Originally Posted by zippy the pinhead

You can read anecdotes in various threads regarding BB about BB-sent checks never reaching the intended recipient. The checks are sent in a nondescript envelope, and apparently can easily be mistaken as junk mail if they are not opened. Even if they are opened, it may not be clear to the recipient who sent the check, or what it is for.

BB is not a bank, so you don't have the usual tools at your disposal if something goes wrong with a payment. As DCBob wrote in a post a few up from this one, "[...] I mailed a printed BB check to the DC Treasurer for my September 15, 2013 estimated income tax payment. DC never received that check, so the pre-authorized check was credited back to my BB account automatically after 6 months and I made up the difference when I paid the balance due on my tax return." I don't know about you, but I really don't care to float AmEx $2,000 to $3,000 for six months if a BB-sent check goes missing.

However, if you pay using a bank, you have the usual tools at your disposal when something goes wrong. For starters, the laws governing banking transactions.