Northampton Bucks County Municipal Authority

June 13, 2016Dear MsButts:The purpose of is letter is to respond to the complaint made against the Northampton Bucks County Municipal Authority for subject Account ***An Authority in Pennsylvania is a separate non-profit government entityThe Authority is governed by the adopted Rates,
Rules and Regulation’s (RRR)We currently serve approximately 14,water and sewer customers in the geographic region of Northampton Bucks County PennsylvaniaI have research the customer’s complaint of the perceived problem and hereby provide the following summary.The Northampton Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority does not utilize 3Xcards in our billing process as statedThe Authority utilizes as sealed mailer for billing and delinquent billing purposesPlease see Exhibit "A” (unfolded) and "B" (folded for mailing)Bills are mailed the 1st day of the month for services rendered for the previous three (3) monthsAll bills are due by the end of the last business day for the subject month the bill was mailedIf the end of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day is considered on timeAll processing is completed each day by the Authority, so there is no carryover to a following day that would deem an account delinquent.There are various options for our ratepayers to facilitate payment of their quarterly payment for water and wastewater services.•Pay via mail: Instructions are communicated on the bill (Exhibit "A"]• Make payments directly to the NBCMA administrative office in person (8:30AM to 4:PM]• Pay the bill at the *** *** BANK local office, Richboro, PA (during their working hours]• Pay the bill via credit card on-line (Link on our website - www.nbcma-pa.orglIn reviewing the subject account, a request was made by the ratepayer for a waiver of late fees in accordance with the adopted Rates, Rules and Regulations of the AuthorityWaiver of late fees can be applied once every three (3] years in accordance with our adopted Rates, Rules and RegulationsPlease see Exhibit “C” dated May 15, for a detailed explanation of our communication to the ratepayerThe waiver was providedThis waiver was requested by the ratepayer as noted on "Exhibit D” dated May 11, 2015.I have also reviewed the past payment history for the subject account and have confirmed that delinquency in making payment in accordance with regulations is a trend with a failure to meet payment deadline expectations 50% of the time over the last two (2) years (See Exhibit "E" pages)In reviewing the subject matter, I have concluded that no amendment to the Authority’s current operating procedures or regulations is warranted.I trust this information is responsive to the inquiry of complaint by the Revdex.com

From: [redacted]<[redacted].com>Date: Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 10:46 AMSubject: Re: [redacted]To: [redacted] <[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org>Thank you [redacted].  We were on vacation and I had a pile of mail when we got back, which I didn't see the municipal's scanned letter at first until I received the 10-day time frame case closure email.  I would like to provide supplementary comment and response to the municipal response as follows:1) Mr. Z[redacted] was correct to point out that the billing mailers are not actually 3"x5" in size as I was going by memory during writing the complaint and didn't have a bill in front of me.  Now that I have a mailer in front of me, they measure ~3.25"x7.5" with side tears-offs removed; likely add a 1/2" to each measurement with tear-offs present.  However, the point I was trying to make was the mailers they use are "insignificant" in comparison to typical incoming mail in standard envelopes (~4.125"x9.25") with a thickness similar to a 3"x5" card, therefore, they have a much greater chance of getting lost or caught between junk mail.  No other bills I've ever received come in this manner and disregarding this obvious variation from standard practices is discourteous.  Stating something like; the mail processing machines we have are old and purchasing new ones are not in the municipal budget, would at least provide a valid fiscal reason rather than "that's how it is."2) Mr. Z[redacted] continued to regurgitate the payment methods I already know, but failed to comment on the additional payment method I was referencing for potential improvement of customer options (i.e. autopay).  Again, this is the only bill I've received in recent history from other services that does not allow for setup of an auto-pay option without additional fees, other than Kohls.  I generally drop services that do not have this option as it lags behind the market norm and is not customer friendly, but I don't have that option here.  The teller I spoke with stated that this option was "impossible" which was irritating and false seeing that the technology does exist and is available from the majority of other services.  In terms of customer service, the correct answer should have been something like, we don't have that ability right now, but can look into it for you and can make that suggestion during our next meeting.3) Mr. Z[redacted] failed to respond to my "courtesy notice" suggestion, which is in practice by many other services I've dealt with.  Those service don't ding you the first chance they get, but rather provide select customers a reminder and opportunity to make payment in the event something occurred that prevented the bill from being paid on time.  In that event, I would consider actual interest charges per the billed amount plus a fee for the mailing acceptable; however, a blanket $20 fee not based on any actual interest cost is a bit arbitrary.4) Mr. Z[redacted] made it a point to air my personal billing history and he documented percentages based on a recent time period he chose versus since I have been a customer to imply a higher delinquency potential.  I would like to point out that if my billings/payments were on par with deadlines, there would be no reason for me to make a complaint in the first place and this implication borders on vindictive?  Again, what I wanted to suggest was that procedures set in place by the municipality make it more difficult to successfully make payment in comparison to other services.  He may have the ability to compare my one account versus other payers, but I have the ability of comparing payments of a dozen or so of my personal accounts and my trend shows, payments are only missed with this municipality; therefore suggesting a problem exists that may be greater than just my ability to pay bills.  My credit score and my wife's are both over 800 points based on recent requests, which provides further support that the issue may not be just me, yet Mr. Z[redacted] fails to accept even the smallest bit of responsibility under the municipality.The purpose of the complaint was not to fight or butt heads with the executive director or denigrate the municipality and the $20 isn't the main driver here either.  I ultimately wanted to provide suggestion for improvement to their procedures in a hope to help other residents who may be experiencing the same issues.  A response basically stating; we disregard your concerns, we think everything we are doing is fine, and we feel no need to change anything, is frankly unprofessional and disrespectful.  A response stating something like; thank you for the feedback, we will look into your concerns and provide discussion during an upcoming board meeting, would be more acceptable and professional.Thank you.[redacted]