Johnson Utilities

Johnson Utilities has billed me for 5,000 gallons for several months. I live by myself and don't have a pool. I don't take a shower 3 times a day for 30 minutes and there are no sprinklers. Johnson Utilities ignored my letter in which I told them that it is simply impossible for a single person to use 5,000 gallons every 30 days. I also disputed their bills which don't reflect actual meter readings but reading which according to them are "rounded up". Their bills are supposed to be legal documents and this is close to forgery. They would not give me a reason why they would show "readings" which are rounded up to the next 1,000 gallons. The only explanation "This is how we do it." The meter shows even 10 gallons or a single gallon. Other water companies show the exact reading of the water meter on the reading date.
I feel that they figured out how to cheat customers and take advantage of the lack of competition.

On July 21, 2014 at 3:32pm customer received a curtesy voice mail advising him to contact Johnson Utilities to avoid interruption of services.July 25, 2014 a technician posted a courtesy notice at residence [redacted] that states the...

following: YOUR WASTE WATER (SEWER) SERVICES FOR THIS RESIDENCE WILL BE DISCONNECTED FOR NON-PAYMENT IF PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED BEFORE 4:45 PM ON 07-30-14.   PLEASE CONTACT JOHNSON UTILITIES TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO PAY YOUR AMOUNT DUE AT ###-###-#### OR COME BY THE OFFICE AT 968 E. HUNT HIGHWAY. Mr. [redacted] called in to our customer service line on July 31, 2014 at 9:51:57 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 $90.96 and our standard reconnection fee of $50.00 for a total of $140.96 Mr. [redacted] 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. [redacted] to have a nice day.    Mr. [redacted] called back into our customer service line on August 01, 2014 at 11:27:20 am and request to speak with a supervisor the call was transferred to her voice mail. Supervisor returned customers call at 3:10pm and was unable to get a hold of Mr. [redacted] 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 24 Hours) Mr [redacted] paid $140.96 to have services reconnected on August 4, 2014 as he was disconnected for non payment as of 4:45 on July 30, 2014.

A statement was mailed to the CA address on 10/25 stating that $77.42 was past due and $64.07 was due on 11/15, for a total of $141.49. On 11/15 payment was only made to the past due amount of $77.42.

A statement was mailed to the CA address on 11/25 stating that $64.07 was past due and $37.99 was due on 12/15, for a total of $90.15. NO payment was received.

A disconnection notice was mailed 12/19 stating that $90.15 was past due and due by ½ to avoid disconnection of service. NO payment was received. At that point $64.07 was past due 48 days and $37.99 was past due 18 days.

A statement was sent on 12/26/13 stating that $90.15 was past due and $68.25 was due on 1/15.

A payment was made on 1/5 for the total amount due of $158.40; this was 3 days AFTER the deadline date.

The fact that the total amount show on statement dated 12/26 was paid confirms that statements were being received. The disconnection of service was NOT an accounting error on Johnson Utilities side rather an accounting error on the customer’s side.

It is the customer’s responsibility to pay bills on time to avoid disconnection for nonpayment, the fact that the customer lives out of state would make me think that on-time payments would be vital to ensure the house was being taken care of properly.

It is NOT Johnson Utilities responsibility to contact a customer multiple times to make sure the bills are paid on time and that out of state customers receive any different service than an in state customer. The bottom line is that the customer was consistently a month behind then failed to make a payment in December which ultimately led to disconnection of service.

Johnson Utilities agreed to credit 4 of the 7 months that the service was disconnected for nonpayment, this was a courtesy to the customer. The remaining 3 months total $182.27 and will not be credited.

I have reviewed the response 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.

Johnson Utilities has failed to address on repeated attempts, and also in this complaint, the issue of the billing date on their statements and the date of the mailing of the statements.  Until Johnson Utilities directs their third party mailing service to mail the statements on the same date of the printing, all late fees for all customers should be returned.  Because if the staements are mailed a week late, then the late fees should be extended a week as well.  And, of course, Johnson Utilities is not do that.  And for the record, Johnson Utilities has in the past REFUSED to waive late fees for me. 

Regards,

The billing period for Mr. [redacted]’s residence ends on or around the 25th of each month. After the billing period end date the billing is generated then the statements are created. After 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. [redacted]’s account is in.

Johnson Utilities third party vendor has stated that April billing emails for Mr. [redacted]s billing cycle were sent on 4/29/14 with a due date of 5/15/14. Mr. [redacted] had a credit balance on the April billing therefor no payment was due. In 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 month. Johnson Utilities typically will not charge a late fee for 2 to 3 days after the due date.

Mr. [redacted] owed $97.66 due by 10/25/16. Mr. [redacted] mailed a check payment that was entered on 10/24/16. Mr. [redacted] wrote the amount on the check as $97.66 but on the legal line it was spelt out as Ninety dollars and sixty six cents. The bank had advised that the legal line is what should be...

considered as opposed to the box on the right of the check. A Johnson Utilities Supervisor spoke to Mr. [redacted] about this on 11/4/16 via email. Mr. [redacted] understood and has paid the remaining $7.00. The Johnson Utilities Supervisor also waived the $0.10 late fee.

Mrs. [redacted] called in on 10/13/15 and spoke to the Johnson

Utilities Customer Service Manager regarding her account. Mrs. [redacted] stated that

she is not getting her bills. The Customer Service Manager informed Mrs. Gary

that is shows that we are getting return mail for her and that she would need

to...

contact the post office and figure out why they are not delivering her mail

to her. The Customer Service Manager offered Mrs. [redacted] the Ebill option which

her bills would be delivered through an email process. Mrs. [redacted] refused and

stated she had already tried that and had problems with that as well. The

Customer Service Manager then explained that Mrs. [redacted]s is responsible for

making sure her bills our paid on time and advised her that her bills our

created on the 5th of each month and due by the 25th of

each month. Mrs. [redacted] decided to end the call with the Customer Service Manager

abruptly.

On 12/19 a disconnection notice was mailed to Mrs. [redacted]’s mailing address in California stating that $90.15 was past due and due immediately to avoid disconnection of service for nonpayment. The disconnection notice stated that payment must be made by 1/2/13. On 1/3/13 payment was...

not received and the water service was disconnected for nonpayment. On 1/5/13 a payment was received from the Johnson Utility payment source and applied to the account.

When an account is disconnected for nonpayment the customer usually contacts Johnson Utilities as there is no water to the residence, as Mrs. [redacted] noted in the complaint she was not living in the home, and the bills were going to California. Usually when the customer contacts Johnson Utilities to reconnect service the past due balance, a reconnection fee as well as a refundable security deposit are necessary to reconnect service.

Mrs. [redacted] did continue to pay, as I believe she was not aware of the locked meter. Usually when an account is locked out for nonpayment, and the customer has not contacted Johnson Utilities to either close the account or reconnect the service the account will be force closed (Johnson Utilities closes the account due to non-activity as opposed to a customer closing the account). This did not happen and I am not sure if it was because payments were being made or if it was an oversight by the office staff.

After reviewing the account I am willing to credit the account 4 months of water and waste water monthly charges. The Johnson Utilities accounting department attempted to reverse the last 4 credit card payments that were submitted by Mrs. [redacted] however were not able to as the transaction are too old. A credit in the amount of $245.72 will be issued on the account and a credit balance of $119.10 will remain. The credit balance will be submitted to accounting and a check will be mailed to Mrs. [redacted]s address that is listed on this complaint, and is also listed on the Johnson Utilities account, in California.

When a customer is disconnected for nonpayment Johnson Utilities has up to 24 hours to restore the service. Johnson Utilities does try to get all customers reconnected the same day. When the past due amount is paid, as well as a reconnection fee, the Johnson Utilities Customer Service...

Representatives do disclose the policy to the customer. Mr. [redacted] paid his past due as well as a reconnection fee at 8:53 AM on 6/10/16. Mr. [redacted] service was reconnected on 6/10/16 through Johnson Utilities after hours/night crew.Tell us why here...

Tell us why here...[redacted]Mr. [redacted]This letter is in response to complaint #[redacted] to the Revdex.com regarding billing and disconnection of services.  Johnson Utilities...

sent Mr. [redacted] a bill dated 8/25/15 for the amount $87.52 due on 9/15/15. On 9/17/15 a late fee was assessed and disconnection notice was sent out stating past due amount of $87.52 was due by 10/6/15 before 4:45 pm to avoid disconnection of services. Payment was not received by 10/6/15 therefore Mr. [redacted]’s services were disconnected on 10/7/15. Mr. [redacted] called in on 10/7/15 and spoke to a Johnson Utilities Representative. Mr. [redacted] paid past due of $87.52 along with $50.00 reconnection fee. Mr. [redacted] services were reconnected on 10/7/15.Johnson Utilities policies are in compliance with rules that have been set forth by the Arizona Corporation Commission.Thank you,[redacted]Accounting SupervisorJohnson Utitlites, LLC

Johnson Utilities falsely claims that my water service was shut off, thus requiring both a reconnection and assessment of a $50.00 fee. The water was not shut off. I paid my bill AND a reconnection fee and still my water was not shut off. Presumably, Johnson Utilities assess a reconnection fee to cover the cost of a technician driving to my residence, physically turning the water off and then returning back to my residence to turn the water back on. These services were not performed. Johnson Utilities took $50.00 from me for a service that was not rendered.

We have been trying to get ahold of Mr. [redacted] however the number we have on file goes to his father, who states Mr. [redacted] is in Japan. We have emailed Mr. [redacted] as I am confused by his response. He stated that the email is sent out days after the billing date. The billing date, as explained previously, is the date the billing period ends. After we end the billing period (usually around the 25th) the system updates, creates statements, files are sent to the third party vendor for print or email. Billing for Mr. [redacted]s account is sent out by the 1st of the month and due on the 15th. In the last sentence Mr. [redacted] states that he changed his forwarding address and has not received a bill, thus my confusion.. is he referring to his email address changing as he states he receives late emails or is the problem with the bill going via USPS mail.  We have not received a reply from Mr. [redacted] as of yet.

My husband and I always half our Johnson Utilities bill (because it's so expensive) every month. He pays half and I pay half. He writes a check, I write a check and we put the checks in the envelope and drop in the night drop slot at Johnson Utilities. Well, we then get a disconnect notice saying they only got partial payment! As it turns out, they lost one of the checks and only processed one. So who is opening these envelopes and not looking at them carefully?! Why are they so careless?! I do not like Johnson Utilities customer service! They bascially said "it's your problem"! So now my check is out there floating around somewhere! I think I'm going to use[redacted] online banking from now on. Johnson Utilities are the worst business I've ever dealt with! Beware!!

Most horrible customer service representative EVER - Giovanna. She was unbelievably rude from the beginning of our conversation today and yelled at me throughout, finally hanging up on me when I was trying to find out if I had paid them all that was needed at that time. I have never been treated anywhere near that terribly by a customer service rep from any company and hope I never come close again. I hate that I have no choice but to use this company. They don't care about customer service because they don't have to, as we have no alternatives for water, sewer and trash where I live.

Johnson Utilities is the worst business I have ever had to deal with. Not only is there customer service terrible they "accidentally" took my payment twice out of my account when I paid over the phone. That was now two months ago and I still can't seem to get my billing correct. I got a disconnect notice when my account we current. I keep being told everything is now strait and settled and I continue to get over charged and the billing is never correct since that occurrence. I guess since they are the only option for water and trash in the San Tan Valley they can get away with treating people badly and ripping people off. What ever happened with the law of no Monopolies?

On 2/26/16 a disconnection notice was mailed to Mr. [redacted] property stating that $88.75 was past due and due by 3/8/16 at 4:45 PM to avoid disconnection of service. On 3/9/16 payment was not received and service was disconnected for...

nonpayment. On 3/9/16 Mr. [redacted] contacted Johnson Utilities Customer Service Department inquiring on his service disconnection. The Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representatives explained that service had been disconnected for nonpayment and that the past due amount of $88.75 would need to be paid as well as a $50.00 reconnection fee to restore service. Mr. [redacted] stated that he had made a payment on 3/8/16 online. The Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representative explained that when a payment is made online it can take up to 3 days for Johnson Utilities to receive. When 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 payment. Mr. [redacted] became upset and stated he had a 3 month old in the home and that disconnecting his water service was illegal. Mr. [redacted] then stated that he would remove the lock himself. The Johnson Utilities Customer Service Representative explained that tampering with a public utility can result in a class 4 felony; Mr. [redacted] stated he would remove the lock in front of an officer and then he would sue.   On 3/11/16 a Johnson Utilities Technician went to Mr. [redacted] property to ensure it was still locked as Mr. [redacted] had not paid the reconnection fee and the Technician found that the lock had been removed. The Johnson Utilities Technician put another lock on the property. On 3/11/16 Mr. [redacted] came into the Johnson Utilities office and paid the reconnection fee of $50.00. Mr. [redacted] service was restored the same day.

This account had usage up until 9/16/2008. On 10/17/2008 monthly reads came back showing zero usage. There was no record of a call from customer to close this account. Our office force closed the account on 10/29/2008. Customer received a bill dated 10/31/2008 due on 11/15/2008 with...

billing period of 9/30/2008 through 10/31/2008. Another bill was created for their final bill dating 11/30/2008 due on 12/15/2008 with billing period of 10/31/2008 through 11/30/2008. This final bill had all credits from the deposits being refunded back due to the account being closed. The last payment that we received on this account was on 7/16/2008. We have since then tried to contact customer with the number that we have on file but the call just rings busy.

The first account -14 was open on 9/2/08, there was no

deposit charged as it was not company policy at that time. On 10/8/09 a relator

requested to start service at Mr. [redacted]’s address, Mr. [redacted]s account was

closed and the relator started service on...

10/9/09. After the first bill was received

by the relator Johnson Utilities received a call stating that they opened the

account in error. The account was then put back into Mr. [redacted]s name on

11/6/09. In May of 2010 Mr. [redacted]’s water was disconnected for non-payment.

Mr. [redacted] was charged a security deposit of $160.00. The following month the

billing system charged a second deposit in error. The second deposit was

applied back to the account. Mr. [redacted] still has a deposit of $160.00 on his

account. When the account is closed or after 12 consecutive months of good

payment history the deposit will be refunded with interest.

Mr. [redacted]’s account was disconnected for non-payment on

1/9/14, Mr. [redacted] needs to pay the past due amount of $115.90 and a $50.00

reconnection fee to reconnect the service. Mr. [redacted] states in the complaint

that he paid, I do not see a payment on this account and my records indicate

that the water is still disconnected for nonpayment.

A Johnson Utilities Supervisor left a message for Mr.

[redacted]s on 1/9/14 at his request and again today to discuss this complaint.

Reconnection fees from Mr. [redacted]s account from 2008/2009

will not be refunded.

I have reviewed the response 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.Johnson Utilities have corrected their threats when it comes to my mother as well as the threatened higher interest rate, but they have not mentioned anything about the debt owed not being our responsibility. That house was a rental at the time linked through [redacted] We had moved out at the end of March 2008, therefor any utilities used would have been out of our name and back in to the new renters or the property management company. I have reached out to the [redacted] and they advised for me to contact [redacted] which would be Johnson Utilities office manager and it would be her responsibility to research the rental account with [redacted] As of 6 days ago, I left Ms. [redacted] a voice mail requesting assistance. She had her rep call me this morning stating it would not be their responsibility to research and that we would still owe the money even though we did not live there. I advised [redacted] that per the [redacted] we were to speak with [redacted] only and that they advised she would be responsible to conduct the research. At that point [redacted] advised she would have [redacted] contact me and that is the last I have heard from them. Bottom Line is this house was a rental and we were not living there at the time of these accrued charges, hence why they should be dropped. 

Regards,

Horrible customer service. Had to deal with a snotty girl today who thought she knew what I was going to say before I even spoke. I had to pay $90 by [redacted]. My fault I forgot. However I remembered this morning. ([redacted]) I called in this morning to pay my $90 and they refused to take it. They wanted a $50 reconnection fee even though my water was not shut off. She guaranteed that my water was shut off. She was clearly wrong. So I had to pay my $90 and $50 reconnection fee. About 3 hours and 20 minutes later my water was then shut off. I've left several messages for a supervisor. Of course I still haven't heard back, and my water is still off.