Department of Public Utilities, Columbus Ohio

Mr [redacted] ,Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us an opportunity to address your concerns.When the February 9th, payment was made the account had a balance of $Please see below for an explanation of how the account was charged.On December 23rd, a call was made to our office by [redacted] about a payment to the account for a shut off noticeThe balance on the account was $ A $payment was made and an extension was placed on the account for the $bill due December 27thThe bill was extended thru January 13th, On January 5th, a bill was generated for $517.50, due January 26th, On February 3rd, a bill was generated for $due February 24th, This brought your account balance to $1170.96.When the $payment was not paid on January 13th, the payment plan defaulted and put the account in disconnect for February 8th, in addition the January 26th bill also went past its due date and was in disconnect status as of February 16th.The account at [redacted] is now on an extension thru March 3rd, for $913.96.If you need additional information please call our office at ###-###-####.Thank youMartha T***Customer Service SupervisorDepartment of Public Utilities

Mr [redacted] Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us an opportunity to address your concerns During my review of your account I noticed that you have been working with the Coordinator of the Call Center as well as members of City Council and the Mayors office It appears the matter has been resolved If you need additional information please contact us at ###-###-#### or by e-mail at [redacted] @columbus.gov Thank you

Dear Mr [redacted] , Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us to address your concerns regarding the property located at [redacted] Ave On January 19th, you contacted our office in response to a letter about a problem with your metering systemThe appointment was scheduled for January 25th, Our technician discovered a cut wire; there were CCF’s of unbilled consumptionA bill for $was generated on February 11th, A new meter was installed with a reading of The read history since the meter was installed is listed below: January 25, February 9, March 31, June 30, In the calls that I was able to locate you stated that you do not have any leaks and have checked all the plumbing, however, based on the high consumption there does appear to be a leak at the propertyThe most common are toilets, hot water tanks, humidifiers on furnaces, lines in crawl spaces or outside spigotsYou have used CCF’s of water in less than months In several of your calls you mentioned disputing the bills As you have been told you cannot dispute the billing for the cut wirePer Columbus City Code CCC billing disputes must be made in writing no later than days after the bill’s due date As for a dispute on the billing since the new meter was installed, a high bill cannot be disputed just for the simple fact that is it high The only equipment we have in your home is our meter and it is a new meter We do offer a high bill meter testWe will change out the meter, bring it to our meter shop and test it on industry approved equipmentYou can be present and observe the testThe technician can answer any questions you may have during the test regarding meters, how they work and how the test is conducted If the meter tests accurate there is a $charge Per department policy we do not do meter work at a property where the water is off, however, after reviewing your account and discussing the options with the Customer Service Manager we will restore the service for $and place the remaining balance on a payment arrangement You mentioned that your lawyer informed you not to make any payments on the account since that would mean admitting you owe the bill If the bill is paid and the meter is found to have a defect the charges would be credited to you Once the payment is made we can schedule to restore the service, we will need entry into the property We can discuss the meter test if you have any additional questions If you need additional information please contact me directly at ###-###-#### or [redacted] @columbus.gov Thank you Martha RTaylor Customer Service Supervisor Department of Public Utilities

Dear Mr [redacted] , Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us the opportunity to address your concerns I apologize if you feel the customer service representatives you spoke to were rude I have listened to all the calls you made on August 23rd and 24th and feel that they all made every effort to resolve the situation, you even mentioned this to several of the CSR’s you spoke to You mentioned that after a CSR told you there is no guarantee we can come back out today and then hung up on youThe call ended where the CSR was explaining our process for applying payments and then she began asking if you could hear her, this went on for almost seconds, she ended the call by stating she could not hear you so please call back In your next call you mentioned that you could hear her but knew she couldn’t hear you, the call was not terminated in order to not deal with your situation I understand per your phone calls and correspondence that you called in to report the payment on Monday August 22nd, As you have been informed we could not find any record of this call, we have searched by both your phone number and the time you stated you called I listened to all the calls that came during that time frame from every number that came in and there is no record of your call I have spoken to our technology department to see if there were any system problems during that timeOur phone system records the calls for customer service, and our distribution department If there are any issues they would be aware of the problem and can see missing gaps of time where calls were not recorded I asked them to check the system for any issues and per the IT manager the system was functioning I do apologize for the experience you had in regards to your service being disconnectedIn the future you can ask for a confirmation number for the order that we generate to stop a pending turn off and the note number where your confirmation number is documentedYou can keep this information for your records If you need additional information please contact our office Thank you, Martha T[redacted] Customer Service Supervisor Department of Public Utilities

Dear Mr [redacted] Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us to respond to your concerns According to the Franklin County Map room (FCMR) you were listed as owner of the property till 09/15/and per the Sherrifs Web Site the property sold at Sherrifs sale on 07/10/and the sale was finalized on 09/12/ We use the date the sale was finalized to end the account The charges were originally billed under [redacted] Properties LLC and all bills were sent each quarter to [redacted] Street Columbus OH Charges were transferred and a bill regenerated when the Sheriffs sale information was received in our office Based on the information from FCMR and the Sheriffs Web Site you were the owner of the property when these charges were generated If you have additional information that shows you were not the owner of the property during that time please send that information to the Department of Public Utilities Thank you

Dear Mrs. ***, Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us and opportunity to review your complaint. On April 4th, 2018 an arrangement was made on your account for 2 payments. The first payment of 161.18 was due May 4th 2018, the 2nd payment of 161.17 was... due June 4th, 2018. The balance of your account was $322.35. The week of April 13th your next quarterly bill was generated. New charges were added to your account for $ 233.70. The due dates of these charges were May 15th, 2018. When you accept the due dates on your payment arrangement over the phone system the recording states you must pay all charges by the due dates. The May 4th, 2018 payment of your payment arrangement was paid in full and on time, however since your new bill was not paid on time it defaulted the payment arrangement and put your account in turn off status. The first delinquent notice for your new bill was mailed to the property on May 23rd, 2018. Since the turn off notice for the $322.35 had been mailed in March no additional turn off notices were mailed. A supervisor in our Customer Service Center has already gone outside of policy and removed the delinquent trip charges. If you need additional information please contact our office at 614-645-8276. Martha R. T [redacted] Customer Service Supervisor Department of Public Utilities

If you responded with the information given it was irrelevantLike I advised before this is not overI have a recording but you don't that is fineYou probably think I am lying as it seems that is what I feel about you allJust one call which is mine up and vanished, rightIts okay send what you have to the Attorney General as I have already completed my task on that end

Dear Mrs***
Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us to address your concerns
Our technician went out to the property located at *** *** Ave on August 17th, to remove the meter per your requestThe entry for the appointment was for a key to be
left in the mailbox. Our technician verified the status of the water service at the curb box, removed the meter and left a notice that the work was completed. At the time of the removal of the meter it was discovered that the meter was frozenWhen a meter freezes this causes the base of the meter to crack If there is any damage to the meter the homeowner is charged for the cost to replace the meterThe $is the replacement cost for a meter in This charge is billed even if the meter is not replaced at the property.
I apologized that you did not receive your bill when the charges were generatedOur billing department puts these accounts into a special billing cycle to force the account to bill out of cycle
Please let me know if you have any additional questions
*** ** ***
Customer Service Supervisor

This property was purchased back on May and was foreclosed by the bank about three months later.here is the address of the bank: *** Mortgage Company, LLC *** *** *** *** ***, IL 60008.Please contact this bank about this debt because I am not liable for a debt that is nine years old when the bank took posession back in late 2006!!! in addition this property remainedvacant all this time with no water being used how is a bill generated with no water being used? Here is the banks phone number: ###-###-####.Enclosed is Settlement Documentation regarding this property

Mr***, Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us the opportunity to address your concerns. I spoke to our Electricity Department, they keep a record of all reported outages in our service area where either they had reports of outages or had to
dispatch a crew In the past few months we have only had outages in your area and both were caused but a pole being hit by a vehicle. When you were experiencing these outages did you contact your apartment complex to see if the outage was internal, our customer service department or our emergency line to report the issue? As for the PIPP program, this is only for customers who are serviced by a Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) regulated utility. As a government agency we are not regulated by PUCO therefore you will not be eligible for this program There are organizations that may offer assistance if necessaryPlease contact our office for the names of these agencies if you are interestedIn order for you to be serviced by a different utility, the owners of your apartment complex would have to switch providers for the entire complex. If they do not wish to switch providers you will not be able to be serviced by a different provider while you are living at your current locationI apologize for the difficulties you are experiencing, If you have additional information about the dates of the outages, or experience additional issues, please contact our office at 614-645-so we can pass that information to that department for further researchMartha RT*** Customer Service Supervisor Department Of Public Utilities

Dear Ms***
Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us the opportunity to address your concerns about your property located at *** ** ***
On June 21st, a new meter was installed at the property with a reading of 0. The water service was
turned on and we used the reading to
start you on the accountSince the date you were activated the outside reader (OR) only moved CCF while the inside meter (IR) continued to
register the water used at the propertyWhen our inspector came to the property on March 9th, he discovered a cut wire in the propertyThe
OR read and the IR read 317. Since the meter was installed ccf’s of water was used and not billedThe wire was connected from the IR to the OR and sends a pulse to register any consumption. Since the wire was cut inside the property no consumption registered outside the property. Our inspectors run a test to make sure the IR and OR move together so the wire was connected when the inspector left the property for the original meter install.
The city has checks and balances in place but certain factors on your account stopped these processesOne of the factors is it was a new account with no billing history which will stop the billing system from generating letters to ask for entry to the propertyIt is regrettable that we are unable to catch all the problems that occur at a property, this is the reason we rely on customers being vigilant with their property and bills to help catch any issues in case they slip past usAdditional issues also occur since our meter readers do not know the status of a property due to the fact that properties can look occupied and be vacant or the other way around. The information on the bill states that the bills were for CCF
You mentioned that no one told you that you could have a hearingThe option to request a hearing is listed on the back of the bill along with the Columbus City Code numberThe other time a customer may be offered a hearing might be as they escalate from a CSR I to a CSR II to a supervisor. If after speaking to the supervisor the customer states that they do not agree with the bill they would be told about the hearing process. I listened to the calls you made to our office after receiving the back billing, while you were understandably upset over the large bill, each CSR explained the billing process, answered all your questions and put you on the best payment arrangement our system allows
While customers who have irrigation systems, pools or use a lot of water outside can install a second meterThis meter is the homeowner’s responsibility to install and maintain and a fee is charged for each readingIt can take some time to recover the cost of the meter and installation if you do not use a large process of water outsideThis information is available on our websitehttp://utilities.columbus.gov
I apologize if you were told you could not have an additional payment arrangement. We allow multiple arrangements on accounts with back billing. As long as any missed payments are made you can go back on the same plan you were on previously.
I hope I have addressed your concerns, however, if you need additional information please contact me at 614-645-or ***@columbus.gov
Thank you
Martha RT***
Customer Service Supervisor
Department of Public Utilities

Mr***
If you do not have any of your paperwork from the foreclosure we will have follow the Sheriffs Web Site and The Franklin County Map Room.
The bills go back to the beginning of the account under *** Properties LLC. Only one payment was made under that account. The charges are for consumption prior to the disconnect in March 2008, service charges and stormwater. Bills were sent each quarter to *** * *** Street, Columbus OH
If you are able to locate any of your paperwork please send the information to The Department of Public Utilities
Thank you
*** ** ***
Customer Service Supervisor

I would have not wasted so much water had I known about the issue with the two metersYour employees are responsible as they were out hereThe meter reader should have caught the issue with the two meters years agoI am a customer and not a water department employeeThis is very shocking for me.Also, the only time I did not make payments was when I was disputing the water bill and very angryLike I said, your employees should have caught this soonerI have been told many times pay it or we will just shut your water offOMG! I am not one of your dead beats

Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us the opportunity to respond to your complaint
Part of the issue with this account began on October 20th, You called stating you had purchased the property and needed to add your name
to the account. The CSR
asked when the closing was and after checking your calendar you stated you had closed on October 16thIf the CSR had
been given the correct information during that call you would have been instructed to have the executor contact us for additional information and the issue would have been resolved at that time When you called in on May 18th, to discuss the delinquent notice the discussion between
you and the CSR was that you were taking care of your grandfathers property. He informed you that your name was not on Franklin County and
that it would need to be correctedYou mentioned a conversation with your attorney and what you were advised to do. Please allow me to set the
record straight. Columbus City Code requires us to list properties in the name of the owner of record. The property at *** * *** Ave is still
listed in *** * ***’s name and will have to stay in his name on the water account till the property goes thru probateThe only people allowed
to make changes to an account are the owner, any representatives the owner has added to the account or the executor. Documentation is
required for proof of management companies, tenants or executors
You mentioned that changing out the meter was a total disaster, I apologize for any issues you had during this process, however, there is nothing on our system to indicate any issues other than entry
The adjustment process for a leak can at times be lengthy The process at *** * *** took less than a month. It began with a phone call to you on March 30th, You scheduled an appointment for our sewer inspector to come to the property on April 4th and the billing department
had the adjustment completed on April 26th,
There was a mention of noncompliance and being concerned due to minor children in the home with a pending disconnectThe reason for any
noncompliance is due to the fact you are not listed on the deed and are not the executor, due to this fact there are restrictions to actions we can
take with youDuring a phone call you mentioned that the executor of the property is your grandfathers’ daughter, please have her contact us and
we will inform her of all the necessary steps in order to prevent these issues in the futureAs for the issue with minor children in the home In the May 18th phone call and in a visit to our office you mentioned that the property was vacant
On June 3rd you came into our Public Office and spoke to a CSR. She is working with you on payments and has stopped the turn offAs long as
you keep all arrangements you made with her the service will not be disconnected
I apologize for the issues you are having. I hope this has cleared up some of the concerns you have
Thank you
Martha RT***
Customer Service Supervisor

I have all the phone recordings as wellIt is ironic how they cant find a call but I have a recording of the call as I record all calls conducting business since I have been through issues with businesses beforeIf I was told to make the payment amount and call it in, why would I make the payment and not call it inMaking the payment is showing good faith toward handling what was told to do.If you do not want to do anything further that is fineI will take my complaint to the attorney generals office along with my recording of the call made to report the payment and confirmation numberI missed a day of work due to my clothes needing to be washed for work later that nightIt is not my fault the business failed me after telling me what to do which is what I did in good faith.You have your call recordings and so do IIt is real funny how they make a mistake and all of a sudden no call recordWell I have mine, date time and accurate.This is not the end of this

Dear Mrs. [redacted], Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us and opportunity to review your complaint.  On April 4th, 2018 an arrangement was made on your account for 2 payments. The first payment of 161.18 was due May 4th 2018, the 2nd payment of 161.17 was...

due June 4th, 2018. The balance of your account was $322.35. The week of April 13th your next quarterly bill was generated.  New charges were added to your account for $ 233.70. The due dates of these charges were May 15th, 2018.  When you accept the due dates on your payment arrangement over the phone system the recording states you must pay all charges by the due dates. The May 4th, 2018 payment of your payment arrangement was paid in full and on time, however since your new bill was not paid on time it defaulted the payment arrangement and put your account in turn off status. The first delinquent notice for your new bill was mailed to the property on May 23rd, 2018. Since the turn off notice for the $322.35 had been mailed in March no additional turn off notices were mailed. A supervisor in our Customer Service Center has already gone outside of policy and removed the delinquent trip charges.  If you need additional information please contact our office at 614-645-8276. Martha R. T[redacted] Customer Service Supervisor Department of Public Utilities

Mr. [redacted]
Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us an opportunity to address your concerns.  During my review of your account I noticed that you have been working with the Coordinator of the Call Center as well as members of City Council and the Mayors...

office.  It appears the matter has been resolved.
If you need additional information please contact us at ###-###-#### or by e-mail at [redacted]@columbus.gov
Thank you

Dear Mr. [redacted],
Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us to address your concerns regarding the property located at [redacted] Ave.
On January 19th, 2015 you contacted our office in response to a letter about a problem with your metering system. The...

appointment was scheduled for January 25th, 2015. Our technician discovered a cut wire; there were 76 CCF’s of unbilled consumption. A bill for $510.09 was generated on February 11th, 2016.
A new meter was installed with a reading of 0. The read history since the meter was installed is listed below:
January 25, 2016                             0
February 9, 2016                              17.46
March 31, 2016                                93.76
June 30, 2016                                   131.59
 
In the calls that I was able to locate you stated that you do not have any leaks and have checked all the plumbing, however, based on the high consumption there does appear to be a leak at the property. The most common are toilets, hot water tanks, humidifiers on furnaces, lines in crawl spaces or outside spigots. You have used 131.59 CCF’s of water in less than 6 months.
In several of your calls you mentioned disputing the bills.  As you have been told you cannot dispute the billing for the cut wire. Per Columbus City Code CCC 1101.03 billing disputes must be made in writing no later than 10 days after the bill’s due date.
As for a dispute on the billing since the new meter was installed, a high bill cannot be disputed just for the simple fact that is it high.  The only equipment we have in your home is our meter and it is a new meter.  We do offer a high bill meter test. We will change out the meter, bring it to our meter shop and test it on industry approved equipment. You can be present and observe the test. The technician can answer any questions you may have during the test regarding meters, how they work and how the test is conducted.  If the meter tests accurate there is a $40.00 charge. 
Per department policy we do not do meter work at a property where the water is off, however, after reviewing your account and discussing the options with the Customer Service Manager we will restore the service for $510.09 and place the remaining balance on a payment arrangement.
You mentioned that your lawyer informed you not to make any payments on the account since that would mean admitting you owe the bill.  If the bill is paid and the meter is found to have a defect the charges would be credited to you. 
Once the payment is made we can schedule to restore the service, we will need entry into the property.  We can discuss the meter test if you have any additional questions.
If you need additional information please contact me directly at ###-###-#### or [redacted]@columbus.gov .
 
Thank you
Martha R. Taylor
Customer Service Supervisor
Department of Public Utilities

Dear [redacted] Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and allowing us an opportunity to address your concerns regarding the bills for your property at [redacted]
I reviewed your account while monitoring the call you had with Nicole on August 18th, 2017. ...

She requested you read your meters to see how much water has been used since our last reading. You gave a reading of 1232 OR (outside remote) and 1233 IR (inside meter).  She explained that since our last reading on June 28th, 2017 you have used 25 ccf’s , the next quarterly reading will be in September.  She explained that based on the usage between June 28th and August 18th it looks like your usage has gone down slightly.  Per your conversation with Nicole you have 6 people residing at the property, your last 3 bills have been right in line for a family of that size, but it is an increase to your consumption for the past few years. If nothing has changed in the property then there may be a leak at the property, most common leaks are toilets, supply tubes for ice makers, hose bibs or sprinkler systems.  If you do not feel there is a leak or cannot find a leak you do have an option of testing the meter.  This test consists of a technician coming to the property, changing out the meter, bringing the meter to their office and running 3 flow tests on an [redacted] approved test bench. There is a $40.00 test fee if the meter tests accurate and you can be present during the test. In your complaint you stated that you would like the DPU to come out and check your meter and to check the neighborhood for leaks.  The reading you provided in your call verifies that the reading is correct. A leak in your neighborhood would not cause your bills to increase.  In order for your bills to increase the water must pass thru your meter, if there was a leak on the main that services your area this water would not register on any of the meters on that street to be billed.  I feel that best course of action for you is to take regular readings of your meter; this is the best way to see what your family uses each day.  When you read your meter always check the test hand to ensure it is not moving when there is no water being used. Do a check to make sure all of equipment that uses water is functioning properly.  If you have a humidifier on your furnace make sure it is not running. Do a dye test on all toilets to ensure there are no silent leaks.  If you decide that you would like to schedule a meter test please call our office at ###-###-#### to schedule this appointment. If you need additional information please contact me at [redacted] Thank you   Martha R. T[redacted] Customer Service Supervisor Department of Public Utilities

Dear Mr [redacted]
Thank you for contacting the Department of Public Utilities and allowing us to respond to your concerns.
According to the Franklin County Map room (FCMR) you were listed as owner of the property till 09/15/14 and per the Sherrifs Web Site the property sold at...

Sherrifs sale on 07/10/14 and the sale was finalized on 09/12/14.  We use the date the sale was finalized to end the account.
The charges were originally billed under  [redacted] Properties LLC and all bills were sent each quarter to [redacted] Street Columbus OH  43206.  Charges were transferred and a bill regenerated when the Sheriffs sale information was received in our office. 
Based on the information from FCMR and the Sheriffs Web Site you were the owner of the property when these charges were generated.
If you have additional information that shows you were not the owner of the property during that time please send that information to the Department of Public Utilities.
Thank you