a computer and email you the bill. âFiningâ people for wanting to receive a paper bill is not right. They lose more money from the poor reputation they create for themselves ( some companies do not charge the fee when you request this and explain why you cannot receive the bill by email) and customers switching to companies that have no charge. This is like being charged to enter a physical store ( based on the logic that someone has to be paid to clean the store door and physically open the shop each day). I will not go into the fact that not all people have a computer at home - especially senior Australians and some people do not feel secure processing their bills online. In addition keeping records for taxation processes etc. can be difficult if everything is online. Empathy is needed here - people who prefer to receive their bills online need to get out of themselves and feel with people who do not and choose to receive bills by the traditional method. Good , successful companies do this.
1 Like
Have you tried speaking to to the manager about this? It sounds very unfair.
No it doesnât the billing software just cranks them out automatically on their due date. Now before you argue that the billing software costs money it does but it is the same system and software that is need for the hardcopy bills except they have to be printed and enveloped and mail at a cost to the business.
2 Likes
In essence this relates to customer service and we know that good service is good business. Customer service is more valuable than saving a few stamps and envelopes.
Software, maintenance, electricity, putting email addresses in a system - it is all a cost - and creating unhappy customers at the same time.
When more consumer rely on electronic copies, less hard copy bill are generated and the cost per paper bill increasesâŠthis results as the economy of scale becomes smaller.
1 Like
For most utility business the customers who donât have computers are not high on their radar.
Lack of computer access usually means they are elderly and therefore historical behavioural patterns suggest they are generally resistant to change providers they have been with for years for some cases decades. Therefore there is little risk of losing them over a small charge for hardcopy bills from this ageing and disappearing cohort, given that all the competitor utility suppliers they would consider going to would also charge for hardcopy bills.
Arguing against the force of the internet to disrupt traditional businesses and their communication methods is like standing on the beach and commanding the tide to stop coming in, sure you can do it but all you achieve is getting wet feet.
.
1 Like
Theses are the same inputs required for any billing method whether it be hardcopy or email, the difference is for hardcopies bills is the extra the cost of printing, the stamp the packing, delivering to the postal system.
1 Like
I know businesses do care - as requests to waive the paper bill fee have been granted. Wise businesses know that the cost of an unhappy customer is huge - more than the cost of paper.
Actually older people can be very informed and will take action ( like changing, phoning up talkback radio to complain). One reason is that they have a lot of time as they do not work. Time is always helpful to generate complaints. Also older customers have lots of family members ( grandchildren etc.) to create poor word of mouth advertising. I would say businesses ignore older customers at their own peril. And with an ageing population there are more and more of these types of customers ( some with lots of money).
1 Like
So why are you complaining about the fee then if it is being waived?
1 Like
I can understand the frustration at companies charging for things that should generally be included as part of the service. In my observation, itâs a matter of principle for most, not the amount or the fact that companies will sometimes waive this fee. However, considering the resource and environmental costs, why not make it a user pays system for those that choose paper?
Unfortunately, I think itâs not as simple as it seems. For example, The Treasury has previously indicated that âmany who cannot transition to digital bills come from disadvantaged groups, [and] it appears these groups are being unfairly impacted.â There are some other examples in this thread where e-statements are just not a realistic option, and with more companies now charging for paper statements, the cost of these fees is surely adding up and hurting the most vulnerable, which I would argue is not good for a society.
That argument is not going to convince everyone, but thatâs also not the only concern in my opinion. I couldnât find a reference to the distribution of estatements vs paper statements or for the amount of revenue that paper statement fees raise. However, considering the size of the utility providers or big companies like the Commonwealth Bank who charge a paper statement fee, Iâd imagine itâs a fairly significant amount of money. As consumers, will we see the financial benefit of these fees, or conversley the benefit of saving resources if we choose e-statements? I donât think this is often the case beyond the whims of existing market forces and the effects of competition in the broadest sense.
I think a better way to address these problems and achieve the best outcomes for the most number of people is to offer discounts for e-statements instead to provide a tangible benefit in return for saving some resources. For all new accounts, paper statements should also be âopt inâ. It may be that an important part of the solution is for more education on e-statements for some customers, such as how to access them online and the potential benefits of an easily searchable digital record. This would incentivise people to switch to e-statements and provide a benefit, while also avoiding punishing those who find e-statements are not a real option.
3 Likes
It is which way we look at it, one way is a discount for e-everything, but from the other side we have been there for years with businesses bleating that e-everything slows or reduces the next price increase. We can always trust that has been and remains the case, and it is not diverted to âextra e-profitâ canât we. 
2 Likes
Not just seniors kneppy. Businesses are simply outsourcing their business overheads to the customer and like you I object to that. I am already paying a fee for service and a paper statement is part of that service. As another contributor pointed out Optus (and others) are now charging you for refusing to give them access to your bank account via direct debit. No matter that you already make electronic payments and therefore there is no extra expense to them for âprocessing paymentsâ. This is outrageous. No wonder all these organisations and enterprises are making so much profit - the customers are picking up the business costs tab on top of already inflated goods and services prices. Fees for being told how much you owe and more fees for actually paying the bill!
5 Likes
