By SANDRA BROWN KELLY

    How did Shakespeare say it when he wanted to make the point that Hamlet had done himself in? Hoisted on his own petard? I think something similar has happened to me with online bill paying.

    Paying bills at the bill site has been on my list of column topics for some time. I intended to praise the system and suggest the time had come for everyone to consider this system. Get rid of all that paper eventually. Download electronic statements directly into financial software.

    Forget that! Some of us should not touch online bill paying when it requires us to take action. Paying through a bank might be another situation, which we will explore later.

    Until recently, my online payment experience was with American Express. I received my paper bill, and then zipped online, logged on to my password-protected account, submitted the payment for electronic transfer from a checking account and wrote down the payment confirmation number.

    When GMAC Mortgage offered online payment service several months ago, I set up an account there to enable me to submit mortgage payments online.

    Now I have learned a very hard lesson. I almost got into a legal conundrum because of lack of payment. OK, I know you're saying: What dummy could do this? But read on and you might be a bit more understanding.

    Here is what happened: Remember, my American Express statement came first as a paper bill. Like a traditional bill, it was opened and slipped under a large clip that also holds stamps and return address stickers. Everything for monthly bills stays in that one spot until payment is sent. I carried the paper bill to the computer when I paid it.

    Things went similarly with GMAC statements until the statements stopped coming. When I signed up for online payment, I also agreed to eventually receive statements online, although I never realized that was the case.

    I did get e-mails that my statement was ready to review; at least, I now know that GMAC uses its acronym, GMAC, in all correspondence promoting products. But in its payment notification messages, the "who" line on the e-mail says "customer_ service@gmacm.com.." I diminish the "who" column in e-mail, so I only saw the "customer service" part of the address.

    Long ago, I learned online customer service messages were a waste or spam, so I killed the GMAC messages without reading them. I do the same with similar vague subjects such as "Child support," "Dr Speed," "Debtscape" and "Electronic Transfer" (which always has to do with casino money).

    Perhaps I should have noticed I had more money than expected in my checking account. But since I am self-employed, my balance can fluctuate widely, so balance was no clue. I don't have a check-off list of monthly bills because the clip holding my statements worked in the past. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I had not seen a mortgage statement lately. When I returned home and checked, I found I had not paid my mortgage for almost two months. I paid, online, just ahead of an electronically generated "breach" notification sent through regular mail, the first step toward foreclosure.

    When I asked GMAC why I had not heard from the company more forcefully, I was told their one attempt to phone me found the line busy. I also got an e-mail.

    The moral to this story is that some of us need conspicuous reminders, such as paper bills, to stay on top of finances. Companies need to be a more helpful partner during this transition from paper to electronic bill payment. How about a high-priority e-mail with "GMAC Mortgage Overdue" in the subject line?

    Part of the problem is that payment systems have not been realigned for online payment, but I no longer care. I want my paper bills back. Be very, very careful out there.

    You can reach free-lance writer SANDRA BROWN KELLY at sbk@rev.net.

Let any elected or appointed official know what you think and how you feel by CLICKING HERE.