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American Utility Management, Inc.

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Reviews American Utility Management, Inc.

American Utility Management, Inc. Reviews (45)

They charge $7.50 to pay my bill online and call it a convenience fee. That is RIDICULOUS! I didn't receive my first bill until a few days before it was due. I didn't have enough time to mail it in (which still costs money for postage and the hassle to run to the post office and wait in line) and the only way to pay by avoiding the late fee is to pay online, costing more than what the late fee would cost (I know because the late fee is $7.00). That makes no sense to me. I tried to enroll in auto pay but it takes 3 or more weeks for this to be set up! When I did set this up, there was an error and I wasn't notified, causing my next payment to be late since I was expecting the payment to come out of my bank account on its own. Needless to say I am beyond frustrated with this "service" company. Overpriced and customer service is terrible and unwilling to help. Terrible company that nickle and dimes people. They make their money by unfairly charging fees.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/03/07) */
March 7, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM is a third party billing...

provider. We are hired by landlords and management companies throughout the United States to assist them with utility conservation. Part of this assistance includes billing their residents for utilities.
In Ms. [redacted]'s case, AUM sends her a monthly statement for water, sewer, trash, plus an administrative fee. Since each apartment has an individual meter, her statement is calculated based on her actual usage. In order to determine the charges on her statement, her usage is multiplied by the property's calculated effective rate. The effective rate takes into account the provider's published and/or tiered rates, when calculating the water/sewer charge. This rate also includes any applicable fees or taxes charged from the municipality to the apartment community.
The Public Utility sets the rates, reads the property meters and charges the property accordingly. Therefore, if the property's utility bill/effective rate increases, residents will see an increase in their bill as well.
AUM hopes that the information above was able to address her concerns. If she would like to discuss her AUM account in further detail, AUM's Customer Service can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX, 8:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Monday through Friday.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal

AUM charges a $7.99 fee to pay your bill online. My most recent bill was $38, making this a 20% surcharge! This is illegal in 10 states and completely indefensible. There is no reason that processing an online payment instead of a paper one would cost AUM more than 4% of the billed amount. It's shameful that this business has an A+ accreditation.

$20 Late Fee
Unable to change ABP date
Charged a fee to make a payment if not on ABP
Anti consumer

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/07/11) */
July 11, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM is a third party...

billing provider. We are contracted with owners, landlords, and management companies throughout the United States to assist them with utility conservation. Part of this assistance includes billing their residents for utilities on a monthly basis.
While AUM and the property have verified the mailing address, occasionally statements may take longer than normal to reach [redacted] when traveling by the U.S. Postal Service. We have no control over this third party; however we do offer other options in order to receive statements and or make payments in a more timely and efficient manner. Those options include e-statements, direct debit or contacting our Customer Service Department. It appears that [redacted] has signed up and is now receiving his statements electronically.
While AUM is unable to waive the online convenience fee, we are looking into waiving the late fee. If [redacted] has any additional questions our Customer Service Department can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX, 8:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Monday through Friday.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Paralegal

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/22) */
September 22, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM is a third party...

billing provider. We are contracted with owners, landlords, and management companies throughout the United States to assist them with utility conservation. Part of this assistance includes billing their residents for utilities.
On September 5, 2014, AUM received notification from the property to begin the move out process for this resident. All charges were transferred to the property and her AUM account was closed. When the property processed her move out, they collected the final charges or give any credits if warranted.
Unfortunately, AUM is unable to grant Ms. [redacted]'s request for a refund.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/09/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The response above says that they have my money and they cannot write me a check for the unjust late charges because the account is closed. This is not true. Any HR department has access to write checks with approval from authority. They can absolutely cut me a check for these late charges from the bills I never received. I am not asking for refund from the service provided, just the late charges due to the business' bill issuing mistake because I never received a bill during my entire time as a resident. I want them to own up to their mistake and be an ethical company.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/10/10) */
October 10, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the additional information submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM is simply the billing provider and remits resident payments to the property. Also, as previously stated all final charges are handled at the property during the move out process.
Unfortunately, AUM is unable to grant Ms. [redacted]'s request for a refund.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/08/14) */
August 14, 2015
American Utility Management ([redacted]) received the complaint submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
[redacted] is a third party...

billing provider. We are contracted with owners, landlords, and management companies throughout the United States to assist them with utility conservation. Part of this assistance includes billing their residents for utilities on a monthly basis.
When our invoices are mailed, residents typically have twenty-one (21) days in which to make full payment before a late fee is applied. This information is clearly stated on each resident statement. This fee is only applied if a balance remains on the account after the indicated due date. This may occur if the payment is not received and processed by the due date, or if the payment was a partial payment.
An available option is to manage the account online. Every statement lists our web address and that the account can be managed online. The online service allows access to account information, bill payment and to set up for e-statements. One can view and print statements, but is only charged a convenience fee when payment is received online with an approved credit card transaction.
Another option available is to enroll in [redacted]'s E-Statement Program. In order to enroll in this program, residents must visit the [redacted] website at www.aum-inc.com and click on the Resident Tab. After logging in and re-entering his/her email address, the e-statement option would have to be selected. Once registering for the program he/she would receive an email with a link to confirm the registration. E-statements would begin once the resident has confirmed his or her registration.
[redacted] currently has three main bill payment options for our customer's convenience. Payments can be made online along with a convenience fee and the payment would post to the account on the day of the transaction. If anyone feels that the online convenience fee is too high, there is the option to set up automatic payments. With consent, payments can be automatically debited from a checking account. Another option is to mail payments to our lockbox via the United States Postal Service.
There is always has the option of contacting [redacted]'s Customer Service for the balance, due date and remittance address. They can be reached by calling XXX-XXX-XXXX, 8:00a.m. to 7:00p.m. (CST) Monday through Friday.
Resident payments are not mailed to [redacted] nor are they processed directly by [redacted]. [redacted] contracts with a reputable lockbox service to collect and process all payments. The lockbox service typically processes payments within 24 hours of receipt. However, a delay in processing can occur if directions included on each statement are not followed. Each statement notes to allow 5-7 business days when mailing payment, to not enclose written correspondence with payment, to return the payment coupon with payment and not to staple the payment coupon to the payment.
Occasionally mail may take longer than normal to reach its destination when traveling by the U.S. Postal Service. We have no control over this third party; however we do offer other options in order to receive statements and or make payments in a more timely and efficient manner. Those options as noted above include e-statements, direct debit and contacting our Customer Service Department.
In this particular case, [redacted] waived a late fee as a one-time courtesy on June 3, 2015. Therefore [redacted] is unable to waive another late fee.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal

I am very dissatisfied with this company. Here are my reasons.
- No explanation of any sorts of increase in utility rates. The rates tend to jump randomly without any explanation.
- Late fees are outrageous - who charges a $9 late fee on a bill that is almost a 10% late fee
- Company practices are not at all customer friendly..their policy is to first charge the customer for anything and then put the onus on the customer to call back and justify why they should not be charged. It is very tough to discuss reasonably with their customer care.
- Expect any sort of random charge to appear on your bill - AUM Admin fee - what on earth is this fee for and why should it be charged to customers?

This company needs to change its practices to be more transparent and customer friendly. They seem to be taking advantage of the fact that the users do not really have an option to switch to another company and thus dont care about their customers. Revdex.com should follow up with this company.

I moved into Waterford Cove Apartments, Sacramento, CA on March 2014. AUM charged me .25 for the monthly admin charge for processing the Sewer/Trash/Water bill. The following year when I renewed my lease. AUM increased the monthly admin charge to 3.50, which is a huge increase. I called customer service for them to justify the increase, and they could not break down the 3.50 cost. They said it was the ADMIN CHARGE.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/03/07) */
March 7, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM is a third party...

billing provider. We are contracted with owners, landlords, and management companies throughout the United States to assist them with utility conservation. Part of this assistance includes billing their residents for utilities.
In Ms. [redacted]'s case AUM is contracted through her apartment complex and/or their management company to bill her. AUM sends monthly statements and the monthly utility portion of the statement simply reflects each resident's portion of the overall bill for the property. Since each apartment does not have an individual meter to measure water and sewer usage, bills must be calculated on an allocation basis.
The Public Utility sets the rates, reads the property meters and charges the property accordingly. Therefore, if the property's utility bill increases, residents will see an increase in their bill as well. Residents are billed only for their share of the property's overall bill and the total charge allocated to residents does not exceed the total amount paid by the property plus an administrative fee. This is in accordance with the state statute.
Unfortunately, AUM is unable to grant her request of waiving the monthly administrative fee and discontinuing her AUM statements.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/03/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This did not address the issue at all. Seems to be a standard pre-written response that you just sent to everyone. Your bills are often for the incorrect amount, resulting in me having to pay my apartment complex twice every month. Main issue is you are charging $5 a month to provide incorrect information. If you must charge me at least provide correct and accurate bills. If you can not do this I should not be required to pay.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/03/27) */
March 27, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the additional information submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM only generates and mails the resident statements and does not collect payment for these charges. On each statement under the Message Center section it states "Your current lease agreement overrides any amounts billed on this statement. The amount due is reflective as of the 15th of last month. You are responsible for potential activity that does not appear on this statement." This information has been noted in the Message Center beginning with her January 21, 2013 statement.
AUM's previous correspondence discussed the utility portion of her statement and addressed the monthly statement and administrative fee.
As previously stated, AUM is unable to grant her request of waiving the monthly administrative fee and discontinuing her AUM statements.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal

AUM is the absolute worst company I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Every person I ever talked to has been nothing but rude. Multiple times they "lost" the check I sent them, or the bill they supposedly sent me never showed up, resulting in me have to pay a $7.50 fee. Any time I talked to the company about these problems I was told I could go online and pay via credit card, where I would have to pay a $7.50 "convenience" fee. It's completely absurd. One thing about AUM, they will get that $7.50 money from you one way or another. The A+ Revdex.com rating is just another part of the sham that is this business. I will never rent from another place that does business with these people again, and I make sure to tell everyone I know to do the same.

Live in a complex with hundreds of tenants. Most everyone's bills are wrong every month. This business needs to be shut down.

Stay away fro any apartment complex that uses AUM billing. They are a scam!

I just got my second bill from AUM. My first bill was questionable. This second bill does it for me.

The total of my bill is $96.59.

Forced to pay for cable tv at $33.15
Online convenience fee of $7.50
Pest Control at $3.70
Water/sewer at $50.90
Trash at $4.25
Total of $104.09 minus the $7.50 credit already on my account


I know for an absolute fact I do not use that much for water/sewer. I was living in a 1900 sq ft house that uses the same water and my highest bill was $30 and that was using a bit of water. I know I use less water at my current 1200 sq ft townhouse and my water has been $50.90 for two months straight.

I also went to pay the $96.59 online and I get hit with another $7.50 "online convenience fee!" To pay this bill I have to pay the "online convenience fee" twice for a total of $15! That is on top of the AUM admin charge of $4.59! An extra $19.59 extra for nothing on top of an inflated water usage!!!! My total to pay this bill is $104.09!

19.59 / 104.09 = 18.8%.

18.8% of my bill is AUM added on "fees!" It would be much higher if my water bill wasn't so inflated!!!

AUM IS A SCAM!!!

1) Fee explanation non-existent. What are "Sewer" and "Fixed Sewer 1" representing?
When I use 1,049 gallons of sewer at $0.0015 ($1.57) why is "Fixed Sewer 1" at $7.08?

2) Fee explanation non-existent. What are "Water" and "Fixed Water 1" representing?
When I use 1,049 gallons of water at $0.0026 ($2.73) and "Fixed Water 1" $4.41?

3) Why is a water and sewer utility including "Ambulance Utility Fee" and how can that possibly be $5.41/month when 911 fees are through cellular and telecoms and I've never seen an ambulance here?

4) Why is there an $11.00 "one time activation fee" for 30 seconds of data entry work to create an account for me?

5) Why was a statement generated on 01/31/2015 delayed to have a bill generated on 02/03/2015 and delayed again to be post-marked 02/05/2015 (and received 02/09/2015)? There is a nine day turnaround time between bill generation and bill receipt; this is entirely unacceptable.

6) Why is there no option to pay via telephone?

7) The company delays the bill to the customer by 9 days but expects that the bill shall be processed by the company within 21 days, or impose a $6.50 late fee. (NOTE: This does NOT mean post-marked by the 21 day mark, NOR does this mean received by the 21 day mark; this actually means mailed, received, AND processed, by the 21 day mark, and there is reportedly a 2-3 day delay between receipt and processing.) How is this reasonable? A customer has to mail the check to the company on the day of receipt of the bill in order to pay on time. Furthermore, the bill is sent to a "secure lock box" and then processed at a later time, with no accountability between postmaster delivery to the lockbox and processing at the facility. Also NOTE: Paying early by checking the bill online is not possible, as the company REQUIRES the bill stub to be attached to the bill.

8) Why does it take two months to set up an automatic deposit, and why is the only automatic deposit available a direct (and automatic) funds transfer from a checking account to the company. (There's NO way to dispute or question a bill that is incorrect beforehand with this option. This company does not at all inspire any trust or confidence in fairness, accuracy, or transparency, so I would NEVER trust the company with an automatic funds transfer.

9) If a customer wishes their bill to be processed swiftly, the only way to do this is to pay by credit card. Why is there an outrageous $7.50 convenience fee to pay via credit card?

10) How can it be that my $1.57 water bill + $2.57 sewer bill ($4.30 total) becomes $35.78 through third-party bloat fees, with a distinct risk of a $6.50 late fee or a $7.50 convenience fee to guarantee timely pay?

11) Why is a corporation run in Oak Brook, IL receiving payments in Carol Stream, IL for a residence 1,900 miles west of Oak Brook?

This company lacks in transparency and is deliberately making it nearly impossible to pay the bill by mail at a lower cost. In the year 2015, I have never done business with any utility company or service provider that makes billing so difficult, makes timely payment a near impossibility, and gouges so heavily with administrative fees, built-in late fees, and exorbitant convenience fees.

This company rates 0 out of 10 for being a barely legal rip-off artist and I will lobby my property manager to terminate their contract or break my lease to avoid this company.

I reside in an apartment and part of my rental agreement is that I pay for water. AUM is the company who manages the utility service for water. My water bill was reasonable when I first moved into a one bedroom apartment with maybe two outrageous bills per year. However, since I've moved to a two bedroom apartment the bill has gone from reasonable to ridiculous. From $31.00 to $ 19.00 to $56.00! I formally lived in a Townhouse and my water bill was $60.00 every three months. So, tell me why is a small two bedroom apartments bill $56.00 for one month? The water bills are erratic with no explainable reason. Why???? I have not received answer to this question.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/26) */
March 26, 2015
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint submitted by [redacted]. We would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help in your investigation.
AUM is a third party billing...

provider. We are contracted with owners, landlords, and management companies throughout the United States to assist them with utility conservation. Part of this assistance includes billing their residents for utilities on a monthly basis.
When our invoices are mailed, residents typically have twenty-one (21) days in which to make full payment before a late fee is applied. This information is clearly stated on each resident statement. This fee is only applied if a balance remains on the account after the indicated due date. This may occur if the payment is not received and processed by the due date, or if the payment was a partial payment.
An available option is to manage the account online. Every statement lists our web address and that the account can be managed online. The online service allows access to account information, bill payment and to set up for e-statements. One can view and print statements, but is only charged a convenience fee when payment is received online with an approved credit card transaction.
Another option available is to enroll in AUM's E-Statement Program. In order to enroll in this program, residents must visit the AUM website at www.aum-inc.com and click on the Resident Tab. After logging in and re-entering his/her email address, the e-statement option would have to be selected. Once registering for the program he/she would receive an email with a link to confirm the registration. E-statements would begin once the resident has confirmed his or her registration.
AUM currently has three main bill payment options for our customer's convenience. Payments can be made online along with a convenience fee and the payment would post to the account on the day of the transaction. If he feels that the online convenience fee is too high, there is the option to set up automatic payments. With written consent, payments can be automatically debited from his checking account. The auto debit requires residents to complete an application and can take up to two months to process. Another option is to mail payments to our lockbox via the United States Postal Service.
Mr. [redacted] always has the option of contacting AUM's Customer Service for his balance, due date and remittance address. They can be reached by calling XXX-XXX-XXXX, 8:00a.m. to 7:00p.m. (CST) Monday through Friday.
Resident payments are not mailed to AUM nor are they processed directly by AUM. AUM contracts with a reputable lockbox service to collect and process all payments. The lockbox service typically processes payments within 24 hours of receipt. However, a delay in processing can occur if directions included on each statement are not followed. Each statement notes to allow 5-7 business days when mailing payment, to not enclose written correspondence with payment, to return the payment coupon with payment and not to staple the payment coupon to the payment.
Occasionally mail may take longer than normal to reach its destination when traveling by the U.S. Postal Service. We have no control over this third party; however we do offer other options in order to receive statements and or make payments in a more timely and efficient manner. Those options as noted above include e-statements, direct debit or contacting our Customer Service Department.
In this particular case, AUM waived the late fee as a one-time courtesy. We noticed that Mr. [redacted] has been receiving his statements via our e-statement program and hope that the other information will assist Mr. [redacted] when making future payments as well.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal

AUM is nickel and dime all their customers, and the landlords and taking their cut in this. some of the tenants at the [redacted] apartments run their water 24/7 and the rest of the residents have to pay the bill. Since AUM my water bill has double if not tripled and the landlords have been told about the water waste and do not do anything about correcting the matter, why their cut in the AUM will be less. Where does one go to when it comes to conserving the natural resources when landlords as [redacted] and [redacted] apartments do not care.

Last month, I paid my bill online, and somehow got registered for direct payment from my checking account. After the payment was authorized on 6/10, I received a letter notifying me that I was registered for direct payments (something I never do). on 6/16. I called the company and asked if the payment was authorized. I was told by the representative there (she was extremely rude, as are with all their representatives) that if I cancelled the direct payment online, the money WOULD NOT be withdrawn from the account on 6/20.
Despite all the precautions I took, the money was withdrawn from my account on 6/20 (unlike I was told), and I had to pay my bank an overdraft fee for AUM's misleading information and their mistake.
When I called customer service (yet, they are completely incompetent and give answers that do not answer your question or solve your problem at all), they told me three different times that the manager was on the phone. Once they hung up on me.

I have been renting from apt complexes that use AUM for water/sewage for almost 2 years now. Their customer service is impossible to get through and their prices are outrageous. We were only in our apt for 6 days of the whole month and our water/sewage was more expensive than if we had been using their utilities for the whole month. They have hiked up our bill for unexplained reasons. Our "sewage and water" fee has been randomly changed and upped with no direct corralation to how often we actually use the utilities. In fact, the LESS we use our water and sewage the HIGHER our bill. They mail you your statement and then charge over SEVEN dollars to make a payment online. We can pay all of our other utilities online for free. In fact, we can pay all our bills for anything online for free except from this company. they PENALIZE you for paying your bill online. You have to either write out a check and snail mail it (and pray it doesn't get lost or you owe them another TEN dollars for late fees), of write a check to the management of the apt complex to avoid paying the extra 7 dollars. The 7 dollar processing fee is almost 20% of our actual utility bill. This company is scamming the customers and getting away with it. Do NOT rent from an apt complex if you can help it if they use AUM. This company needs to be reported for scamming people.

It amazes me that AUM has an A+ rating considering 33% of that score is based on customer reviews of which 96% are negative. To throw my hat in the ring it is unconscionable that this company is able to get away with the high fees they charge. For those of us that live in an apartment where the property management company uses AUM to collect utilities such as water, sewage and waste we have no choice but to use this company to pay these bills. AUM charges a "convenience" fee of $7.99 (about 10% of my average monthly bill) to pay your bill online, but nothing if you mail them a check. Who is that convenient for? Arguably the cost of an online transaction is a lot less than hiring someone to open an envelope, process a check and manually entering a payment. In this day and age of digital payments it is unconscionable for an organization to charge such a fee. Additionally if you happen to pay late you will be charged a $20 late fee (about 25% of my average monthly bill). These fees are excessive and are tantamount to price gouging considering we as consumers have no choice but to use their services. The Revdex.com should reduce the rating of this company and work with them to produce a fee structure that is fair and honest.

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