So all of a sudden, we start getting calls from Verizon asking to make payment arrangements. And lo, the billing site shows that both payment attempts had failed, even though they initially appeared to have gone through. So, I hurriedly slipped a check in the mail. That same day, the opening page shows a credit applied to the account. The main billing page showed "Thank you for paying your bill on My Verizon! Your account is up to date." Maybe that's why the collectors stopped calling. However, the same page shows a deduction for that total payment. But then the entire amount was carried forward and added to the next month's total due. At the bottom of the page was the following notice after total amount due. "Please do not pay by personal check."