Aqua America, Incorporated

Aqua’s billing cycle are monthly and [redacted] is not consistent with making her payments by...

the respective due dates [redacted] received a 10 day shut off notice dated September 09, 2014 with a termination date of September 22, 2014 for the amount of $221.19. Pass due Amount: $ 99.19 Reconnect Fee: $35.00 Service Deposit: $ 87.00 Total amount due if service is terminated: $ 221.19 the notice provides detail information regarding making payments and if the service is terminated.
[redacted] made a payment on September 19, 2014 through [redacted] Speed pay using a checking account. The payment did not go through the system because, the account did not exist.  It is not Aqua’s responsibility to notify customers; if a payment has been reversed from their bank. Subsequently, [redacted]’s account cycled back into collections and her service was terminated on October 1, 2014.
[redacted] did make a payment on October 1, 2014 for $221.19 to have her service restored. However, Aqua’s policy on service restoral is next day once we have received the customer’s payment and this was explained to [redacted] by the supervisor that she spoke with on October 1, 2014.

[redacted] is requesting that Aqua pay for his plumbing bill to fix a leak.  The only pipes Aqua is responsible for is from the main pipe in the street to the customer's meter.  Any and all other pipes are put in by the builder/contractor and are not Aqua' responsibility. Aqua is not an insurance company but does inform customers that [redacted] does provide insurance.  [redacted] is an independent insurance company and is not affiliated with Aqua.   [redacted] informed the customer that it does not cover fixtures and since the leak was from a fixture, they would not cover it. Aqua cannot assist the customer regarding what the policy covers. The customer is responsible for the charges that were incurred for having the leak repaired as well as the consumption.  Aqua does not provide leak adjustments.  Any reimbursement request will need to be filed through [redacted].  Aqua apologizes for any inconvenience this matter has caused.

In review of [redacted]’s account and acknowledging his high bill complaint from billing period May 26, 2017 through October 12, 2017, in the amount of $888.95.  A billing error was identified.  When the meter at the property was exchanged on October 3, 2017 and updated in the billing...

system, the meter dial configuration was not updated correctly.  The billing statement from May 26, 2017 through October 3, 2017 was cancelled.  A revised billing statement was issued from May 26, 2017 through November 10, 2017, for a period of 168 days of service in the amount of 267.64.  [redacted] has a credit balance of $688.16.   An Aqua representative spoke with [redacted] on November 17, 2017, and review the account with him.  An explanation addressing his concerns of the high bill was explained in detail.  [redacted] was advised that the billing error was corrected and a revised bill was generated providing a credit balance of $688.16.  [redacted] was advised that the credit balance of $688.16 could be mailed or if he would like for the credit to remain on the account to be applied to future billing statements.  [redacted] requested a refund check which was mailed on November 20, 2017.  [redacted] stated that he was fine with the results of the investigation.  An apology was extended on behalf of the company. Please advise if you require additional information.

A 10 day shut off notice was mailed August 18, 2015 for August 31, 2015 in the amount of $91.41. 
[redacted] contacted the customer service center on September 1, 2015, at 2:35 PM the representative advised that the service had been terminated for non-payment (September 1, 2015). The...

representative advised that a payment was posted on the account “unable to locate”.  It was documented on the account that a payment was made but did not post to the account due to a processing error, via online process “unable to locate”.            
[redacted] stated to the representative that he should have been notify that the payment did not go through.  It is not the company’s responsibility to follow-up with a customer that a payment did not process.  The company is required by state regulations to forward a termination notice 5 days prior to termination.  The notice was mailed on August 18, 2015.  If payment is not received, the notice states service will be terminated and in order to have service restored, the past due amount, reconnect fee and deposit fees must be paid. Termination of service took place due to not receiving payment by the due date.
[redacted] attempted to make a payment with the customer service representative however; the card declined, 2 payments were made on September 1, 2015, in the amount of $28.41 and $185.00.  A service order was processed to have the service restored the next business day, September 2, 2015.  Company procedure is once payment is made the service will be restored 24 hours after payment is received.  The service was restored on September 2, 2015 at 2:40 PM.
Understanding that [redacted] attempted to make a payment prior to termination, it is unfortunate that there was an issue when he attempt to make payment via the online process.  However; the notice clearly stated if payment is not received prior to termination the customer is responsible to pay all fees associated with having the service restore. Aqua North Carolina is in compliance with state regulations to assess a reconnection and depost fees to an account if the service was terminated for nonpayment. Please note that the past due amount of $91.41 was for services rendered June 19, 2015 through July 20, 2015 which was due August 11, 2015
For your review attached is a copy of the 10 day termination notice.  
Please advise if you require additional information.

The account is under the name of [redacted].  The customers in the Chesapeake Point subdivision received the Boil Water notice...

(precautionary) on December 16, 2015, via Aqua’s emergency notification system ([redacted]).  The notification started at 12 noon through 2PM.
 
The Boil Water Notice was lifted on December 18, 2015 at 4:44 PM however; there was an internal issue and customers were not notified until December 21, 2015.
 
I spoke with the customer ([redacted]) on December 23rd.  I explained when the notice was lift and reason there was a delay in reaching the customers in the subdivision.  I also advised I would pass on her feedback and provided her my direct telephone number

Upon review of [redacted]’ account there have only been two payments; leaving a past due balance each month, Aqua billing cycles are monthly and [redacted]’ water account is in arrears because of failure to make...

payments by the respective due dates.
On January 21, 2015 a “10 Day Shut-Off Notice” scheduled for February 2, 2015 was mailed to [redacted]. In the event payment was not received by February 2, 2015 the amount due to avoid termination of service would be $235.48, this amount includes the following: Overdue-amount ($113.48) - Reconnection Fee- ($35.00) and Service Deposit-($87.00).  [redacted] did not make a payment by the due date and service was terminated on February 4, 2015, a payment was made on February 5, 2015 in the amount $235.48.  However; the reconnection policy set forth by Aqua is “next business day.” No errors were found in the fees assessed to the account, therefore; the “next business day” reconnection policy will remain in effect.
Please see attachment

From: Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC
font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><[email protected]>Date: Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 10:48 AMSubject: Fwd: AquaTo: [redacted] <[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org>
---------- Forwarded message ----------From: <[redacted].net>Date: Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 5:04 PMSubject: AquaTo: [email protected] Hello , This is [redacted] following up in regards to complaint filed in regards to Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. Filed on 8/21/2015 (Friday).Aqua has since " robo called" about an important message on monday eve 8/24/2015 and morning of 8/25/2015. Also received a shut off notice on 8/26/2015 and called them in collections. Spoke to Destiny she just wants full payment. Informed her I have been in dispute with this bill since 7/15/15. She did not want to discuss further offered to let me speak to supervisor transferred me to extension it picked up for a William and said mail box full, offered options of transfer press 0 that rings a number of times then stops and disconnects.  Am still looking for any help to this fraudulent billing that has started this process. This company does not seem to want to deal with issues that arise other than customer must pay. This should be added to my previous complaint as it just seems to grow.Thank you,[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:In no way are these results legitimate... the percentages don't match the values you posted there (ON THE SAME PAGE MIGHT I ADD), either because somebody doesn't want to do math, or they didn't use significant figures which also causes the results to not line up/be legit, or you are arbitrarily putting numbers down because you don't want to fork over the money you are stealing from me. If this doesn't make sense to you, the read before using exactly 2.0 CF of water was 186534, and it went up exactly 2 units according to the page to 185436. That is an increase of 2 CF when we use 2 CF of water. your percentages are written as 101.5%, which 2/2 is 100%. The data is wrong and your test illegitimate. So, give me my money. This is a ridiculous scam where the company is clearly either incapable of testing, or just not willing to admit a clear fault in their outdated equipment.
Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted] contacted Aqua on November 20, 2014 to report that she had no water service. A company representative explained that there was a main break in the area. The representative gave an estimated work...

completion time of 2:00 p.m. The main break was on Forest at 13th St SE.  This was an emergency outage and not a planned outage therefore; the company was unable to notify residents in the area. The water was turned off at 9:00 a.m. for repairs and turned back on at 4:00 p.m., after the repairs were complete. The outage affected twenty-five residents in the area.
We apologize for the inconvenience this customer experienced during the main break.  Unfortunately, when there are emergencies such as this, we are unable to notify customers in advance. We are also unable to give an exact time for repairs and therefore provide customers with an estimated time for when the repair will be complete.

The customer's June Bill which was due July 11, was $433.80. The customer was on a deferred payment plan of $15.00 plus current charges. So the customer was only reading the bottom line of the bill. The $109.18 consist of the current charges of $94.18 plus the $15.00 payment plan...

amount. The customer did not make the payment until 8/1/14. This caused her to default on the deferred payment plan. After defaulting the total balance became due. This is why the customer received a shut off notice. The $433.80 was not from added fees. The customer has a poor payment history and began accruing a balance after 5/18/12. The customer paid $600.00 on 6/10/14, the balance prior to that payment was $939.62. The customer called on 8/7/14 and the deferred payment plan was reinstated. She is not in danger of service termination.

Aqua North Carolina notified customers beginning Monday, September 11, 2017 and ending Friday, September 15, 2017 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.  Aqua will flush the distribution system in the distribution system.  Flushing washes away naturally occurring minerals that might...

have deposited on the insides of pipes over time.  Because flushing could temporarily cause discolored water as it cleans out the pipes, it is recommended that customers store sufficient water for personal use before flushing begins.  Customers are also asked not to do laundry during the flushing period since the minerals could cause staining especially on light colored items.  Customers will also experience low pressure and a short water outage during the flushing timeframe.  Aqua North Carolina use its emergency system, Swift Reach to notify customer in advance of the annual flushing.  Customers in the Baytree subdivision received notification on Friday, September 8, 2017.  Mr. [redacted] was notified on September 8, 2017, appx 6:30 p.m.  The recorded messaged played for 3 minutes and 59 seconds.  The call was received by the emergency telephone on file ###-###-####. On September 13, 2017, Mr. [redacted] contacted Aqua’ customer service center regarding discolored water and his laundry being ruined.  The representative advised of the flushing campaign in the subdivision.  Mr. [redacted] was also advised that he could file a claim for damage clothing. On September 20, 2017, Aqua’s Claims Department forwarded correspondence to Mr. [redacted] advising direction on steps to file a claim.  Please advise if you require additional information regarding the customer complaint.

It is my apology to Ms. [redacted] regarding the bill message statement.  She is correct of the wording of the message, reference below.  Aqua’s customer service center hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Fridays.  However; if a customer does call after 5:00 PM the call is forwarded to Aqua’s afterhours call center for emergencies such as; water leaks, no water and low pressure.
An apology is extended to the customer for the misreading of the meter on April 22, 2016.  Once Ms. [redacted] brought the error to our attention, a check reading was obtained and the account was billed correctly. 
The high bill was cancelled and the account was rebilled with the correct reading issuing the customer a bill in the amount of $49.90 in comparison to the high bill issued in the amount of $286.27.
Aqua’s policy does not reimburse customers for plumber invoices however; if there was a leak at the property, the account would be reviewed to determine if the customer is eligible for a leak adjustment. In this situation, there was no leak at the property and the account was rebilled with a check reading which resulted in the customer receiving a revised bill that was consistent with previous billing statements.  
 
It is Aqua’s desire to resolve any problems and address concerns from our customers.  On behalf of the company I extend an apology to Ms. [redacted] for the inconvenience.
Message Center
n
n
n
Aqua North Carolina, Inc.
[redacted]
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-3489
Please check www.aquanorthcarolina.com for the latest information on water restrictions.
HIGH BILL ALERT - Your usage appears higher than usual. For information on high usage and leaks, visit the Water Smart section on www.aquaamerica.com.

Tell us why here... After investigating the account beginning on the move in date and reviewing every read after that, the customer was billed accurately.All actual reads on the bills; in addition the water meter was tested and passed the test. The results of the meter test were 101.25% which is in...

the acceptable range for meter accuracy. It is our response that the account was billed correctly. DAS.

[redacted] contacted Aqua on October 15, 2015 to have water service put in his name. He was advised to provide a copy of his lease and two forms of identification because; the...

meter shows water usage at his address without an application for service on record.
Aqua received the lease on October 16, 2015 however; it was denied due to key components that are needed for verification was missing. There was no contact number provided, the two forms of identification were missing, there was not a start date on the lease and no signatures page. A denial letter was mailed out to [redacted] on October 16, 2015 the letter explains why water service was denied.
The water service was terminated on October 26, 2015 for theft of service. [redacted] contacted Aqua and he was advised that the service was terminated. He was also, advised that his application for service had been denied. The representative advised [redacted] the reason for the termination and, she also told him what paperwork he would need to refax in order to have the water service restored.
On October 27, 2015, Aqua received the requested information and his water service was restored on October 28, 2015.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because of the following reasons.
1) You haven't provided any explanation on why you did not respond and try to resolve this issue when I reported this issue to your co. directly twice. 
2) You haven't provided details on why there is a discrepancies / adjustments in the reading between the 1st and 2nd response sent by you earlier.
3) Builder was using this connection before it was transferred to my name so why reading was not taken on 7/2/2015 when it was transferred to my name.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted]:
You may have already received this information directly from the Aqua Texas division, but I am also including it in your Revdex.com case.
text1; mso-highlight: yellow">
The following message should have be delivered to you on Thursday 8/28/2014.
 
The message from Aqua Texas for customers in the [redacted] of [redacted] water system.
 
First, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by problems with the well in your water system, and we promise to keep you updated on our efforts to resolve these problems. Tomorrow, Friday, August 29, 2014, Aqua will remove and inspect the well pump and motor so we can determine the reason for the low water pressure in your community. We’ll conduct our work between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and we’ll finish as quickly as possible so that we limit our disruption to you and your family.
 
During this time, your water service will not be interrupted, but your water pressure will probably be lower than normal. We ask that you please limit your water use while we work.
 
Thank you very much for your patience. If you have any questions, please call our customer service center at ###-###-####.
 
The repairs were completed on Friday 8/29/2014 and the boil water notice was lifted on Sunday 8/31/2014.
 
Sincerely,
 
Michael *. S[redacted]
State Coordinator - TX

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: the cut off date mailed to me by Aqua was dated for February 28 2014 cutoff date not February 27 2014 and I called aqua March 3 2014 not March 4 2014.
Regards,
[redacted]

From: S[redacted], Quintada M.
font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><[redacted]@aquaamerica.com>Date: Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 1:20 PMSubject: [redacted] - ID#[redacted]To: "[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org" <[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org>
Response
A 10 day shut off notice was mailed on May 6, 2015 for termination on May 18, 2015 in the amount of $98.09.  The notice states if payment is not received on or before May 18, 2015, service will be terminated at the property.  The notice also states that customers should contact the business office to notify of a payment made or to setup payment arrangements; prior to the termination date.  The termination date was for May 18, 2015, the service was  terminated on May 20, 2015 at 3:23 PM. Prior to termination; [redacted] did not notify the company that he made a payment. 
 
The notice states if service is terminated, there will be a $35.00 reconnection fee and deposit fee of $87.00.
 
On May 20, 2015, at 3:55 PM, [redacted] contacted the business office stating his water was disconnected after he made a payment.  The customer service representative advised [redacted] that he did not notify the company prior to termination that a payment was made online.
 
It was unfortunate that the payment did not post to the account prior to the account being dispatched to the field for termination.  It is the customer’s responsibility to notify the company in advance that a payment was made to stop termination or to request a payment arrangement.  The shut off notice states that customers should notify the company in advance (reference shut off notice as an attachment). 
 
Once the customer service representative confirmed that a payment post to the account, she immediately request  approval to have the service restored the same day. Company procedure is to have service restored within 24 hours of when payment is made.  Having restored the service same day was a courtesy on behalf of the company. 
North Carolina state regulations state that the company must notify the customer 5 days in advance prior to termination.  The 10 day shut off notice was mailed prior to termination and the fees associated with restoring service have been approved by the North Carolina Public Utility Commission. 
 
 
QUINTADA S[redacted]
REGIONAL CUSTOMER CARE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
AQUA NORTH CAROLINA
[redacted]
BRYN MWAR, PA [redacted]
O: ###-###-#### EXT: [redacted]
 
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
[redacted]

On July 19, 2016, Mrs. [redacted] contacted Aqua’s customer service center to report a leak at the meter box.  A...


 
service order was generated for a field visit.  On July 20, 2016, an Aqua representative visited the property and
 
confirmed that there was a leak present. 
 
It was determine that the repairs would need to be completed by an outside contractor.   The process for
 
notifying the contractor began on July 20, 2016.  When a contractor is involved with completing repairs, there
 
can be a waiting period depending upon the contractor’s workload.  The leak at the property was repaired on July
 
29, 2016. The repairs to the lawn will be completed by the end of business August 12, 2016. 
 
An Aqua representative made an attempt to reach Mr. [redacted] on August 10, 2016, to advise that repairs to the
 
lawn will be completed on August 12, 2016.  There was no answer and a voice message was left. 
 
On behalf of the company an apology is extended to Mr. [redacted].
 
Please advise if you require additional information.

August 21, 2014
Dear [redacted]:
Aqua North Carolina, Inc. (Aqua) provides the following response to [redacted]’s complaint.
Aqua's billing cycle are monthly and [redacted] is not consistent with making his payments by the respective due dates. [redacted] received a...

10 day shut off notice dated July 18, 2014 with a termination date of July 31, 2014 for the amount of $243.77. Pass due Amount: $ 121.77 Reconnect Fee: $35.00 Service Deposit; $ 87.00 Total amount due if service is terminated: $243.77 the notice provides detail information regarding making payments and if the service is terminated.The last payment made on the account was May 06, 2014 in the amount of $37.74 this account is in arrears. Aqua does offer payment arrangement options to their customers that qualify which is also, outlined in the notice.
If you require additional information regarding this complaint, please contact me at ###-###-####.Sincerely,Alice G. 
Regional Customer Care Coordinator