Johnson Utilities

Ms*** started service October and was not charged a depositWhen a customer is disconnected for non-payment it is required that a security deposit is collected in order to reconnect serviceSince to today Ms*** has been disconnected for non-payment multiple times and was
not charged a depositDeposits are held on the account and accrue interest at 1.5%Deposits will apply to the account after months of good payment history (no late fees) or when the account is closed

On 5/16/a customer contacted Johnson Utilities andrequested to start service at *** *** *** to be effective on 5/19/Atthat time the account for Mrand Mrs*** was closed and the account for thenew customer was startedIt is the customer’s responsibility to close their accountwith Johnson Utilities if they no longer want serviceThere is no recordof a company by the name of *** establishing service for this property, ifthere was an agreement between Mrand Mrs*** and *** that would need tobe dealt with between the two parties

[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.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is an indication that they are aware of poor time from for callsIt is not acceptable to call someone back during their working hrsso the callback feature is only useful to someone who is not working/busyOutside business hrs need to be available or call wait time will need to be significantly decreasedMost people do not want to take time off work in order to resolve an issue that should not exist in the first placeSRP, Cox, Mesa gas, ETCdo not require password changesThere is no reason for this beyond using legacy softwareCompany understands it has an issue and sounds like they are trying to resolve it but are VERY slow
Regards,
*** ***

There is no record of Mr*** contacting Johnson Utilities regaurding concerns of high usage at his residenceMr*** can contact Johnson Utilities and request a Technician come to the residence to verify the read, look for visible leaks, and see if the meter is spinning when no water is
running at the propertyMr*** can also request a data log, a data log will report the usage at the residence per hour in order to identify when the water is being usedMr*** can also request a meter test for accuracy

The billing period for Mr***’s residence ends on or around the 25th of each monthAfter the billing period end date the billing is generated then the statements are createdAfter the statements are created a file is sent to a third party to mail bills as well as send
email notifications to customers that have signed up for e-bill (email notification of new bills)It is Johnson Utilities goal to have all billing mailed and/or emailed on or before the first of each month for the billing cycle that Mr***’s account is in
Johnson Utilities third party vendor has stated that April billing emails for Mr***s billing cycle were sent on 4/29/with a due date of 5/15/Mr*** had a credit balance on the April billing therefor no payment was dueIn regards to the late fee, Johnson Utilities bills are due on the 15th of each month and late fees CAN be applied as early as the 16th of each monthJohnson Utilities typically will not charge a late fee for to days after the due date

The call back system calls back hours laterThe customer might not be available when the systems calls back.The whole purpose of trying to call in and pay the bill is because customers might not have access to the other payment options.If the customer is unable to pay their bill by phone or any other payment method, it could go past the due date and have to pay late fees because Johnson Utilities so called upgraded phone system is not reliable

Johnson Utilities has billing cycles:
Cycle = Billing date of the 25th, bills are updated on the 25th, then forms are created, reports ran, and a file is extracted to the third party vendorBills are mailed out on or before the 1st. Bills are due on the
15th
Cycle = Billing date is the 5th, bills are updated on the 5th, then forms are created, reports ran, and a file is extracted to the third party vendorBills are mailed out on or before the 10thBills are due on the 25th
Mr*** has accounts with Johnson Utilities, the accounts are as follows:
1. *** * ***, this is on Billing Cycle This account has had a total of bills producedThe first bills were being mailed to the incorrect billing address, billings produced late fees however all late fees have been waived and the billing address has been correctedThe 3rd bill was produced on 7/25/ad has the correct mailing addressThe past due amount is $and the total amount (to include current amount) is $
2. *** ***, this is on Billing Cycle 1. This account has only had one bill, and it is going to the correct billing addressThe total due is $and is current
3. *** * *** *** is on Billing Cycle This account has been open since and is being mailed to the correct mailing addressA total of billing cycles have produced late fees and have been waived, leaving a total of $in late fees for this account in total
Johnson Utilities offers a service called E-bill, E-bill will send your bill to your email address the same day, or next day, the bill is sent to the third party vendorThis program can elevate any delay that the USPS may produceMr*** has signed up in the past for this service however it does not appear that he is currently enrolled
A Johnson Utility Customer Service Supervisor contacted Mr*** on 7/25/and reviewed all accounts, corrected the account that had the incorrect billing address, and answered all the questions Mr*** had regarding billing

Below is Johnson Utilities to the customer rebuttal:Per the notes in the Johnson Utilities software on 6/10/at 8:the past due payment was made as well as a reconnection fee of $and it is noted that customer was advised of the hour time frameThis has been Johnson Utilities practice for many yearsAs stated previously Johnson Utilities will have technician stay late in an effort to have water that was disconnected for non-payment turned on the same day however other emergencies (force main or water line breaks) can cause an unexpected delay of this process which is why the Johnson Utilities Customer Service Department provides a time frame of hours

This account had usage up until 9/16/On 10/17/monthly reads came back showing zero usageThere was no record of a call from customer to close this accountOur office force closed the account on 10/29/Customer received a bill dated 10/31/due on 11/15/with
billing period of 9/30/through 10/31/Another bill was created for their final bill dating 11/30/due on 12/15/with billing period of 10/31/through 11/30/This final bill had all credits from the deposits being refunded back due to the account being closedThe last payment that we received on this account was on 7/16/We have since then tried to contact customer with the number that we have on file but the call just rings busy

On July 21, at 3:32pm customer received a curtesy voice mail advising him to contact Johnson Utilities to avoid interruption of services.July 25, a technician posted a courtesy notice at residence *** * *** ** *** *** *** ** *** that states the
following: YOUR WASTE WATER (SEWER) SERVICES FOR THIS RESIDENCE WILL BE DISCONNECTED FOR NON-PAYMENT IF PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED BEFORE 4:PM ON 07-30- PLEASE CONTACT JOHNSON UTILITIES TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO PAY YOUR AMOUNT DUE AT ###-###-#### OR COME BY THE OFFICE AT EHUNT HIGHWAY. Mr*** called in to our customer service line on July 31, at 9:51:am and stated he wanted a payment arrangement at that time our customer service representative stated he needs to pay the past due amount of $and our standard reconnection fee of $for a total of $Mr*** was very rude to our representative and used foul language towards our representative at the end of the phone call, our representative kept her composure and told Mr*** to have a nice day. Mr*** called back into our customer service line on August 01, at 11:27:am and request to speak with a supervisor the call was transferred to her voice mailSupervisor returned customers call at 3:10pm and was unable to get a hold of Mr*** she left a voice mail to return the call. When a disconnection notice is generated customers have till the date and time assigned to pay to avoid disconnection once the account has been scheduled for disconnection we require the past due balance and reconnection fee to restore services (within Hours) Mr *** paid $to have services reconnected on August 4, as he was disconnected for non payment as of 4:on July 30,

On 10/13/Mr*** contacted Johnson Utilities stating that payments were made to the accountA Johnson Utilities Supervisor reviewed and found that the customer had paid the bill online and had submitted the payment twiceThe Johnson Utilities Supervisor voided one of the payments

On 2/26/a disconnection notice was mailed to Mr*** property stating that $was past due and due by 3/8/at 4:PM to avoid disconnection of serviceOn 3/9/payment was not received and service was disconnected for
nonpaymentOn 3/9/Mr*** contacted Johnson Utilities Customer Service Department inquiring on his service disconnectionThe Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representatives explained that service had been disconnected for nonpayment and that the past due amount of $would need to be paid as well as a $reconnection fee to restore serviceMr*** stated that he had made a payment on 3/8/onlineThe Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representative explained that when a payment is made online it can take up to days for Johnson Utilities to receiveWhen paying online not only does it explain this on the webpage but a pop up box has to be clicked by the payee that states they understand and agree prior to making the paymentMr*** became upset and stated he had a month old in the home and that disconnecting his water service was illegalMr*** then stated that he would remove the lock himselfThe Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representative explained that tampering with a public utility can result in a class felony; Mr*** stated he would remove the lock in front of an officer and then he would sue On 3/11/a Johnson Utilities Technician went to Mr*** property to ensure it was still locked as Mr*** had not paid the reconnection fee and the Technician found that the lock had been removedThe Johnson Utilities Technician put another lock on the propertyOn 3/11/Mr*** came into the Johnson Utilities office and paid the reconnection fee of $Mr*** service was restored the same day

I still do not agree with the reconnection feeI had beliefs that the payment was paid so when the amount was not deducted from my checking I called I am still asking for Johnson Utilities to remove the dollar fee assessment thank you

On 11/2/the Johnson Utilities Meter Department identified Ms*** residence to have a high readA Johnson Utilities Technician wen to Ms*** residence and verified that the read was correct and that the meter was spinningThe Johnson Utilities Technician also noted that the irrigation
was off at the ball valve however it was also noted that there were signs of an irrigation leak as parts of the yard were washed out, Ms*** was not home at the time of the visit. On 11/7/the Johnson Utilities Meter Department tried calling Ms*** times to advise her of the usage however the phone did not ring, it was noted as only being dead air. On 11/15/the Johnson Utilities Meter Department tried to contact Ms*** again however a recording came on stating that the call did not go through. The Johnson Utilities Meter Department will attempt to contact Ms*** at the number listed on this complaint todayAt this time the Johnson Utilities Meter Department can offer a data log, if the current equipment at her residence is compatible, or a meter accuracy test can be performed

On 1/17/a notice was mailed to Ms*** property stating that $was past due and due by 2/7/to avoid disconnection of serviceOn 2/8/payment was not received and the water service at Ms*** property was disconnected for nonpaymentOn 2/8/Ms*** contacted Johnson
Utilities and stated that she had made a payment for the past due amount, the Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representative explained that payment had not been receivedMs*** paid the past due amount of $as well as a $reconnection fee to have services restoredMs*** contacted Johnson Utilities’ Customer Service Department and made a payment of $and confirmed that her account is set up for autopay on the 15th of each month

On 2/26/a disconnection notice was mailed to Ms*** residence stating that $was past due and due by 3/8/to avoid disconnection of serviceOn 3/5/a statement was mailed to Ms*** stating that $was past due and $was due on 3/25/On 3/9/payment had not been
received and service was disconnected for nonpaymentOn 3/9/Mrs*** contacted Johnson Utilities Customer Service Department stating that she had made a payment via bank billBank bills are usually through a customer’s personal online banking accountWhen a bank bill payment is made the money is taken out of the customers account right away, the bank then prints a check and mails it via USPS mail to the companyIt has been Johnson Utilities experience that bank bills do not get delivered on the date the bank estimates that the USPS will deliver itThere is a service that can be purchased whereas the bank bills can be electronically delivered but there are additional fees for the service, further, different companies offer different banksThere is not a company that would be able to capture ALL financial institutionsJohnson Utilities has reviewed companies that offer the service and the cost is too highIf a customer is in danger of being disconnected for nonpayment a bank bill is usually not the best way to ensure the payment is delivered on timeOn 3/9/Ms*** Paid the past due amount of $as well as a reconnection fee to restore serviceOn 3/10/Ms***’ bank bill payment was delivered and credited to the accountThe account balance on 3/10/was $that was due on 3/25/

Ms*** has been disconnected times for non-payment this yearAll disconnections were due to payments and or payment arrangements not being madeA Johnson Utilities Supervisor has left two messages for Ms*** to review her account as well as clear up the confusion but has not heard back
from Ms***Ms***s’ invoices are mailed on or before the first of each monthPayments are always due on the 15th of the monthIf payment is not received a late notice is mailed on the 16thJohnson Utilities is required by the Arizona Corporation Commission to provide at least days after the late notice is sent to disconnect service for non-paymentIt is noted on Ms***s account that bills have been returned, Johnson Utilities has the mailing address listed the same as the service address that is on this complaintAnother option for Ms*** would be to set up an e-bill account. An e-bill account can be set up so that all bills and disconnection notices are emailed to Ms***While reviewing Ms***s’ Johnson Utilities account it was noticed that the June reconnection fee was charged two times in errorA credit slip has been sent to the Johnson Utilities accounting department in order to credit the additional $charge to Ms***s’ account, leaving the balance on the account as a credit of $If Ms*** has any further questions or concerns regarding her account she can contact Johnson Utilities and request to speak to the Customer Service Manager, Crisitne

Mr*** owed $due by 10/25/Mr*** mailed a check payment that was entered on 10/24/Mr*** wrote the amount on the check as $but on the legal line it was spelt out as Ninety dollars and sixty six centsThe bank had advised that the legal line is what should be
considered as opposed to the box on the right of the checkA Johnson Utilities Supervisor spoke to Mr*** about this on 11/4/via emailMr*** understood and has paid the remaining $The Johnson Utilities Supervisor also waived the $late fee

I am not sure where to email this response, I did not receive the second notice:On 7/19/a Johnson Utilities Supervisor contacted MrT*** to discuss this complaintMrT*** requested a data log on his meterThe Johnson Utilities Supervisor also explained that the meter could be tested for
accuracy and emailed a meter testing authorization form to him. On 8/2/a Johnson Utilities Supervisor contacted MrT*** and explained that the meter at his property is not able to run data logsThe Johnson Utilities Supervisor told MrT*** that the meter could be sent for testing and a new meter could be installedThe newer meter would be able to do a data log. On 8/4/MrT***s meter will be delivered to the *** *** *** for an accuracy test

After speaking with Jen at Johnson utilities she stated that my deposit which was required before starting service was placed for our first billNo where in the billing history is that representedYes, services have been disconnected multiple times as no invoices where being receivedPer Jen, that's the posts office fault, for which I disagree as all other statements arrive in a timely mannerI am ok with paying a deposit as long as it is represented in our billing historyYet, the issue of the disrespect and lack for professionalism from a manager at Johnson utilities, still stands