@gbacso wrote: I never have ... never ... will pay for something I haven't used or received.
If you rent your accommodation, do you pay your monthly rent by the 1st day of the next month, before the next month starts, or do you pay the rent on the last day of the current month that is near its end?
If you are a home-owner, you must pay your annual city taxes before the 1st day of July, for the upcoming 12 months, in order to receive services (water, sewer, garbage pickup, fire, police, et cetera) that you will be using, in the future.