Greater Cincinnati Water Works

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] Regards, [redacted] According the GCWW records, the last payment for water services was made on 11-1-2015, the water was shut off in March How then was a bill able to accumulate and if the water was off then there would be not have been a leak that led to over 500,gallons of water being spilled into my homeIt seems to me that the water company was negligent

Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) makes every attempt to provide a reasonable amount of notice to a customer before water services are disconnected due to delinquent amounts In this case, GCWW generated a quarterly billing statement for the customer on July The statement was mailed to the property address and charged for $ due on August No payment was received by the due date On August 17, GCWW assessed $in late charges and mailed a Past Due Notice to the property address with the following information included: “Our records indicate that your payment has not been received and this account is now past duePlease check your recordsA late payment charge has been assessed to your account and is included in the amount due shown belowIf you have already sent your payment, thank youPlease contact us at ###-###-#### to confirm that your payment has since been received or log on to our electronic customer account management site (ECAM) at [redacted] to check your balance Perhaps you overlooked paying your billIf you have not sent your payment, please do so immediately to bring your account current If you are unable to pay this bill in full, please contact us at ###-###-#### or visit our office at [redacted] to discuss possible alternativesOffice hours are 7:A.Mto 5:P.M., Monday through Friday; closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays FAILURE TO PAY ALL CHARGES IN FULL IMMEDIATELY OR TO COMPLY WITH THE PROCEDURES STATED ON THE BACK OF THIS NOTICE MAY RESULT IN THE DISCONNECTION OF YOUR WATER SERVICE WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE.” On September 18, further late charges of $were assessed, bringing the total owed to $ On October 7, GCWW issued a recorded message to the primary number on file for this customer Records show that the message reached a voicemail at 6:PM The text of the message was this: "For the property at: The Greater Cincinnati Water Works is scheduled to work in your neighborhood within the next day or morePlease make sure your water bill has been paidIf convenient, you can make a credit card payment hours a day by calling ###-###-####Press option for payments." Having no response or payment from the customer, a GCWW field representative came to the property on October at about 11:AM to disconnect water services Although not required to give notification before turning water off for delinquency, field representatives may use discretion and speak with customers to inform them that water is being turned off GCWW is neither required to provide paperwork to a customer when disconnecting water services nor to provide information to the customer as to “who” has approved the order for disconnection Water was disconnected to this property and the customer later called GCWW Customer Service multiple times The customer was informed of the payment needed to get water services restored The balance owed was then paid at 2:PM on October and GCWW returned to the property at 3:PM and turned water back on After reviewing the account and all contacts between the customer and GCWW on October 8, it is evident that GCWW did provide a reasonable amount of notice to the customer before services were disconnected and did act promptly to restore services once the delinquent total was paid Regarding the customer’s concern that GCWW “overcharges on sewer charges”, it must be pointed out that GCWW merely acts as a billing agent for multiple services carried out by other entities/municipalitiesDepending on the location/municipality in which a property is situated, the water bill from GCWW may include such services as storm-water, trash collection, sewer/wastewater, etc This customer’s property is situated within the City of Cincinnati and therefore has sewer/wastewater services provided by the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) Although GCWW serves as MSDGC’s billing agent for sewer/wastewater services in this case, rates for those services are established by MSDGC independent of GCWW and are approved through the Board of Commissioners of Hamilton County GCWW welcomes further questions or concerns from the customer if more information is needed

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.] Regards, [redacted] ***

We spoke with the customer on 11/14/and discussed why the water service had been interrupted Arrangements were made and the water was restored on the same day

GCWW provided the water usage history for the last two years so that the customer may better understand the basis for the billed amounts The customer may go through the Administrative Review Process by contacting GCWW at ###-###-#### or by going to *** in order to dispute
billed amounts. Currently GCWW does not have the authorization to check private residences for leaks in the plumbing. Our customer service staff has provided information to the customer about options for identifying and addressing leaks on his private plumbingTell us why here

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response If you wish, you may update it before sending it If you and the business have reached an agreement and compliance is set
for a future date, we trust the business will comply Please contact us after that time if the matter is not resolved as agreed and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
*** ***

I contacted Ms*** by phone today and we
spoke. I explained that her bankruptcy,
which was filed in and discharged on 3/19/13, predates the current unpaid
charges on the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) account, which cover the dates of service
6/20/2013-6/22/2015. The Hamilton County foreclosure case for the property, case #
***, was filed on 10/15/but was later dismissed on 10/14/2014. Public records therefore show that Ms*** is
still the legal owner of the property, which is why she continues to get billed
for new base water line charges. No water usage has registered since August of so she has not been billed for water usage since that time. Ms*** said that she understands the information that GCWW is providing but disputes that she is still the property owner. Because she no longer lives at the property, she said that she will not be paying the water bill for it. It appears
that her true dispute is concerning the deed for the property. However, GCWW has no authority to affect who becomes
the legal deed-holder. GCWW is instead
required by City of Cincinnati Municipal Code to bill whichever party is displayed by legal records
as the deed-holder. Ms*** reiterated that
she will not be paying the charges. In addition to her complaint to the Revdex.com, Ms*** also contacted the Office of Cincinnati's Mayor, *** ***. I
explained to her that I would forward the information from our conversation to both parties in response to her two respective
complaints. In the meantime, GCWW cannot legally discontinue the water account in her name because a water line still exists at the property and must be billed for base (aka "minimum" or "maintenance") charges according to current rates. As Ms*** is still displayed as the legal owner of record on all available documentation, City of Cincinnati Municipal Code requires GCWW to continue sending a bill for those charges in her name until her legal ownership has ended.
*** ***Administrative SpecialistCustomer Contact CenterGreater Cincinnati Water Works

The credit has been applied to the correct account at *** *** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I will never agree with their response unless their response is to change their policyYes they did leave that voicemail but it is a lieThey were in no way going to do any work in my neighborhood so why even say that? Why not just say "we will be out to turn your water off in the the next few days so you better pay up"? I don't understand the shadinessAlso just because that is the rate the city charges for sewage and water doesn't mean it isn't an inflated rateI am well aware of the city of Cincinnati sneaking taxes and charges onto the water billAnd if GCWW is just a representative who gives our bill, shouldn't they also be an advocate for the customer instead of just blindly just robbing us of our money?
Regards,
*** ***

We spoke with the customer on 11/27/17 to discuss this issue and apologize for the short notification.

The owner of the property served is responsible for all water charges, residency is not a factor. ([redacted]5) GCWW is prohibited by ([redacted] from reducing water charges due to a leak.If the customer wishes to disput the charges they may go through the Administrative Review Process by...

contacting GCWW at ###-###-#### or by going to [redacted]

Ms. [redacted] has expressed concern in her complaint about the $3.99 convenience fee charged for credit card transactions. This credit card transaction fee is charged by our payment processer for the use of a credit/debit card. The protection and security of customer information and banking data is...

important to Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW). As a result, we have contracted with an industry leading payment processor to safeguard this information and to protect our customers, our employees, and the city of Cincinnati.   Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) offers several free payment options that are available 24 hours daily which is available online at MyGCWW.org, via the GCWW phone system, bank portals, [redacted], or via USPS by mailing her payment coupon using the self-addressed envelope included with her bill.   Additional free payment options that have published open hours include several walk-in locations throughout the greater Cincinnati region; Cincinnati City Hall, GCWW main office located at [redacted] and City of Mason Municipal Building.   GCWW also offers a free payment service that allows the customer to enroll in AutoPay. This payment option is also free and will automatically debit the customer bank account when the payment is due. This payment service is available via our 24x7 portal at MyGCWW.org.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] According the GCWW records, the last payment for water services was made on 11-1-2015, the water was shut off in March 2016. How then was a bill able to accumulate and if the water was off  then there would be not have been a leak that led to over 500,000 gallons of water being spilled into my home. It seems to me that the water company was negligent.

Greater Cincinnati Water Works
(GCWW) makes every attempt to provide a reasonable amount of notice to a
customer before water services are disconnected due to delinquent amounts.  In this case, GCWW generated a quarterly billing
statement for the customer on July 22. 
The statement...

was mailed to the property address and charged for $437.04
due on August 12.  No payment was
received by the due date.  On August 17,
GCWW assessed $3.63 in late charges and mailed a Past Due Notice to the property
address with the following information included:
“Our records indicate that
your payment has not been received and this account is now past due. Please
check your records. A late payment charge has been assessed to your account and
is included in the amount due shown below. If you have already sent your payment,
thank you. Please contact us at ###-###-#### to confirm that your payment
has since been received or log on to our electronic customer account management
site (ECAM) at [redacted] to check your balance.
               
Perhaps you overlooked paying your bill. If you have not sent your
payment, please do so immediately to bring your account current.
If you are unable to pay this bill in full, please contact us at
###-###-#### or visit our office at [redacted] to discuss possible
alternatives. Office hours are 7:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., Monday through Friday;
closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
               
FAILURE TO PAY ALL CHARGES IN FULL IMMEDIATELY OR TO COMPLY WITH
THE PROCEDURES STATED ON THE BACK OF THIS NOTICE MAY RESULT IN THE
DISCONNECTION OF YOUR WATER SERVICE WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE.”
On
September 18, further late charges of $3.63 were assessed, bringing the total
owed to $444.30.  On October 7, GCWW
issued a recorded message to the primary number on file for this customer.  Records show that the message reached a
voicemail at 6:15 PM.  The text of the
message was this:
"For
the property at: <address> The Greater Cincinnati Water Works is
scheduled to work in your neighborhood within the next day or more. Please make
sure your water bill has been paid. If convenient, you can make a credit card
payment 24 hours a day by calling ###-###-####. Press option 1 for
payments."
Having
no response or payment from the customer, a GCWW field representative came to
the property on October 8 at about 11:00 AM to disconnect water services.  Although not required to give notification before
turning water off for delinquency, field representatives may use discretion and
speak with customers to inform them that water is being turned off.  GCWW is neither required to provide paperwork
to a customer when disconnecting water services nor to provide information to
the customer as to “who” has approved the order for disconnection.  Water was disconnected to this property and
the customer later called GCWW Customer Service multiple times.  The customer was informed of the payment
needed to get water services restored. 
The balance owed was then paid at 2:15 PM on October 8 and GCWW returned
to the property at 3:15 PM and turned water back on.
After
reviewing the account and all contacts between the customer and GCWW on October
8, it is evident that GCWW did provide a reasonable amount of notice to the
customer before services were disconnected and did act promptly to restore
services once the delinquent total was paid.
Regarding
the customer’s concern that GCWW “overcharges on sewer charges”, it must be
pointed out that GCWW merely acts as a billing agent for multiple services
carried out by other entities/municipalities. Depending on the location/municipality in
which a property is situated, the water bill from GCWW may include such
services as storm-water, trash collection, sewer/wastewater, etc.  This customer’s property is situated within
the City of Cincinnati and therefore has sewer/wastewater services provided by
the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC).  Although GCWW serves as MSDGC’s billing agent
for sewer/wastewater services in this case, rates for those services are
established by MSDGC independent of GCWW and are approved through the Board of
Commissioners of Hamilton County.
GCWW welcomes further questions or concerns from
the customer if more information is needed.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]