Eastern Municipal Water District

EMWD does not participate in the practice of pyramid late feesIt is our policy that if a balance is outstanding, a late fee will be applied to the accountThe customer carried a running balance on the account and frequently did not pay the entire balance due, thus resulting in late fees being applied The customer recently paid his entire bill balanceAs a courtesy, EMWD has retroactively reversed four late fee charges, resulting in a $account credit For further questions, please contact EMWD Public Affairs at ###-###-####, ext*** Thank you, [redacted] Public Affairs OfficerEastern Municipal Water District

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/07/27) */
EMWD attempted to make contact with this customer last week regarding our new delinquency processA message was left but was unreturned by the point of contact on the Revdex.com complaintEMWD staff is willing to work with our customers on this
matter
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 11, 2015/07/27) */
Emwd decided to waive $fee

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/10/29) */
EMWD instituted a new late fee policy in June This policy was approved and properly agendized during a public meeting and notifications were sent to all customers in the Spring advising of the policy changeNearly percent of our
customer base was chronically late with their payments, placing a strain on staff resources and other financial obligationsThis new late fee is not designed to produce revenue, but is intended to recover the costs associated with customers who have delinquent accounts and to provide incentive to customers to pay their bills in a timely mannerThe California Water Code provides public water agencies with the ability to impose such fees, since late payment is a violation of law, as our rates are adopted by resolution that require water fees to be paid within calendar days

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/22) */
EMWD has proactively issued a courtesy recharge on this account, resulting in water use being billed at a lower tiered price pointThe Management Company the account holder at the time of the water use has a $credit on the
account
EMWD staff spoke to the homeowner on July and notified them of the changes to the account and pending creditMs*** stated she was appreciative of the responsiveness

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/06) */
Dear Mr***,
On behalf of Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), we wanted to acknowledge receipt of your complaint filed with the Revdex.com of Central California and Inland Empire Counties
EMWD - a water,
wastewater and recycled water provider to 785,people over a 542-square mile service area - is committed to providing superior customer service and ensuring that we work in partnership with our customers to provide a positive customer experience
In order to create an efficient staffing model that allows us to reduce costs to our customers, EMWD has traditionally billed customers times per year, though the length of each billing cycle may have slight variationsWater meters that area read manually are read only on certain days each month (Mondays through Thursdays), creating the slight differences in due dates on each individual billing cycle
To address this issue, EMWD has installed a new meter at your propertyThis will allow us read your meter through a cellular connection each month and stabilize the due date on your billThough there may be a small (1-day) variation each month, we believe this will help narrow the scope of when your bill is due and assist you in reducing any financial hardships that may have resulted from your previous due dates
Your new billing cycle will be due on or around the 20th of each monthVariations of 1-days are unavoidable, but we hope this will provide some assistance moving forwardWe hope this resolves your concerns regarding this matter
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/07/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I was contacted by the company, given the option to have a automatic meter installed and given a due date within a few days of what I requestedVery pleased
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2015/07/14) */
***,
I thought this issue was resolved, according the the manager I spoke with from EMWD...he said my new due date wil be the 20th of each month with the new meter installed and to expect my bill this month to be a little higher, yet I received a past due notice today with a $fineI am attaching said letter as well as my payment historyCan you please help me?
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/07/16) */
Customer's late fee which was for a billing cycle completed prior to the issue with her meter being replaced was waived as a courtesyWe have also proactively waived the next late fee, should the customer be unable to pay the transitional bill that will be produced as we change billing cyclesStaff spoke to the customer and the customer was appreciative of EMWD working with them to ensure they have a billing cycle that works better for them moving forward

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/07/21) */
As a courtesy, customer was given a one-time waiver on their late feeMs*** was advised that moving forward, she would need to ensure payment was made by the due date to avoid the late fee
The $late fee is part of a new delinquency
process that began on June 25, Customers were notified of this process via bill inserts and other methods, including notifications through our website

I am rejecting this response because: the refund was not received

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/06/02) */
Contact Name and Title: *** ***
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX x ***
Contact Email: ***@emwd.org
Ms***, due to privacy concerns, we are unable to discuss the details of the situation at the property that have resulted in the
current situation
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/06/04) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Im not trying to discuss anythingI am just asking for my water service to startIm a new tenant that doesnt owe any money to the water companyPlease just turn my water on
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 9, 2016/06/07) */
They turned my water on today 6-6-

EMWD does not participate in the practice of pyramid late fees. It is our policy that if a balance is outstanding, a late fee will be applied to the account. The customer carried a running balance on the account and frequently did not pay the entire balance due, thus resulting in late fees being...

applied.
The customer recently paid his entire bill balance. As a courtesy, EMWD has retroactively reversed four late fee charges, resulting in a $100 account credit.
For further questions, please contact EMWD Public Affairs at ###-###-####, ext. [redacted]9.
Thank you,
[redacted]Public Affairs OfficerEastern Municipal Water District

The refund is being sent via certified mail and should be received by the end of the week.
We apologize for the delay and will work to ensure a more timely system is in place.
Thank you for your service.
[redacted]Public Affairs officer, EMWD

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/08/25) */
The illegal service restoration fee will remain on this account. Account had been tagged off by EMWD staff, and tag had been removed and the meter advanced, indicating water usage. As previously discussed with the customer, our staff had not...

removed the tag and restored service and it was unlikely that anyone would do so besides the resident(s). The charge will remain on the account.