MSN Billpay Troubles

This past weekend we tried to get into MSN Billpay to pay a couple of bills. The signin UI has changed several times in the past year or so, but usually we're able to figure it out eventually. This time, however, we were stumped. Even though we were signed in to our .net Passport, it was prompting us for Username and Password. Huh. As far as we knew, it was just the .net Passport -- there was no other Username or Password. We went through all the help resources provided and couldn't figure it out, so we called the support number provided for signin troubles. Unfortunately, after numerous attempts, we were unable to get to anyone who knew anything about MSN Billpay. <grumble> The bills weren't late yet, but I'm pretty frustrated at this point.

So, I do a web search (MSN Search, of course!) and find a newsgroup post that alludes to an email that was sent out explaining the changes and new process. Okay, so we search through every email account even possibly associated with the MSN Billpay account, every folder, every spam repository -- and no email. Maybe it got caught in a spam filter along the way, but we're still left without the information. This is where I'm thankful I work at Microsoft and can leverage my contacts for information.

A day and several emails later, I had my answer (and an opportunity to provide my .02 on how bad the process was for our customers!) And of course I'm going to share it with you :)

 If you find yourself in the same situation, first of all, look for the email from MSN Billpay in whatever account is (or may be) associated with the MSN Billpay account -- the email may be in your spam folder. (In our case, the email address associated with the account was not our .net passport account.) If you find the email, the email address for that account is your new username and the email will tell you what to use for your password. If you can't find the email, the support IVR has been changed to walk you through figuring it out or getting the information from a support rep. 

You can reach MSN Billpay support at 1-877-800-4873. Don't be tricked into choosing option 1 -- you really want option 4. The wait recording that plays after you select option 4 gives you information about the problem. If you still can't figure it out, stay on the line and customer service will help you.