Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Carma Technicians replaced all unit’s water meters in January 2023 in our Condo and since then they didn't send me an invoice for water usage(the water meter as their representative said showed 0 during 140 days) now they just charge me 744.98 $ for Water consumption, I called them twice and talked to representatives, asked them how they count this amount when water meter showed 0, and they replied based on usage history, I encourage them to went through the history and check, because I live in this apartment for more than 3 years and during this time I just paid between 30 to 50$ for water every month, but they ignored me and answered that they can not check the History, they behave unprofessionally and just gave me run around, seems they just wanted to force me to pay this money, but this amount (744.98) is insane and no one can accept it. I am wondering if *** can help me in this matter, because they couldn't solve the issue and even answered my emails. I can provide more documents and proof if you need it.

  Business Response

  Date: 19/07/2023

  The customers water meter was replaced in December of 2022.  The reading started at 0 at that time.  When a meter is replaced, there is time involved in ensuring the meter is online and assigned to the correct customer. As soon as Carma was able, we began issuing invoices. The invoice in question is for usage for 143 days of water for a total of 63 cubic meters usage. Carma has a start read of 0 and a meter read of 83 on June 8.  Given to data points either end we were able to interpolate data backward for this invoice. This is an average of 0.44 cubic meters a day.  This is well inline with the customers previous usage. The customer’s previous invoices have been between $36 and $96 for water. This was explained to the customer.
  Carma has no desire to cause their customer’s undue financial hardship and is happy to provide a payment arrangement that is comfortable for both parties. If the customer would like to reach out to our customer service centre any one of our agents would be happy to set this up. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 19/07/2023

  
  Complaint: 20301959
  
  I am rejecting this response because:as you can see in the last statement water meter for those 143 days did not work at all and in previous invoices Cama didn't check it, I also sent some of my old invoices, I usually paid between 30 to 67 for water consumption and just two times in 2021 I paid 90$ because I had guest, but if they look at my 2022 history they can clearly see that I didn't consume too much water. The question is why Watermetet didn't work at all, we asked their Tech to check everything before they leave our unit and they said everything is working fine.

   So Even if I consumed 90$ per month which I strongly deny it

  It will be equal 90$X5 month: 450$

  Not 774 $ 

  
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** ******
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:20/04/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hi there, I have an issue with the sudden increase in my bill. According to Carma, my consumption has increased although there has been no change in the lifestyle or number of people in the house. I have posted my usage history. For the month of Jan, they informed that they pro-rated the usage for Oct/Nov/Dec coz it was billed on assumption basis but for Feb, it was again high. I am completely confused, how can my usage triple out of nowhere? When I spoke to Carma, they said we don't know as we do not see the details. They mentioned the meter is working fine but I am confident that something is seriously wrong somewhere as it is impossible to consume so much electricity in 25 days when nothing has changed in our house? I want Carma to consider my previous 12 months usage and help me understand this 3 times increase. I paid the bill to avoid issues but I would appreciate if Carma could investigate and refund or adjust the amount in my next bill. I can provide the full address and my account number if someone from Carma reaches out. Thank you! *****

  Business Response

  Date: 09/05/2023

  The customer was invoiced with a computer estimate in the months of November and December 2022 as well as January 2023 due to a communication issue with her building.  Communication was reestablished and accurate reads were obtained in February of 2023.  The customer was then issued an invoice to reflect actual usage during the previous months.  Upon receiving this invoice the customer reached out to Carma to inquire about their invoice and was told by the customer service agent that the invoice issued on February 28th was an invoice to catch up their billing to actual usage after the previous 3 months of estimates. 
  When speaking with one of the customer service agents the customer mentioned they had been having issues with their heater at which point it was suggested the customer reach out maintenance to have those issues investigated.  If a heater is malfunctioning or the fan is left running this can severely increase the electricity usage.  Should a space heater be used to offset issues with the units heater, this can also significantly increase electricity usage.  
  The customers usage and billing has gone back down as of the invoice issued April 28th, which supports the accuracy of the meters reads, as if there was an issue with the meter it would not correct itself.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/05/2023

  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 19961259, and this is not acceptable to me however I do not have any evidence to prove that my usage was not that high so there’s no point in going back and forth with this. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/11/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of transaction 11/21/2022 amount owing 917.61$ reduction on the water bill This regarding the charge of 917.61$ outstanding on my hydro bill. After speaking to an employee at CARMA, they stated that 402$ was charged to my account over the last 3 months for "water only". There is an outstanding past due amount on my account which I am aware of. Although the charge of water is substantially high. Its just myself and my daughter that is 10 months living in the condominium. I do not utilize the dishwasher, and majority of the time I use the laundry mat to do my laundry. I have had an issue with the toilet not working properly and have contacted the landlord to fix the issue. (The issue has been resolved) The business has not tried to resolve the problem. Thank you, ******** *************

  Business Response

  Date: 23/11/2022

  Carma purchased Priority Submetering in July 2021 and took over the billing of the customers building in September 2022.  At the time of the building transition Priority the customer was carrying a previous balance outstanding balance of $322.  Although the customer has been making regular payments, they were only for a portion of the invoices never reaching a zero balance. 

  Priority was billing behind when Carma took over the billing which resulted in the bills issues in September and October being for multiple months.  September's bill for 60 days (May 17th to July 16) and October's for 92 days (July 16th to October 16th.  The average for 5 months of billing is $126.50 for both water and electricity.  In total Carma has billed the customer for $637.35 of that $237.90 has been for water.

  The customer called the Carma call centre October 17th, November 10th and November 11th asking about the bill and was told by each agent about the carried over balance and multiple-month bills each time. She was also offered a payment arrangement as well as directed both OESP and LEAP for financial assistance each time.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:27/10/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 14th Oct a pre authorized payment of $361.41 from Carma was charged to my bank account. Upon calling numerous numbers I found out that Carma acquired priority submetering recently and started to charge tenants from **** ******* ***** **. I have left the unit in Oct 2018 and I was surprised about the charges and Carma agreed (in an email) that they made an error by charging me. However they are refusing to refund the money and asking me to contact the bank to do a recall and the bank is saying the company should be able to refund the funds without any hassle but to do a bank recall they are asking me to walk in to a branch to make a formal complaint. I am unable to do that since I am out of the country (in Malaysia) until 2nd week of November. I am raking up a lot of phone charges calling the company and bank numerous times and wasting my vacation time for Carma’s mistake ( why are they still keeping my bank details almost 5 years after I closed the account with them- my Bank told me this is financial fraud and I should make a police complaint). The bank is also told me they need to charge me $20 admin fees so that Carma can’t charge me in the future. Carma is holding my money and refusing to refund it unless bank is making a recall (not sure if the Bank going to charge me for that too). Why I need to suffer and waste my money (phone charges from overseas and losing interest on the $361.41) when Carma is the one made the mistake but being a bully by not refunding my money immediately.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/11/2022

  Due to a system error through the building transition the customers information was mistakenly uploaded.  This information has been removed and destroyed.  The issue has been escalated internally and Carma has been in direct contact with the bank to have the funds withdrawn returned as well as the additional $20 in fees incurred by the customer. A customer service agent from Carma has been in contact with the customer to let them know the resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:22/10/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Bought out previous utility company. Hot water rates increased 63% without notice compared to previous month. Customer service refuses to provide any information or take accountability. States I need to contact utility or property management, both who have nothing to do with the rate or even knew there was a change. Customer service refuses to respond to any email correspondence and call centre just dismisses all concern when it is their invoice and refuse to investigate.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/11/2022

  The rates the customer has been charged are correct for hot water in his area.  However, when investigating the issue at the customer's request, Carma was in contact with Property Managment for the building.  Property Management has requested that hot water be charged at the cold-water rate which is not standard procedure. Based on this new request, all invoices are being reversed and adjusted to reflect the requested lower rate. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/10/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hi, Name: ******* ******** ******* ******* *********** ******** ** ***** *** *** ****   I got an extremely high water bill(almost $500, 20x current usage) - with less usage as I was out of town for almost 2 weeks in the specific month. Nobody is picking up my calls can someone please look into this? Best, *******

  Business Response

  Date: 12/10/2022

  CARMA has investigated the customer's account and discovered an issue with the invoice in question.  The customer's invoice has been forwarded to the billing department for adjustment.  The customer should see the correction reflected on the next invoice.  Late fees have been waived for a month to allow for the adjustment. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/10/2022

  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to ********* ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:25/09/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My lease ended on May 31, 2022 at my previous rental at *** ******* ** ** *********. As of this date, Carma has yet to refund my utilities deposit despite my repeated attempts at speaking with them via email and telephone. I've spoken with them numerous times and have been constantly given the run around and dismissed by them. As of Aug 26, a representative told me she cheque was being issued but that was almost a month ago with nothing done. I have filed a complaint with the Ontario Energy Board as well as filed a Google review. I simply want a return of my money that is being extortionately held by them for nearly 4 months.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/10/2022

  CARMA: The customer’s final bill was issued on June 3 with a due date of June 24.  At that time the customers deposit was applied to the outstanding balance on account and leaving a credit.  An interest payment was then added to the credit.  At that time the customer's account entered to the refund process that takes on average 6 – 8 weeks. The customer called into CARMA in July and was told by the customer service representative an email was being sent the appropriate department to request his refund and that it would take approximately 6-8 weeks. The customer emailed in August regarding his refund, the customer service representative confirmed the mailing address and let the customer know they would request the refund cheque being sent as soon as possible.  The customer’s refund has been approved and will be sent out in the next cheque run. Customer Service Supervisor called the customer on September 30th and apologized for the extended timeline and let him know that his refund was approved and would be sent out next week.  The customer was satisfied with that and thanked the customer service supervisor.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/10/2022

  
  ********** ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I will accept your response when I am in receipt of the proper return of my deposit funds which I'm told I should finally receive this week. Given that I was lied to in August by the business regarding the return of my funds and are now in the 19th week since concluding my lease, I am dismayed by the callous disregard displayed here in returning improperly held funds. Your response failed to mention your own customer service representative highlighting that this case has taken significantly longer than usual to return my funds and that in her words, "no good explanation" could be offered for the significant delay.

  Accordingly, I would like a detailed breakdown of the receipt showing the final billed amount that is deducted from the deposit amount as I have little faith in the business to not attempt to improperly withhold additional funds given their unscrupulous prior behaviour. 
  
  Sincerely,
  ***** *******
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/10/2022

  Customer Service Supervisor emailed ***** a copy of his final invoice as requested.  This invoice breaks down for the customer the application of the security deposit to the final invoice and the remaining funds that were refunded

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/10/2022

  ****** ******** *******
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to ********* ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:31/07/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Water Submetering Issue - unable to read meter Account number ********** We live in a townhouse complex and our original water submetering company is with Priority Meter. Priority Meter has been bought out by Carma Corp. (exact date unknown but approximately April 2022). Around the time of the changeover, our water meter has been unreadable (nothing is displayed). We have emailed both Carma Corp and Priority meter with this matter on June 13, 2022. Copy of email can be found in upload. Since then, neither parties have reached out to us to resolve this matter. It has been almost 2 months and their urgent attention is required.

  Business Response

  Date: 18/08/2022

  Water Submetering Issue - unable to read meter Account number ********** We live in a townhouse complex and our original water submetering company is with Priority Meter. Priority Meter has been bought out by Carma Corp. (exact date unknown but approximately April 2022). Around the time of the changeover, our water meter has been unreadable (nothing is displayed). We have emailed both Carma Corp and Priority meter with this matter on June 13, 2022. Copy of email can be found in upload. Since then, neither parties have reached out to us to resolve this matter. It has been almost 2 months and their urgent attention is required.
  

  CARMA: CARMA took over billing this residence February 2022.  The customer’s first two invoices were meter read invoices.  The problem has been identified and technicians are scheduled to be on site the week of July 29th to correct the issue and restore communication. 
  The customer emailed [email protected] on June 13.  This email was forwarded to a Senior Customer Service Representative to investigate.  On June, 21, after reaching out to other departments for the information required, the Senior Customer Service Agent responded to the email dated June 13th.  This email outlined that Carma was aware of the issue and were further investigating to determine the root cause and what actions would be necessary to correct it.  The customer was also informed that the customer usage would continue to be estimated until the communication issue was resolved.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 19/09/2022

  I would like to tell you that the technicians of Carma Inc. came to my home to replace the water meter and operating to work yesterday.

  Thank you for your assistance.

  Sincerely,

  ********* *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/07/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I'm a Carma submetering billing company's customer. My account number is ***********.Last month, I received a $35 late payment penalty, but nowhere on their website or paperwork did it state that this amount would be charged due to the late fee. I attempted to contact the agent for a solution, but each agent is arrogant and continues interrupting my sentences, urging that I pay for this, and they said that this charge is from the bank, so they have nothing to do with it. But, since my bank has already charged me an NFS fee, why should I pay a further $35? I'm quite dissatisfied because every time I call Carma to discuss or try to find a solution to a problem, the agents are arrogant and all they say is "we have nothing to do this," "yeah, you must," or "we can't do anything." Customer service does not exist at Carma, at least not in my experience; whenever I call, I am simply transferred to someone who answers the template or whatever. No one seems to be able to solve our problem.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/06/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hi, I've been living this is condo for more than a year and see their billing come on an average greater than 200$. While our usage for last month wasn't out of normal and we were not at home for about 3-4 days, still we received a bill for 312$. I never had issues while I've lived in other condo apartments where I used to get less than 150$ for similar usage. This needs to be addressed as I've tried to contact them before and didn't receive any proper response. Thanks

  Business Response

  Date: 05/07/2022

  CARMA: Each resident of this building is invoiced for Electric, Water and Heating and Cooling.  The customer’s approximate average of each utility per month is Electric $50.00, Water $69.00 and Heating & Cooling $122.00 for a total approximate average of $241.00.  All the customer’s invoices have been based Meter Read and not estimations, making the invoices based on the customer’s actual usage.
  CARMA cannot speak to previous usage or billing at other locations.
  The most recent call received from the customer in relation to billing was 2021-07-22.
  CARMA: Customer Service Supervisor called the customer today in an effort to resolve the complaint.  She explained that all invoices were based on meter reads and as such reflect actual usage.  They agreed that she would email the customer files with the reads for each of the customer’s meter so the customer can compare that information to their invoices.  The Customer Service Supervisor suggested the customer call her back once they have gone over the information and they could then discuss it further.  She explained that at that time they could schedule a load test to test the electricity meter if the customer would like, and if the customer still had concerns after that CARMA could send out a technician check the equipment.  It was explained that should the technician find all meters in proper working order that the customer would be charged $105/hr, minimum of 2 hours. The customer and Customer Service Supervisor agreed they would discuss next steps and options for decreasing usage when the customer called back.