November 11, 2015American 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. The notice on the statements indicating water and sewer charges will
begin on the January statement is just that a notification. The charges for water and sewer on the
January statement will be based off the December bill period and not for the
past few months. AUM apologizes for any confusion or inconvenience this may
have caused.Sincerely, [redacted]Paralegal
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/12) */
September 12, 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.
In Mr. [redacted]'s case AUM is contracted through his apartment complex and/or their management company to bill him on a monthly basis for utilities such as water and sewer. As stated in previous correspondence sent to Mr. [redacted], while AUM is not privy to Mr. [redacted]'s individual lease agreement, AUM recommends that he review his signed lease agreement as it determines his payment arraignment and consent for AUM to bill him.
Regarding late fees, when our invoices are mailed residents 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 she 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.
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.
In this particular case all fees were properly assessed, therefore no credits are warranted.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/09/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Miss [redacted] is lying.
"Resident payments are not mailed to AUM nor are they processed directly by AUM." - [redacted]
As you will see in the attached photograph, the threatening letter from my apartment complex that triggered AUM's concession to finally address my endless contact attempts with them to verify their identity, the billing address is AUM's address.
I've found that the exact complaints that I've made to you (the Revdex.com) about AUM are not an anomaly. Searching google has not only turned up countless complaints that match mine, but there are websites dedicated to the eradication of this scam company.
AUM verified that they were a scam company when they began mailing bills to me for a service which I never signed up for, nor agreed to pay for. I had never even heard of this phantom company until receiving their unsolicited bills for a service that I never contacted them about, requested, or agreed to. It took them until June 30th of 2014 (following countless repeated contact attempts on my part via email and phone, none of which were acknowledged or returned) to admit who they were, or even respond to me. This company has no business doing business the way they do, no business charging a 147% late fee ($25 late fee on $17), no business charging late fees on a bill for a service that was never requested, no business billing someone for a service not requested or agreed to, and certainly no business behaving like a shell scam company, as they have been doing.
They will drop all of these fees immediately, or be brought to court for full legal remedies.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/09/26) */
September 26, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the further additional information submitted by [redacted].
AUM is unable to grant his request. We recommend as with all prior correspondence to review his signed lease agreement.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2014/09/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They've just been proven to be lying, and their only response is "We won't approve his request". I'll give them until October 7th, one week from tomorrow, to make the adjustments. If they don't, I'll be talking to my attorney about whether to join an existing class action lawsuit against them, or to file our own. Their choice. If they choose not to admit their misdeeds and removing the bogus charges, I will be suing them via one of the two lawsuits mentioned above.
AUM in Oak Brook, IL is a company facilitating fraud by overcharging residents for utilities and helping the property management companies cut their cost on operating the multi-dwelling apartment complexes. They will not provide reasoning for the constant rate hikes and refuse to provide the info on how the charges are calculated. If questioned the reply that there was a "usage increase" without even specifying what for. In case of my community they said there was "usage increase" when bunch of people moved out and watering of lawns was decreased due to the season. How could there be an increase? Further more, non-potable water, used for landscaping should not be even commingled with potable water used by residents, but it is. They allocated only 5% for the property use when another property serviced by other company allocated 20%. Splitting the cost based on number of residents and square footage they occupy is ridiculous, residents do not use water to water their apartments and usage of 2 people will remain the same whether they are in a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartment. City of San Jose, CA where my community is located set sewer rate at $19.35 per unit, they make us pay more. Please stop this con game from continuing!
When my roommates & I first moved into our new apartment in Rock Hill, SC on a Friday afternoon we were unable to have the utilities turned on in our names since we were moving in during a time crunch and we all work long hours at out respective jobs our landlord told us it would be no problem to keep the power on & made no mention of any additional charges we may or may no incur. We were shocked when we received a bill from a company called AUM (which has local affiliation) who charged us almost $200 for a Saturday & Sunday for power & including a $75 "connection fee" & a $50 "termination fee". We found this to be outrageous especially because the power was already turned on from the last tenant.
We had the utilities turned over into our names the following week through our city's utility department, as is customary in our county, & were very surprised to find out that our property management company was still expecting us to pay our utilities through AUM for each & every month we lived in our apartment. Why on earth are we being made to pay not only our city for the services THEY are providing but also AUM which is hundreds of miles away & has nothing to do with our power, water, sewer & trash pick up?
I find that both AUM & the property mangers are working together, not to provide a service to the public, but only to make money for themselves. When we brought up these questions & concerns with our landlord we were never given a plausible reasoning for why we were begin forced to pay double utilities which is disgustingly egregious & when we stopped paying the AUM charges we were proptly evicted from the apartment.
I cannot say that everyone out there will have this experience but I would warn against signing a lease with any property management company that uses AUM.
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint and we would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help resolve this matter.
class="apple-converted-space">We have revised the account and determined that according to our records, the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power account was not transferred into the residents name until 2/17/16. For all prior periods the property was charged for the utility while the tenant was residing in the apartment. These charges are what are shown on the resident statements. When an LADWP invoice is charged to the property for a period which it should have been in the residents name, the charges are added on the next AUM statement as “Electric Recovery”. This occurred on 9 of the residents AUM statements. Each one included instructions to establish the utility in the resident’s name. As these charges are not generated by AUM, we are unable to explain why they might have been higher. In previous calls to our customer service agents we attempted to explain these charges. If Ms. [redacted] had LADWP service in her name covering the dates during her tenancy prior to when service was placed in her name (5/17/14 through 2/17/16), she may forward a copy of the actual utility bill(s) for AUM to review. If the Revdex.com process allows, they may be attached to this complaint. Her account will be reviewed and updated based on information received. It takes approximately 2-3 business days for the account to be updated from the date the information is received. We hope the information listed above will assist with future payments.
November 11, 2015American 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. The notice on the statements indicating water and sewer charges will
begin on the January statement is just that a notification. The charges for water and sewer on the
January statement will be based off the December bill period and not for the
past few months. AUM apologizes for any confusion or inconvenience this may
have caused.Sincerely, [redacted]Paralegal
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/12) */
September 12, 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.
In Mr. [redacted]'s case AUM is contracted through his apartment complex and/or their management company to bill him on a monthly basis for utilities such as water and sewer. As stated in previous correspondence sent to Mr. [redacted], while AUM is not privy to Mr. [redacted]'s individual lease agreement, AUM recommends that he review his signed lease agreement as it determines his payment arraignment and consent for AUM to bill him.
Regarding late fees, when our invoices are mailed residents 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 she 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.
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.
In this particular case all fees were properly assessed, therefore no credits are warranted.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/09/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Miss [redacted] is lying.
"Resident payments are not mailed to AUM nor are they processed directly by AUM." - [redacted]
As you will see in the attached photograph, the threatening letter from my apartment complex that triggered AUM's concession to finally address my endless contact attempts with them to verify their identity, the billing address is AUM's address.
I've found that the exact complaints that I've made to you (the Revdex.com) about AUM are not an anomaly. Searching google has not only turned up countless complaints that match mine, but there are websites dedicated to the eradication of this scam company.
AUM verified that they were a scam company when they began mailing bills to me for a service which I never signed up for, nor agreed to pay for. I had never even heard of this phantom company until receiving their unsolicited bills for a service that I never contacted them about, requested, or agreed to. It took them until June 30th of 2014 (following countless repeated contact attempts on my part via email and phone, none of which were acknowledged or returned) to admit who they were, or even respond to me. This company has no business doing business the way they do, no business charging a 147% late fee ($25 late fee on $17), no business charging late fees on a bill for a service that was never requested, no business billing someone for a service not requested or agreed to, and certainly no business behaving like a shell scam company, as they have been doing.
They will drop all of these fees immediately, or be brought to court for full legal remedies.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/09/26) */
September 26, 2014
American Utility Management (AUM) received the further additional information submitted by [redacted].
AUM is unable to grant his request. We recommend as with all prior correspondence to review his signed lease agreement.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Corporate Paralegal
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2014/09/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They've just been proven to be lying, and their only response is "We won't approve his request". I'll give them until October 7th, one week from tomorrow, to make the adjustments. If they don't, I'll be talking to my attorney about whether to join an existing class action lawsuit against them, or to file our own. Their choice. If they choose not to admit their misdeeds and removing the bogus charges, I will be suing them via one of the two lawsuits mentioned above.
AUM in Oak Brook, IL is a company facilitating fraud by overcharging residents for utilities and helping the property management companies cut their cost on operating the multi-dwelling apartment complexes. They will not provide reasoning for the constant rate hikes and refuse to provide the info on how the charges are calculated. If questioned the reply that there was a "usage increase" without even specifying what for. In case of my community they said there was "usage increase" when bunch of people moved out and watering of lawns was decreased due to the season. How could there be an increase? Further more, non-potable water, used for landscaping should not be even commingled with potable water used by residents, but it is. They allocated only 5% for the property use when another property serviced by other company allocated 20%. Splitting the cost based on number of residents and square footage they occupy is ridiculous, residents do not use water to water their apartments and usage of 2 people will remain the same whether they are in a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartment. City of San Jose, CA where my community is located set sewer rate at $19.35 per unit, they make us pay more. Please stop this con game from continuing!
When my roommates & I first moved into our new apartment in Rock Hill, SC on a Friday afternoon we were unable to have the utilities turned on in our names since we were moving in during a time crunch and we all work long hours at out respective jobs our landlord told us it would be no problem to keep the power on & made no mention of any additional charges we may or may no incur. We were shocked when we received a bill from a company called AUM (which has local affiliation) who charged us almost $200 for a Saturday & Sunday for power & including a $75 "connection fee" & a $50 "termination fee". We found this to be outrageous especially because the power was already turned on from the last tenant.
We had the utilities turned over into our names the following week through our city's utility department, as is customary in our county, & were very surprised to find out that our property management company was still expecting us to pay our utilities through AUM for each & every month we lived in our apartment. Why on earth are we being made to pay not only our city for the services THEY are providing but also AUM which is hundreds of miles away & has nothing to do with our power, water, sewer & trash pick up?
I find that both AUM & the property mangers are working together, not to provide a service to the public, but only to make money for themselves. When we brought up these questions & concerns with our landlord we were never given a plausible reasoning for why we were begin forced to pay double utilities which is disgustingly egregious & when we stopped paying the AUM charges we were proptly evicted from the apartment.
I cannot say that everyone out there will have this experience but I would warn against signing a lease with any property management company that uses AUM.
American Utility Management (AUM) received the complaint and we would like to take this opportunity to respond and provide details to help resolve this matter.
class="apple-converted-space">We have revised the account and determined that according to our records, the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power account was not transferred into the residents name until 2/17/16. For all prior periods the property was charged for the utility while the tenant was residing in the apartment. These charges are what are shown on the resident statements. When an LADWP invoice is charged to the property for a period which it should have been in the residents name, the charges are added on the next AUM statement as “Electric Recovery”. This occurred on 9 of the residents AUM statements. Each one included instructions to establish the utility in the resident’s name. As these charges are not generated by AUM, we are unable to explain why they might have been higher. In previous calls to our customer service agents we attempted to explain these charges. If Ms. [redacted] had LADWP service in her name covering the dates during her tenancy prior to when service was placed in her name (5/17/14 through 2/17/16), she may forward a copy of the actual utility bill(s) for AUM to review. If the Revdex.com process allows, they may be attached to this complaint. Her account will be reviewed and updated based on information received. It takes approximately 2-3 business days for the account to be updated from the date the information is received. We hope the information listed above will assist with future payments.