Business ProfileforThink Utility Services, Inc.

They pass a billing fee onto their customers. It is ridiculous to me to be CHARGED because I need to pay a bill. That should not be something passed off to residents and is unethical.

Ms. C*****:

Think Utility Services is a private meter reading and billing company that is contracted by apartment and condominium communities to read meters, and invoice residents for their consumption.  The community you are living in has a master meter (one or more meters) from the actual utility and has to pay for the water and sewer without knowing who consumed what.  They can split the bill amongst the residents and pass that cost into rent or monthly fees (condominiums); or, they can install submeters and charge each household for their specific consumption.  In the first scenario, residents that use little always subsidize residents that use much.  It is certainly a method that lacks fairness, and promotes over consumption.  People tend to care very little about consumption if they do not have to pay for it directly.  In the second scenario, resident pay for the exact amount they consume.  It is fair, and statistically drops community water consumption by 15-35%. 

However, the use of submeters requires the assistance of a private meter reading and billing company.  These meters are owned by the community, and not the utility.  Your community contracted Think Utility Services to read the community meters monthly, create charges, send invoices to resident and collect remittances, which are returned to the community so they may pay the utility.  As a private company, we certainly cannot work for free.  We assess a billing fee each month, which pays for the services we provide.  That fee is on average $3.35 per month (it does vary from community to community).  For that price, we read the meter, produce charges, send a paper invoice with a return envelope, maintain a bilingual customer service center, provide web services and payment methods, and provide the required accounting and remittances.  Our price is inclusive of postage, which represents 20% of the billing fee.

I trust this gives insight into the billing fee and why it is assessed.  The Think Utility Services call center is available, and they would be happy to answer any additional questions you might have.  The number is ************.