Darn... you brought up the medical field! ;) And yes, my attorney's office told me they invoice monthly, but I'm pretty sure it's actually quarterly because I had to wait for some time to get my invoice for $75 visit.

But, we can't forget pretty much any other service related business. I've been invoiced later for every bit of home repair I've ever had done... the electrician when the air conditioner power lines needed repaired... plumber when the water heater went bad.

And, is it rare to only pay for a reservation for a lot when getting a house built? I've only had the home-buying experience once, but after we put money down to reserve the lot we wanted, we didn't pay anything until closing. Two weeks before we had a major design issue and almost walked away from the entire thing. At the time, all we were walking away from was that deposit.

Prior to that, I had a roommate that delivered pizza and at least once a month he would talk about someone either getting sent to a phony address or sent out with a phony order... and I still only pay for my pizzas when they arrive. Granted, that's as soon as when they arrive, but they're a little more perishable than a deed copy... which I think sort of makes the restaurant point apples and oranges.

Newspaper and magazine subscriptions also send you products before you're expected to send a check.

Basically, though, I personally can’t really think of any service related industry that does a credit check before performing their service and, as I mentioned, many don't require payment upon immediate completion.

Maybe things are different elsewhere, though, and that's why the concept seems so out of place to many of us?