The Bills You’re Probably Paying Twice Without Realizing It

<p>Most people’s essential bills are fixed and predictable. If they’re also set to autopay, they’re easy to forget about.</p>
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<p>Some households are unknowingly paying for the same service twice. These sneaky overlaps can drain hundreds of dollars from a <a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/budgeting/budgeting-guide/?hyperlink_type=manual&amp;utm_term=incontent_link_1&amp;utm_campaign=1326595&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com&amp;utm_content=3&amp;utm_medium=rss">budget</a> each year. Finance experts showed you <a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/savings-advice/new-invisible-expenses-quiet-costs-draining-americans-budgets/?hyperlink_type=manual&amp;utm_term=incontent_link_2&amp;utm_campaign=1326595&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com&amp;utm_content=4&amp;utm_medium=rss">where these duplicate bills might be hiding</a>.</p>
<h2>Streaming Services, Apps and Digital Subscriptions</h2>
<p>Subscription services are one of the biggest sources of duplicate spending, especially when multiple people in the same household sign up separately.</p>
<p>“A family may pay for Netflix directly and also include it in a cable package. Some people pay for both Dropbox and Google Drive, even though they use only one,” said Ashley Akin, a CPA and tax consultant specializing in tax compliance services and the senior contributor at <a href="https://www.cep-dc.org/">CEP DC</a>.</p>
<p>Free trials can also easily turn into duplicate charges because people <a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/savings-advice/tricks-extend-free-trials-long-as-possible/?hyperlink_type=manual&amp;utm_term=incontent_link_3&amp;utm_campaign=1326595&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com&amp;utm_content=5&amp;utm_medium=rss">forget to cancel in time</a>.</p>
<p>Consumer finance expert Austin Kilgore, analyst with <a href="http://www.achieve.com">Achieve</a>, a center for consumer insights, said subscription stacking is another common cause.</p>
<p>“In a household with more than one adult, it’s possible that each person subscribed to a service without talking to the other.”</p>
<p>He also noted that bundles can hide overlapping services especially if multiple people are buying different bundles.</p>
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<h2>Insurance Policies That Overlap</h2>
<p>Insurance is another area where consumers frequently pay for overlapping protection.</p>
<p>Brad Spurgeon, owner and CEO of <a href="https://www.privatewindstorm.com/about">Brad Spurgeon Insurance Agency Inc.</a>, said duplicate coverage often occurs because policies describe similar protections differently. Flood insurance is a common example. “Whether they realize it or not, homeowners frequently have both a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy and a private flood policy with major overlap in their structural coverage.”</p>
<p>Rental car coverage is another common redundancy, he said, because it’s part of many auto insurance policies and most credit cards, “yet there are still a lot of drivers who choose to buy it separately at the rental counter.”</p>
<h2>Utility Plans and Household Account Mix-Ups</h2>
<p>Utilities can also produce duplicate charges. Adam Cain, vice president of marketing at <a href="http://ElectricityRates.com">ElectricityRates.com</a>, said this often happens when consumers switch providers but forget to cancel an old contract.</p>
<p>Overlapping contracts are easier to create than many people realize, particularly in deregulated states, “where people get excited to enroll into a fixed plan with their new energy provider forgetting that they’re still bound to the old one.”</p>