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:02/07/2025

  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.

  Polk County Utilities is charging me a $30 "Returned Payment" fee when Auto Payment was unsuccessful. During 4 separate phone calls they have claimed that the $30 fee is a fee that my bank charges them which they in turn charge me. This is inaccurate as I confirmed with my Bank that they do not charge that fee. The account number that was entered for Auto Payment, which was charged on January 13, 2025 was they same account number used when I made a manual payment on January 17, 2025. The manual payment was made after finding out that my account was overdue and the auto payment was unsuccessful. I only found this out by logging into my account to check that the payment was made since it had not extracted from my bank account. They never notified me that the payment was unsuccessful until a letter came in the mail approximately 10 days afterward even though they have my email address on file.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/09/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  We received a letter today from Polk County Utilities that our water had been turned off today. Complete surprise to me. I quickly created an account with the Polk ******************** Utilities portal and saw there was a past due payment. It was paid online within 5 minutes. We looked through our invoices and saw our address had been changed to an address near our house, but it was not our address. This change was in February and would explain why we had not received any of the invoices that were due. I called to speak with an customer service billing agent on July 9, 2024 around 1pm. When I explained the situation, she stated that I would need to pay $120 to get our water turned back on today. When I explained that I had not made the address change and believed it was a mistake on Polk County Utilities end, she told me it was my responsibility to know when bills existed. I disagreed with her as I have not made any contact or changes with Polk County utilities. I asked if she could look into who made that change to our account and she became extremely rude with me. I was horrified and would want to know if one of my employees spoke with customers like the way she did. She was so rude, I eventually asked to speak with her manager along with her name, after which she immediately hung up on me. I called back in and was put on hold. I wrote this review while waiting on hold. I hope management looks into this call and reviews her actions.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2024

  We have researched the customer's account history to find the following:

  The customer's mailing address as per their application when service was established was the *************************************************, however our system logs show an electronic request for the mailing address to be changed to the service address of ***************************************** was received on 2/9/24 from the customer's portal account.  The address was changed in the Billing system on 2/14/24.  PCU cannot initiate requests from a secure customer portal account.  The customer's portal account is a secured account that the customer sets their own security information and initiates requests.  The customer has the ability to send account changes via the account which PCU receives via a request task log then makes the change.  The address change appeared to be requested by a property management company, which is a normal occurrence in the ********* area.  Many locations which are vacation or seasonal homes are handled via management companies to pay the customer's bills, maintain the location or provide other services.  

  Further research shows that all mail, correspondence which include billing notices, were returned via **** which started occurring around 3/2024.  There are no logged calls from the customer inquiring as to why they had not received bills from PCU.  Customer contact with PCU was not made until 7/9/24 when service was shut off for non-payment.  The account had unpaid bills from 4/2024 forward.  Unfortunately, person to person contact to customers is difficult with PCU serving 80K plus customers in Polk ********************.  PCU makes contact with the customer via mail and phone call when a payment is not received.  The process is to make a call via our IVR, then send a letter once response is not seen on the account within several business days.  If further response is not seen the account is flagged eligible for disconnect. The account shows this process has occurred successfully as far back as it 9/2023.  Due to staff shortages the disconnect process was not conducted earlier in the year giving the customer an extended time frame to address not receiving bills or respond to automated phone calls made. 

  Due to the payment history of the customer's account, there is limited flexibility to remove required fees as compared to what would be with an account that has paid on time on a consistent basis.  As a courtesy though we will provide the customer's account an adjustment for one portion of the disconnect/reconnect fee ($60).  It is recommended the customer consider options for payment such as auto pay or auto bank draft to ensure timely payment of the account.  These features have been very helpful for customers especially when everyone is busy, and it can be hard to keep track of all that *** be occurring.  If the customer is interested, they can set up auto pay themselves via their portal account or they can fill out the auto bank draft application which is available via their portal account as well. They would need to keep in mind that auto pay is a service that goes into effect immediately where auto bank draft does take at a minimum of 30 business days to be established with the customer's financial institution. This would mean the customer would be responsible to make payment via another means for up to 2 billing cycles. If they have questions regarding either of these noted payment options, they can contact Polk County Utilities Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at ************ or they can email us at ********************************************************.  If they do not desire utilizing and auto payment format at a minimum initiate E-billing notices that would provide notice of when their bill was available on the portal to view and *** payment.  Notices come via email and would require the customer to have a valid email address set up on their portal account. 

  We ask to please allow approximately 3 to 7 business days for the adjustment of $60 to applied to their account. 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21962958
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The customer portal was never accessed until July, when the water was turned off. When I spoke with customer service, they said there was no logged changes to my account during the time when the address was changed. This occurred from an error on their end or due to a breach in their system. The portal had never been accessed from my end until July. I should receive no late fees or no deactivation or reactivation fees due to an issue that originated from their system. 

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

  Business Response

  Date: 07/22/2024

  We do apologize for the customer's rejection, unfortunately, as a security measure, no one on the *** side would be able to submit a request on the customer's behalf nor can we provide the password information to another entity. This is all secure from the *** representative to protect the customer's feature capabilities. The account holder is the only entity with that information.  A *** representative can only see information associate with billing amounts, bill copies and consumption on a customer's portal account.  A customer's submitted request through the portal is view only after the request has been submitted in the system via the customer.  The request cannot be altered and the only information available is a read only view of the request details submitted and the assigned confirmation number.  

  There have been no security breaches of the system itself.  A property management company only gains access to a portal account through the agreement in place between the customer and the property management company having permission to gain access.  The customer would have to provide their account number as well information to gain access. 

  We encourage the customer to contact us to ask questions as well as provided detail of how the portal system works and interacts with our billing/request system.

  Kind Regards

  Polk County ******************************* Support Group

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/24/2024

   
  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:06/29/2024

  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.

  I have lived in **** county for years and have received water bills on average normally at around $50 - $70. I received a large bill of $130, I called in and they said I could have a leak or something is wrong. I said, no leak here and the customer service representative repeated "just go ahead and check for leaks. So, I let it go to see what my bill will be next month. It went back to normal. At the time I decided to let it go, until I received an even higher bill. A bill of $150. I called back in again and stated my concern, the customer rep. ******** that we had a leak. I expressed that we didn't and she said that we can have someone come and check the meter out because it was replaced that ******** A week and a half passed and I called back, no notes were made on the situation so I had to reexplain everything. Nothing has been done and I just received $171.76 bill stating that me and my spouse used ****** gallons. We have no pool, we do not use the sprinklers we have, we do not use the bathtub, we do not shower for hours and have a 1.5 gallon shower head. We do not use the dishwasher, we do not wash clothes everyday. I believe that Polk county needs to resolve this for all of their randomly selected customers. Return their money back. I have been overcharged around $500 over the course of about 1.5 years. June bill $159 absurd.The information provided on this complaint is for the latest bill of $171.76 Last thing to mention is that AWS surcharge $5.40 was added,and public service tax increase from $1.04 to $8.21 in just 5 months. Why do some bills have wastewater base only and other bills have both base and usage?

  Business Response

  Date: 07/02/2024

  The customer contacted Polk ******************** Utilities on Thursday 6/27/24 regarding their concern with the higher bill.  The customer requested an audit be pulled from their meter to help in identifying the possible cause of the increased consumption.  Customers are told that it could take approximately 7 business days to get the data pulled from their location. This is due to resource needs from day to day can fluctuate.  In this case the work order to pull the data was issued on Friday 6/28/24.  Depending on when the data is uploaded into the system an additional business day would be required to put the information into a readable format, reviewed for trends then sent back via email with a list of possible causes. Polk County Utilities cannot tell a customer exactly what is possibly occurring past the meter itself.  They can however provide possible causes based on the trends seen in the audit data that have been commonly seen with other customer high use instances over time.  Polk County Utilities supports the system up to the meter, however anything past the meter would be the customer's responsibility to determine and exact cause and address the issue.  

  The field staff was able to pull this customer's audit and it be placed into a readable format today.  After review of the audit information, the customer had something running on a regular schedule approximate 4 nights a week over a 2-hour period between 11:00 pm to 1:00 am.  The pattern is similar to an irrigation system running, however other things such as a water softener could be running a backwash cycle and get stuck causing the same pattern to occur.  The problem started around 4/20/24 and looks to have ended on 6/4/24.  Each of the periods the activity occurred an average of 1908 gallons were used. This activity can easily increase a customer's consumption very quickly increasing their bill amount. over a billing cycle this type of ongoing consumption could add approximately 8200 gallons to a customer's normal consumption. The audit results were emailed to the customer today with PCU's suggestions for possible causes. A copy of the audit results and email to the customer are attached as reference. The customer will need to determine the exact cause.  If they find a problem and correct it through a repair, they could be eligible for an adjustment. They would need to notify PCU once the issue was identified and corrected. 

  When customers call inquiring about a high bill a list of questions are asked to help in gathering information to suggest possible causes.  In many cases an audit is suggested to help in that effort.  We happily provide support where possible to assist our customers.  We do need the customer's assistance in that effort as well.  

  If there are any questions the customer is welcome to reach out to us.  

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/29/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  Theyre charging me three times the amount of reclaimed water regularly used, my bill went from $150 to $400. I had to put in an emergency service call due to their reclaim water meter being broken, theyre charging me for all the water that leaked due to their broken meter, historically, my bill has always been between $120 and $150 and theres only 2 people in my household including me, its impossible the reclaimed water usage was up to almost 500 gallons. Id like help getting this resolved and my bill adjusted.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2024

  We do apologize for the customers concern.  After review of their account the following was found:
  

  The customer notified Polk ******************** Utilities of a leak in their meter box on in the early evening on 2/1/24 of which our operations group went out to assess and made repairs.  The notes in the work order indicate the leak is the culprit for the increased consumption identified via the 2/13/24 read taken from the meter for billing.  The work order indicated the operations technician spoke with the customer notifying them of what was found and repaired while they were on site.  The repair was completed by 8:00 pm on 2/1/24.
  

  In situation such as this, customers will reach out to our ********************** during business hours to inquire about the repair and adjustment to their consumption for the impacted billing period. As of today 3/1/24, there is no record of the customer reaching out to **************** regarding a billing concern.  Polk County will be applying an adjustment to the 1/12/24 2/13/24 billing period, which will reduce their consumption total down to their 12-month average; in turn providing a credit to the billing amount for that month.
  

  Polk County Utilities encourages their customers to reach out to us when there are questions or concerns. There are options available of which we utilize to provide our customers assistance when eligible or applicable. A win/win can be achieved for both the customer and Polk ******************** working together. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/01/2024

  The time theyre saying the repaired was made is completely inaccurate, attached are screenshots of live footage with time stamps of when I made the call, when the technician arrived and how long it took him to made the repairs. Please refer to the attached pictures, which confirm the following:

  - I called the emergency line at 7:57pm

  - Technician arrived at 8:45pm

  - As of 9:45pm repairs were still being made.

  So repairs were not completed by 8pm, thats 100% inaccurate. Could they provide a breakdown or the amount that will be credited to the bill? Id like to see or have that in writing if possible, please. 
  

  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 21367704
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The time theyre saying the repaired was made is completely inaccurate, attached are screenshots of live footage with time stamps of when I made the call, when the technician arrived and how long it took him to made the repairs. Please refer to the attached pictures, which confirm the following:

  - I called the emergency line at 7:57pm

  - Technician arrived at 8:45pm

  - As of 9:45pm repairs were still being made.

  So repairs were not completed by 8pm, thats 100% inaccurate. Could they provide a breakdown or the amount that will be credited to the bill? Id like to see or have that in writing if possible, please. 
  

  Thank you

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

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2024

  Disconnection of service for non-payment does require a payment of the turn off fee ($60) and turn on fee ($60) totaling $120.  This information is noted on our website, within the ************************ code and referenced on the back page of the customer's bill.  

  Payment history is considered when an occurrence happens for non-payment, which the customer can contact Polk ******************** Utilities to discuss.  Polk County Utilities at times grant ******** adjustments when the customer has a good history of payment or possibly some extenuating circumstances that *** have contributed to the situation.  In general, though customers are provided a time frame to pay their bill by, if not paid by the due date a late fee applies however there is a reasonable period of time past the due date that customers can pay. However, disconnection can occur anytime past the due date of payment.   Customers are encouraged to contact Polk County Utilities to request a payment arrangement if they need a few more days to pay their bill and avoid disconnection of service. 

  To avoid missing a payment, customers do have options to set up auto payment of their monthly services. This can be done by registering on our customer portal at *****************************************************; They can set up a portal account to arrange for auto pay of their bill as well as have access to bill copies, consumption history and payment history.  A second option that can be used is auto bank draft. Customers can sign up for this service on the customer portal as well.

  
  If there are any questions about the options a customer can utilize for payment of their monthly service Polk County Utilities can be contacted via phone at ************ Monday Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  We can be contacted via email as well at ********************************************************. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/15/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I already made the payment. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2024

  I do apologize I have placed a response on complaint no. 63463898BCA20 dated 3/15/24 which was for a different complaint.  I do need this incorrect complaint removed and the ability to provide a response opened back up.  I didn't see any option for addressing this myself. I do apologize for the inconvenience. 

  I can be reached at ************ or via my email ********************************************* if there are any questions.

  Thank you for your help with this.

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

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/22/2024

  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.

  I had a conversation with one of their customer service reps on February 8th regarding my account, I had taken care of all my fees in order to reinstate the status of my account.When speaking with the representative she was very helpful on the 8th, but there was an issue. I had to pay a reconnect fee ($60) in which I did for my services, I was not once mentioned about a disconnect fee (additional $60) being placed into my current bill.So I went and called back today and spoke with one of the most impatient and rude representatives I've ever spoke with. You're servicing us as customers have some patients and understand what the problem is, a hidden fee was added to my bill and you are telling you basically don't care and didn't have that conversation with me originally, "I'm not responsible for what your conversation was prior" imagine talking to your customers this way.Had I been respected and heard to find solutions, I wouldn't be spending my morning writing a complaint. I do believe that I should get credited for the misinformation I received on my original call on Febuary 8th and that Polk County Utilities needs to learn the inportances on how to train their representatives to have some customer service.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2024

  
  Disconnection of service for non-payment does require a payment of the turn off fee ($60) and turn on fee ($60) totaling $120.  This information is noted on our website, within the ************************ code and referenced on the back page of the customer's bill.  
  Payment history is considered when an occurrence happens for non-payment, which the customer can contact Polk ******************** Utilities to discuss.  Polk County Utilities at times grant ******** adjustments when the customer has a good history of payment or possibly some extenuating circumstances that *** have contributed to the situation.  In general, though customers are provided a time frame to pay their bill by, if not paid by the due date a late fee applies however there is a reasonable period of time past the due date that customers can pay. However, disconnection can occur anytime past the due date of payment.   Customers are encouraged to contact Polk County Utilities to request a payment arrangement if they need a few more days to pay their bill and avoid disconnection of service. 
  To avoid missing a payment, customers do have options to set up auto payment of their monthly services.  This can be done by registering on our customer portal at *****************************************************; They can set up a portal account to arrange for auto pay of their bill as well as have access to bill copies, consumption history and payment history.  A second option that can be used is auto bank draft.  Customers can sign up for this service on the customer portal as well.
  
  If there are any questions about the options a customer can utilize for payment of their monthly service Polk County Utilities can be contacted via phone at ************ Monday Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.  We can be contacted via email as well at ********************************************************. 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/11/2024

  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.

  Polk County utility is gouging customers by overcharging customers on their water bill, saying they have a leak or the irrigation system is using ****** gallons of water PER SPRINKLER. Then they say they do an audit, which they never send you a copy of. they will go on and say that if your irrigation runs for 4 hours at 6am in the morning that you would not notice that your system ran for 4 hours because of the dry area we are in.If they are ripping ******* customers off for at least $100.00 a month with no valid excuse, where is the money going?They did the same thing to me about 6 years ago by charging me for more water than their meter would flow, when they were backed in a corner from their lies, magically my bill went back down to what it normally was.My daughter has been charged $200.00 more per month than what she has paid since moving in to her bran new home which has a brand new meter and its the same excuse every month about the irrigation, which we turned down to 5 minutes per zone and the ******************* went up again. there is no leak anywhere as the meter does not move when everything is off. but somehow uses approximatly ****** gallons more water, then told that when the power goes off the timer resets and waters more. Then was told that they did not do an audit, then transferred to someone else that said they did do and audit and called us, then transferred to someone else that says the audit was emailed to some random address not associated with the customer. Someone needs to do an investigation of what is exactly going on this department.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2024

  In response to the BBB Customer Complaint Code #**************

  
  There are two separate concerns which Polk County Utilities has responses below:
  Concern **********************************************************  Polk County Utilities was contacted regarding high use at this location.  A data log was pulled from the customers meter to provide detailed consumption information. Polk County Utilities provides data from the customer's meter to help in identifying an issue in these types of circumstances. As per Polk County's ordinance, the Utility is responsible for anything prior to the locations meter.  Anything past the meter would be the responsibility of the customer. If Polk ******************** finds the problem is on their side, applicable repairs would be made, and the customer's bill adjusted to their ******** average.   If the customer performs a repair to address the identified issue and meets all the adjustment eligibility requirements and adjustment could be provided.  Customers who receive an adjustment, would have their bill for the applicable billing cycles adjusted to the customers 12-month consumption average.  Eligibility for an adjustment is posted on the Polk County web site for the public to have access to. The provided consumption data for this location showed a pattern associated with a scheduled event such as an irrigation system schedule.  See uploaded file.
  
  The details associated with the attached graph were sent to the customer on 12/27/23 via the email address on the customers account, which is provided to *** from the customer. Polk ******************** Utilities was contacted by the customer in early January **** regarding not receiving the data log information.  When confirming the email address, the customer informed *** of the email address on their account not being correct.  The customer provided the correct email address which was updated on their account, and the data log was re-sent to the customer on 1/19/24.  To date *** has not had a response from the customer.  Once the customer responds regarding actions taken, there are options to help with the higher consumption within our ordinance. We are open and willing to work with the customer once we hear back from them.
  
  Concern #2 for the complainants location ********************  The customers account was reviewed and there were a couple of incidents found which *** be what was conveyed regarding this location.  The first incident being a reported leak (in 7/2021) which was found to be on the *** side and repaired.  An adjustment for this repair was not merited due to limited to no water loss which did not impact the customer negatively outside their normal ******** average consumption, which is  5K to 6K gallons per month.  In reviewing the complainants account further there was a significant consumption increase in 8/2023 above the customers monthly average.  The next billing period the consumption immediately returned to the normal monthly average.  There is nothing on file indicating the customer provided information to *** such as a possible repair that was done or findings that *** have contributed to the sudden consumption increase. In cases such as this, with the customers help, the concern can be addressed through a courtesy rate adjustment for the applicable billing period as long as no prior adjustments had been provided within 18 months of the incident occurring.  *** is flexible and happy to work with any customer within available parameters to address a reported concern . Incidents do require *** and the customer to work toward a good resolution. The customer is encouraged to contact *** to review their concerns.  There *** be something available for the 8/2023 incident. We cannot guarantee that to be the case but are very willing to explore the situation and go from there. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/31/2023

  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.

  I received a letter on June 2023 regarding my annual inspection irrigation system using reclaimed water for 90 days after the letter. In certainly point this irrigation device was touch but unfortunately the device has a damage since this is the second time after such a inspection that the water irrigation lost control on the irrigation. Now I do still having a high water bill without even been my fault. I just need my water bill to have an adjustment since my family is through a hard financial situation, my husband suffered an stroke and we are not receiving any income from my husband side right now, on top of that this high bill for second year that I can not afford. Seriously I need an adjustment on the high amount and NOT a payment installment, Polk county utilities division in ******* is not flexible and this company doesnt understand that this event altered the device, otherwise it will be a hidden fee for this inspection. As I said is the second time it happened. I will really appreciate a fair adjustment, thanks a lot

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2024

  Polk County Utilities has reviewed the customer's account in response to their noted complaint. 

  The customer's meter reading history shows that as of the 9/8/23 read, their consumption for that month was 63K gallons.  This reclaim water consumption would be for the period between 8/9/23 through 9/8/23 when the read was taken.  The referenced inspection on the customer's reclaimed irrigation system was not conducted until 9/15/23.  During an irrigation system inspection, the customer's system is visually inspected through turning the system on at the outside bypass value.  Any issues visually seen are noted, a door hanger left to notify the customer and then a re-inspection is scheduled within the next 7 to 10 business days.  Annual inspections do not require any interaction with the customer's irrigation system timer mechanism.  The programming of a customer's irrigation system and schedules is their sole responsibility.   In reviewing the customer's irrigation consumption history, the customer has a history of multiple high reclaimed water consumption instances prior to 9/2023 averaging between 20K to 45K gallons for each instance.  

  
  Polk County desires to provide help to our customers in any way possible. In regard to high consumption instances, we let our customers know that Polk County cannot provide details of what *** have caused the high use occurrence.We can only provide recommendations for the customer to check based on past experience working with other similar customer situations.  The customer would be responsible to identify the specific issue and make necessary changes or repairs.  Once the issue has been addressed Polk County has options the customer *** be eligible to receive an adjustment.  As an example, if a repair is made, they would need to provide copies of the repair receipts and if eligible could receive an adjustment. 

  
  If a customer still needs assistance after an adjustment is made, a payment plan to pay an amount above the customer's normal monthly bill is available to address a remaining balance.The customer is responsible for meeting the monthly payment requirement to avoid breaking the arrangement and possible interruption of service.  If the customer is unable to afford payments over time, we do have a list of help agencies we provide the customer for them to contact for financial assistance. 

  
  Polk County provides service for over ****** customers and are committed to providing options for assistance.  We encourage the customer to reach out to us for a list of help agencies that *** meet their current financial assistance needs. As well if repairs were made to their system, we would be open to the possibility of an adjustment if applicable.    

  Thank you,

  Polk County Utilities

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2023

  Type:Delivery 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.

  Water shut off without warning nor adequate time to turn services over to our name after home purchase. Only cutoff notice was provided by servicing utility. ** warning notice. Water disconnected while owners were away from the property. 4 Jan. ** 24 hr service available to owners to rectify. New owners arrive home and water is cut off and locked leaving owner with surprise unsanitary situation.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/11/2023

  The process for termination and/or activation of service within the Polk County Utilities operating area must be initiated via the customer contacting our **********************. Regarding the activity for service at ******************************************************************* noted above please see the information noted below:
  
  The previous customer notified Polk ******************** Utilities on 1/3/2023 to terminate their service effective 1/4/2023. A work order was issued on 1/3/2023 for termination to be conducted on 1/4/2023 and was completed as requested on 1/4/2023.
  
  Polk County Utilities was contacted on 1/5/2023 by the new customer, ****************, via him coming into the Utility's office located at **********************************************************************************; filling out the required new service application for service to be activated as well as paying the required deposit amount. A work order was issued on 1/5/23 and completed the same day to take an initial read and turn service on at the customer's location.
  
  In this case the departing customer provided notification of them leaving and the need to terminate the service. No further communication was received by Polk County Utilities for the location until 1/5/2023. Once a service is terminated it will not be re-activated until a customer, contacts the ********************** notifying them there is a need to re-activate service at the location. Polk County does not leave services active unless there is an active account established for the service location.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2022

  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.

  I recently. received a water bill from Polk County Utilities for $1963 for one month of residential water on a new home. Although I understand water is expensive, I had no clue I could use an amount of water to obligate my family to such an extreme water bill. I've reached out to Polk County Utilities and leadership to ask for ways to help prevent this to other citizens in the future however they are only interested in collecting their bill and informing me I was the one that used the water and I should pay. No one citizen should be able to accumulate such a high water bill without a better understanding of the possibility.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/27/2022

  The customer referenced in the ******************** complaint number ********, contacted PCU regarding their water bill dated 11/14/22 which is for water service from 9/28/22 thru 10/28/22. The bill was for 120K gallons of water consumption and base charges, which were incurred, as per the customer, due to the watering of newly installed lawn/landscaping and filling the pool of the customer's new home, which was in the final stages of being built during this period. The customer opened the service account for this location on 3/30/2022 and until this specific time frame had paid minimal consumption charges and base charges each month.
  
  Water service accounts for a new home being built is normally opened by the builder and the buyer of the home doesn't open their account for the location until after closing. This is normally done so that water consumption for the items noted above are billed to the builder and incorporated into the overall cost to build the home. In this case the customer had opened the account and was billed directly to the customer versus the builder. As to why this format was followed versus what Polk County Utilities normally witnesses is unknown nor something the utility would be involved.
  
  Polk County Utilities provides on their website and via a new customer packet information to inform customers of the associated rates for each tier of consumption possible. The customer's request for specific consumption information for a new home is not something that is possible due to Polk County Utilities not being privy to the specifics that *** be involved with a new home. Examples of this type of information that Polk County Utilities would not be privy to are the type of landscaping, type of lawn, whether the home has a pool and what size the pool is, and gallons potentially needed to fill the pool. This information would be something discussed between the home buyer and builder to provide an estimate within the cost of building the home.
  
  Polk County Utilities, like other water utilities, do not provide discounts for unbeneficial water use, such as filling a pool or watering a new lawn. However, to help the customer Polk ******************** Utilities did provide the option to have the amount placed on a payment plan which would be set up based on the amount the customer is comfortable paying above their normal bill each month over a 12-month period. This option is to help the customer not bear the brunt of the entire cost up front. This payment option is offered to all PCU customers who need assistance in paying their bill. The customer was also given an extended due date for their bill to provide the customer time to work with their builder to address the cost of the water used. The customer did not respond to Polk ******************** Utilities to request additional time to pay the bill or to notify the utility whether they would like to pursue a payment plan before or by the extended due date. Failure to respond did cause the customer's account to incur a late charge on the unpaid balance. Despite the late fee being charged to the account, when the customer contacted Polk ******************** Utilities to set up the payment plan the Utility removed the late fee as a courtesy to further assist the customer.
  
  The customer is paying as required on the payment plan and the normal bill without any impact to the good standing of their account. Polk County has further documented the customer's concerns to review and consider possible adjustment to its policies and ordinances in the future. Polk County Utilities ordinance, rates and policies are reviewed and finalized via the separate committee to ensure the most effective and fair policies are provided to all Polk County Utility customers.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/04/2023

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  The tiered rates in this scenario are punitive. Also, there is technology that should have been implemented to assist their customer with understanding real-time usage. The combination of their failures result in high bills to the consumers. The county needs to improve and acknowledge the need to improve. Not just offer payment plans!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/03/2022

  Type:Billing 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.

  I rented a house from Orlando Realty Solution at 917 Tuscan Hills Davenport Fl. We as renters paid the water bill but the owner and homeowner association set the times the sprinkler turned on. Polk County Water sent us a fine saying that we violated the water policy. We wrote several letters to them saying that we were not the owners and had no control and they knew the HOA set the sprinkler setting. They said that they would put a lien on the property .... yes the property that we don't own for $127.73. The owner is SINGH JAGTAR but lives in England and the property is managed by Orlando Realty Solutions. When we moved out, the water company even sent us a refund check of $35

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/21) */ Contact Name and Title: Doug P******* Supervisor Contact Phone: 863-298-4112 Contact Email: *************************** The complainant, ************* (******), is the Respondent of a 2017 legal action regarding an irrigation violation. Because she was the listed utility account holder at the time of the violation, and as per Polk County Ordinance, the fine was imposed and a Lien against all Real and Personal Property owned was ordered by the Code Enforcement Special Magistrate. The respondent has received Legal Notice for the action prior to the Hearing of Imposition and failed to take action to either pay or dispute the violation. The Respondent has received annual reminders of the pending Ordered outstanding lien, and has had numerous communications with the office of Water Resource Enforcement where the remedy was conveyed. The remedy is for the outstanding fine and assigned non-payment penalty to be paid, and Water Resource Enforcement will issue a Satisfaction of Fine and Lien to the Respondent, thereby taking care of the prescribed lien. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/09/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This company fully knows that the HOA controls the water sprinkler system and knows that a renter can not control this. We wrote letters to them and called and they didn't respond. I feel that the company was too lazy to file the complaint with the owners or the HOA and is taking the easy way out. How can you put a lien on a property that is not owned by us. If they can charge a fee for a non owner or someone who has no control over sprinkler system, they are lazy and no morals. They can keep their lien on a property we don't own and wait for the owners to pay it when they sell it. They know that the HOA sets the schedule and that it is a rental community but it was too much work to charge them or send it to the owner of the property Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/10/19) */ The lien imposed in this case is not assigned to any property the respondent/complainant does not own. This lien is a result of the respondent/complainant failing to act upon legal notice of a violation, and stands as ordered by the Code Enforcement Special Magistrate. Please refer to the issued lien and my original comment as to how to resolve the lien. The time allowed for contesting the violation and an appeal of the ruling has long since expired. Polk County will not issue a Satisfaction of Lien for this case until the ordered amount is received. The complainant is the Respondent of a 2017 legal action regarding an irrigation violation. Because she was the listed utility account holder at the time of the violation, and as per Polk County Ordinance, the fine was imposed and a Lien against all Real and Personal Property owned was ordered by the Code Enforcement Special Magistrate. The respondent has received Legal Notice for the action prior to the Hearing of Imposition and failed to take action to either pay or dispute the violation. The Respondent has received annual reminders of the pending Ordered outstanding lien, and has had numerous communications with the office of Water Resource Enforcement where the remedy was conveyed. The remedy is for the outstanding fine and assigned non-payment penalty to be paid, and Water Resource Enforcement will issue a Satisfaction of Fine and Lien to the Respondent, thereby taking care of the prescribed lien.