Campbell County Water Authority

Review: CCUSA provides water / sewer services in Campbell County. We do not have a choice of provider. CCUSA's billing policy includes cutting off service if bill payment is 2 weeks late. When payment is late, they send out a warning in the mail. However, they DO NOT alert the customer my phone, email or text prior to disconnecting service. Then they charge a $50 re-connection fee! This company does not support online bill pay. You can use a 3rd party service ([redacted] with a huge service charge...or use traditional mail. They don't even have a website! So not only do they make it hard to pay them; they purposefully do not warn you before disconnecting service! They could easily implement an automated phone tree.Desired Settlement: I would like CCUSA to implement an automated phone tree and an online payment option.

Business

Response:

The customer was cut-off for non-payment of his bill on May 20, 2015. As stated he has been on our service for a number of years. When a new customer comes into our office to sign up for new service we always go over our billing procedures, payment options and also give the customer an information packet outlining the same information. Also, we ask our customer if they have any questions about the billing procedures.The customer’s bill was mailed the 1st week of April and was due May 6, 2015 (giving them almost 5 weeks to pay their bill). Late notices were mailed May 7, 2015 with a due date of May 20, 2015 (almost 2 additional weeks). The customer had almost 7 weeks to pay the bill before it was disconnected. CCUSA offers our customer 6 options to pay their bills: In person, night drop, mail (envelope included with bill), ACH, online banking with their bank and bill paying with Official Payments a third party that is listed on the original bill. Official Payments will take the payment by phone or online for a fee of $3.95. CCUSA has had website since 2007. The website lists all payment options available to our customers along with any other billing information.CCUSA had explored having a phone tree to contact customers about past due bills. But found that it was not cost effective and in most cases we would not have the correct phone numbers to make the necessary calls. In the age of cell phones, we have found that customers change their phone numbers every few years and most cases do not contact us with their new contact information. We have approximately 8,000 customers that we bill in two sections bi-monthly. We cut off 2% or less of our customers each month. In addition, we feel that we give our customers ample time to act responsibly and make their payments to avoid paying additional fees and being cut off.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

A simple phone tree system can cost around $300. I have one at my work. Your company already does the leg work to determine who's water you will cut off...so performing a simple drag and drop of 160 customer phone #s from your database would take approximately 1-2 additional hours of labor. If customer phone #s are outdated, that is their loss. So let's be honest here. You make an additional $8,000 in revenue EVERY month by disconnecting and reconnecting your customer's water service. Why invest in a system that would decrease that revenue? Especially since you have a monopoly. As a busy working man, I admit that I can be forgetful with my bills. However, all of my other service providers give me a courtesy call and forgive my indiscretion. Your company however, takes away my basic needs of providing my children clean drinking water and the ability to take a shower. Then we have to wait in line to get it turned back on. The process just seems a little harsh. I understand this response will go nowhere and it is my responsibility to pay bills in a timely manner, which I will try in the future. But if we had a choice in utility service, this type of customer service would certainly lose out.

Regards,

This company is a joke. They shut your water off over 33 dollars. But it was mailed before the due date. But sadly the mail here runs slower the a turtle. Next time they step foot on my property they will be greeted with my german shepherds.