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Business Profile

Utility Water Company

Phenix City Utilities

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Utility Water Company.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 4 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 2 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

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.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:09/26/2024

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    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 March 19 I received a call from the Phenix City Utilities Dept about my water meter running uncontrollably. The rep stated my bill at the time was paid over 1000.00. After my maintenance man researched the meter he determined that meter the water company had placed on my bill was the wrong meter. After reaching out to the city of Phenix City and the water company I was told that the matter was handled and they fixed my bill. The water company fixed my bill for March, April and May. July I received a bill from my apartment complex for over 2400.00. When I questioned my rent lady about the high charge she informed me the water company sent the bill with the WRONG meter number, the one they lied and said they fixed and I didn’t have to worry about anymore to my property manager , who in turn billed me. I turned over voice recordings where the water company has promised to fix the problem where they acknowledged their mistake and I also turned over photos, videos proving the water company was aware of the incorrect charge and should not have sent them any bill because the employee of the water company turned on the wrong meter. After turning over all the evidence the charge went away. Fast forward to today I receive another bill from my rental property for 100 for water charge. The water company is still sending bills to my rental company trying to get me to pay for a meter that is not on my apartment

    Business Response

    Date: 09/26/2024

    This customer had a crossed up meter with a vacant apartment.  The apartment complex paid the amount for the vacant apartment and then attempted to bill the customer because at the time our system showed that the meter belonged to Ms. *******’s apartment.  We corrected this with the apartment complex.  The 100.00 charge that the apartment complex is currently trying to bill Ms. ******* is the Unauthorized Usage Fee and should not be charged to Ms. *******.  Our agency is going to reach out to the office at ******* ***** and explain what this is.  Ms. ******* is only being billed for her current usage.    

    Customer Answer

    Date: 10/02/2024


    Complaint: ********

    I am rejecting this response because: they send the bills to my apartment complex with MY name on them. And my apartment complex has not fixed any amount. The water company I believe will continue to send bills in my name to my apartment complex. 

    Sincerely,

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

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/25/2024

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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.
    We turned our services on last summer in June 2023, paid the 1st bill at the office because their website was having issues finding our account. We set up for our bill to be auto drafted. Fast forward, no issues for several months. Now January, our water was turned off. No warning, no contact was made. We went to their website and it had the auto pay section and it stated that it was disabled. We paid the $43 charge plus the huge reconnect fee which totalled above $150!! When we spoke to their CS rep she told us there was no such thing as autopay. What!? Also note, our neighbors had the exact same issue. Their water was disconnected the same day as ours and they also used autopay. We both were shocked that our water was off and had to be a neighborhood issue, but nope. It appears that anyone that had used autopay for their services had been disconnected this month. Very disappointed in this. I have a child here all day and even though we went ahead, within 15 minutes, and paid all of the excessive fees, we still have to go without water up till 5 pm!

    Business Response

    Date: 02/05/2024

    We have confirmed that ******** ********** signed up for service on **** *** 2023.  The first payment on the account was received on  ********* ** 2023 through the kiosk located in the front of our business location.  Payments on the account for October and November were made through our website.  Online payments do not have an option for recurring or automatic payment, utilizing the online payment method requires the customer to log in to their online account and manually select to pay their current bill.  The only option for automatic payment is for a customer to set up bank draft; however, we do not currently have  a record authorizing automatic bank draft for this account.   We do not have record of payment on the account for December which resulted in service disconnection.  If service is disconnected on an account, the ability to pay through the website becomes disabled so that the customer can come in and pay their bill plus any applicable fees in order to have service restored.  Reconnection for accounts in disconnect status are scheduled the same business day when all required fees are processed on or before 5:00 pm EST.  While we inform customers that service restoration is guaranteed by 5:00 pm if they make payment during regular business hours, service is typically restored within two hours of payment receipt.  This account was reconnected at 11:08 am on the date of payment.  We do offer a one-time courtesy of  waiving the $75.00 disconnect fee.  This fee will be credited back to the customer’s account.

    The following is the website address if customer wishes to sign up for automatic bank draft.     **********************************************************************************


    It is our sincerest hope that this clarifies and resolves the customer’s concerns.  

    Customer Answer

    Date: 02/21/2024


    Better Business Bureau:

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

    Sincerely,

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

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/31/2023

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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 mailed a check for my bill payment on July *** for the due date of July **** for said bill. When I received my next bill in the mail I noticed I had a late fee of $4.10. Upon contacting Phenix City Utilities Department, they informed me my check was not received until July ****. I asked for my mailing date to be verified because I believe mailing a check on July *** from a Phenix City address to another Phenix City address should absolutely arrive on or before July ****. They verified my check was postmarked July ***, but repeated that they received the check on July **** and have no control over the mail system and when checks are received and there is nothing they can do. There is absolutely no reason it should have taken over a week for my check to be mailed within the city and I do not believe I should be held financially responsible for a late fee for the check being received late when I did everything within reason that I was supposed to do.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/31/2023

    We are reaching out to the customer to inform her that we will be removing the late fee from her account. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/31/2023


    Better Business Bureau:

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

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

Phenix City Utilities is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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