Do you give any companies the right to draft your checking account for a monthly bill? It could be a utility company, a health club, a mortgage lender, your cable service, a cell provider or any other business.

Once your contract with them ends, that business may continue to make monthly debits via Automated Clearing House (ACH) from your account. Giving authorization to regularly draft an account is an open-ended arrangement, regardless of your contract.

Getting that money back can be a grueling process. The problem with ACH payments is that there are no consumer protection statutes governing what happens if you're cheated on purpose or in error.

The New York Times reports one consumer had a real nightmare with a car loan. The note was paid in full, yet the loan servicer continued to take monthly payments! The customer's own bank was no help and it was a fight every month to get the money back.

So what's the solution? Use electronic bill pay that you set up so you can shut it down anytime you want. That's the distinction between e-bill pay and traditional ACH payments. The former you control, the latter is out of your control.

And never allow a health club to draft your checking account. We've had more complaints about this industry than any other on the show.