Electronic bill presentment and payment system with bill dispute capabilities

• US 20050102231A1
• Filed: 11/05/2004
• Published: 05/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dent, Warren T., Remington, Darren B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,516,101 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

A bill presentment and payment remittance system is configured for use over an electronic network, such as the Internet. The bill presentment and payment remittance system allows the biller to create a bill and payment remittance information in a format specified by the biller. The biller submits the bill and associated payment remittance information by electronically transmitting it over the Internet to the consumer. The consumer authenticates that the bill did indeed come from the indicated biller. The bill is presented in a user interface which provides a line-by-line itemization of the bill, along with a predefined dispute reasons which the consumer can check to challenge particular items on the bill. The bill can then be automatically or manually adjusted to reflect any disputed amounts. Payment of the bill is preferably in the form of a “direct debit check” that is formed by the consumer software using the billing and remittance information provided in the bill to automatically name the biller as the payee. The consumer completely controls the payment authorization, specifying the amount to be paid (either partial or full), and the date for the payment to be made, and the account from which the money will be drawn. The electronic payment and any dispute criteria are associated with the payment remittance information. The payment instruction and remittance information are then transmitted in the biller prescribed format back over the Internet to the biller. In this manner, the payment remittance information is automatically returned directly to the biller in the format that the biller chooses, without intervention by the consumer. The biller executes the payment instructions sent to it electronically by the consumer by sending them onto the biller'"'"'s bank.

Claims

1-31. -31. (canceled)

32. In an electronic bill presentment and payment remittance system, a method for presenting a bill to a consumer comprising the following steps:

displaying a bill presentment user interface (UI) on a visual display, the bill presentment UI including items on the bill with predefined dispute reasons expressing possible reasons why the consumer might wish to challenge a particular item on the bill; and

whereupon selection by a user of a particular predefined dispute reason for a particular item on the bill, including in a data structure to be returned to a biller the particular predefined dispute reason for the particular item on the bill with payment remittance information.

33. A method as recited in claim 32, further comprising the step of automatically adjusting an amount owed for the particular item on the bill to reflect the selection by the user of the particular predefined dispute reason.

34. A method as recited in claim 32, further comprising the step of enabling the user to adjust an amount owed for a particular item on the bill.

35. A method as recited in claim 32, further comprising the step of automatically tallying an amount due and an amount to be paid by the consumer which accounts for one or more deductions resulting from the user'"'"'s challenge of one or more particular items on the bill.

36. A method as recited in claim 32, wherein,

the selection by the user of the particular predefined dispute reason for the particular item on the bill is made by a check mark input by the user;

and

the particular predefined dispute reason is selected from the group consisting of a tax exempt dispute and an order nonreceipt dispute.

37. A method as recited in claim 32, further comprising the step of displaying advertisements within the bill presentment UI.

38. A method as recited in claim 32, further comprising the step of placing, within the bill presentment UI, a hyperlink to a target resource.

39. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions which direct a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 32.

40-53. -53. (canceled)

54. For execution on a processor of a consumer computing unit in a bill presentment and payment remittance system, a bill presentment user interface (UI) executing on the processor to show an itemized account of a bill, the bill presentment UI having predefined dispute reasons associated with the items which a consumer can select to challenge a particular item on the bill.

55-56. -56. (canceled)

57. In an electronic bill presentment and payment remittance system, a method for electronically presenting a bill to a consumer and for electronically remitting a payment of the bill from the consumer, comprising the following steps:

generating a bill and associated payment remittance information at a biller, the payment remittance information being arranged within a data structure according to a format prescribed by the biller, the data structure having one or more open data fields to hold data that a consumer can enter or alter and one or more closed data fields to hold data that the consumer cannot alter, the remittance information further including hidden structured remittance data that is kept hidden from the consumer;

electronically transmitting the bill and associated payment remittance information to the consumer;

displaying a bill presentment user interface (UI) on a visual display, the bill presentment UI including items with predefined dispute reasons expressing possible reasons why the consumer might wish to challenge a particular item on the bill; and

enabling the consumer to select a particular predefined dispute reason for a particular item on the bill.

58. A method as recited in claim 57, further comprising the step of automatically adjusting an amount owed for the particular item on the bill to reflect the selection by the consumer of the particular predefined dispute reason.

60. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions which direct a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 57.

58-1. A method as recited in claim 57, further comprising the step of providing one or more dialog boxes which the consumer can open from the bill presentment UI to enter an explanation as to why the particular item is being challenged.

61. In an electronic bill presentment and payment remittance system, a method for electronically presenting a bill to a consumer and for electronically remitting a payment of the bill from the consumer, comprising the following steps:

generating a bill and associated payment remittance information at a biller, the payment remittance information being arranged within a data structure according to a format prescribed by the biller, the data structure having one or more open data fields to hold data that a consumer can supply or alter and one or more closed data fields to hold data that the consumer cannot alter, the payment remittance information further including structured remittance data that is kept hidden from the consumer;

electronically transmitting a bill and associated payment remittance information from the biller to at least one intermediary;

electronically transmitting the bill and payment remittance information from the intermediary to the consumer;

displaying to the consumer a bill presentment user interface (UI) on a visual display, the bill presentment UI;

including the bill with items thereon associated with predefined dispute reasons expressing possible reasons why the consumer might wish to challenge a particular item on the bill; and

not including the structured remittance data;

enabling the consumer to select a particular predefined dispute reason for a particular item on the bill.

62. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions which direct a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 61.

63. In an electronic bill presentment and payment remittance system for electronically presenting a bill to a consumer and for electronically remitting a payment of the bill from the consumer, the system including a network, a biller computing unit with computer-readable medium, and a consumer computing unit with computer readable medium, the computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

operatively linking the biller computing unit and the consumer computing unit to the network;

generating a bill and associated payment remittance information in a particular format at the biller computing unit, the remittance information including structured remittance data that is kept hidden from the consumer;

transmitting the bill and payment remittance information over the data network from the biller computing unit to the consumer computing unit;

receiving the bill and payment remittance information at the consumer computing unit;

presenting the bill to the consumer a bill presentment user interface (UI) on a visual display, the bill presentment UI;

including items on the bill associated with predefined dispute reasons expressing possible reasons why the consumer might wish to challenge a particular item on the bill; and

not including the structured remittance data;

facilitating entry of payment instructions by the consumer at the consumer computing unit including a particular predefined dispute reason for a particular item on the bill.