Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Central Alabama Water's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Central Alabama Water

  3600 1st Ave N Birmingham, AL 35222-1210

  
• 

  Central Alabama Water

  PO Box 830110 Birmingham, AL 35283-0110

  

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:01/23/2024

  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 was out of state for 5 months after the passing of my sister and brother. I was all the way in ******** for the entire 5 months with my whole family. There was no activity on my house with the exception of sprinklers. I spoke with a nice lady at the water works today who instructed us to check the meter. The water usage is in no way accurate and appears to have been "ballparked" by your meter reader. If you look back, I was out of state for an entire month in March and there was no water usage. I have proof of our 5 month stent in ******** and I do expect these over charges to be corrected. Thank You!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2024

  
  **************, thank you for taking the time to communicate to us your unfortunate experience of losing family members. We have reviewed your account, and the meter reading are consistent.  We did recognize the months of **** ***** ******** August as far back as 3 years are also the normal usage during this period yearly.  Please check your sprinkler for leaks and consider adjusting the timing to conserve more water.  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/04/2024

  Type:Billing 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.

  I received this outrageous water bill in the amount of $184.32 on or about December 12, 2023. I went in person to their office to seek an explanation for this high bill. They then told me that I would be charged an additional $37 for their guy to come out and re-read my water meter. In the meantime, I tried talking to Supervisors about the issue. The water meter guy finally came out to re-read the meter on January 3, **** and he did not leave any notice on my door. A Supervisor called me and told me that I might have a Leak. She told me to call HomeServe to check for a leak. Then HomeServe told me that they cannot come out until next Monday, January 8. In the meantime, all of this run around that I am getting from BWWB, this is just another reason for them to scam and get more money from me. I am living on a fixed income and I dont have the time or money to support their fraudulent billing schemes. Please investigate this matter. Thank you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/05/2024

  ******************, thank you for taking the time to communicate you are not happy with the outcome of ** checking your meter.   On January 3rd we spoke that there is a possible leak on your side with no findings of a leak at the meter.  We are not responsible for any repairs at your residence. However, it is good you have the HomeServe Warranty.  If, HomeServe make repairs you can qualify for a leak adjustment that will credit your account.  Again, once the repairs are made, please present a copy of the repair invoice along with completing the Leak Adjustment Application and we will adjust your account within 45 to 60 days.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/11/2024

   
  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:12/06/2023

  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.

  The company was wholly unresponsive regarding weeks of complaints about a bursted pipe in my neighborhood. The water flowed into the street for more than one month in total, minute by minute without stop.Now, the company has left the sidewalk extensively damaged without returning to repair the site.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/22/2023

  
  
  Dear Valued Customer, we would like to convey our sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced last month.  Unfortunately, we fail to let you know our scheduled repairs for sidewalks and ashfault are normally repaired between 6 weej and 3 months out to allow the conditions to settle after a water main leak.  We apologize for the miscommunication, and we appreciate your patience.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/06/2023

  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.

  This company is charging me $103 which includes a security deposit and an establishment fee because their tech put that he d/c my water on 9/29 but he didnt. My water was never disconnected, then on 10/6 a tech came to my house to turn my water on but it was already on bc it had never been turned off and now they are refusing to credit my account. I have been dealing with this for weeks and as of today ** still waiting on a supervisor to call me. I did have a final disconnect notice on my 10/4 statement and the due date was 10/18. I paid the bill in full on 10/6 at 9:30 in the morning and at 1 PM a tech was here to start new service. He documented on the order that I already had active service. My bill was only $18.18 and after they charged me $103 in fraudulent charges it was $121.18. They will not credit me those charges because they state that the tech completed the d/c order and he took a picture and they have no way to know for sure if the water was d/c or not. Im the customer and I know that my ********************** was not turned off. They are believing that I went 8 days without water and on 10/6 I decided to pay my bill. This company is a complete joke and I have no choice but to use them unless I move and because of this I guess they think they can treat customers however they want. Their customer service is rude and incompetent. No company should be allowed to treat customers like this and no customer should have to wait weeks before speaking to higher mgmt. I know that I am being ignored or they have so many people ahead of me waiting to speak to mgmt and if thats the case thats disturbing. I just want $103 credited back to my account.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/22/2023

  Dear **************:

  The purpose of this response is to convey to you that we reviewed your account history.  You were charge the ****** due to your services requiring a ***** Deposit for Water and ***** to Establishment Fee to reconnect your account on 10/6/23 when we received your payment.  You were sent a disconnect Invoice dated 9/20/23 with a balance of $183.03.  Then you were billed again on 10/4/23 as you Final Disconnect balance of $197.66., which then you were no longer an active water customer. We did agree to waive the $***** Establishment Fee, however the $60 Security Deposit is required and may be refunded in 24 months, if there is no delinquent history going forward

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2023

  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.

  Water Works Board charged us $****** for our water this month, which is outrageous (they take it out of our account directly). The month prior, they charged us ******, which is also ridiculous; we have never spent that amount on water and there is no reason why we would have used that much water in October. Our bill runs anywhere between ****** monthly (also ridiculous but I suppose we are all paying for the BWWB's past corruption, as this is the normal amount for us). We have paid for our water every month this year, so I feel they have made a mistake. We checked every faucet, toilet, etc.; nothing is running non-stop. We need to be reimbursed for this mistake for both this month (******) and the month prior (******). Thank you.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/29/2023

  Dear Valued Customer, 
  We would love to investigate this issue for you, unfortunately,the address and account name is not found.  Please contact **************** @ ************ for immediate attention.  Thank you.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/01/2023

  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.

  My complaint is that for the last four months and after numerous phone calls from me to the water company requesting service to repair their leaking water meter, I have not gotten any service at all. I have been told that repairmen had come out & left a notice on my door, which did not happen. I have been told that the service request would be passed on to a supervisor which if it was, there has been no action to repairing the leak. The meter leak is right next to the road and is causing the ground to be saturated and cars pull up next to it causing ruts and destroying the landscape of my yard. The lack of response to this repair request is very unprofessional and disheartening, yet at the same time they have no problem billing you. I have nothing good to say about the water companies response to service request.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/29/2023

  We reached out to the customer via phone today.  We left him VMS to return call to the Manager.  We are currently investigating this complaint internally and an Inspection Team should arrive within the next 2 hours.  We will update the customer as soon as the communication opens.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2023

  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 was cutoff without notice and now they want to charge me a reconnect fee. I have received a notice from them before and they provided it over email. I did not receive a message or letter from them. I looked outside and thought the truck was here to check my meter. They did not knock or give notice. They drove off fast and went to a neighbors house so I assumed it was truly to check meters. I went to my account cause I planned to pay the past due when I noticed in the payment section that my service had been disconnected. Without notice. I contacted customer service and they are always the rudest people. She then tells me I will have a reconnect fee that is due within two weeks. I think its unfair to have to have a reconnect fee when I literally would have paid it and saved everyone time if they had just given a notice. I was waiting for my paycheck to arrive. It truly shows how money hungry they are and how little they care about you as a customer. I have an infant and now Im without water. Its a shame there is no other options for water. This company is crooked. By far the worst utility service out there. Especially the poor quality of the representatives available.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/29/2023

  *************, thank you for reaching out to us. We apologize you had to experience an Interruption in your water service.Your service was interrupted due to nonpayment on 11/28/2023.  We received a payment on 11/28/23 of $271.11 which was to restore the service.  Your Reconnect fee of ***** was granted additional time base on your conversation with the agent.  Please keep in mind, if your payment is past 30 days it can be subject to interruptions, however, you can reach out to us to request a payment deferral or a payment plan before interruption of the service.  Please contact **************** at ************ for further arrangements if needed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/01/2023

  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.

  We was charged an additional 100+ dollars for water service back in August we was sent out 2 bills on separate occasions the first one showed ****** the other one was like 300+ dollars so we called to find out what was going on and was told that the meter was reread and thats why the charge was added but we told them that was wrong asked to speak with a supervisor. The representative claim she put it in to have a supervisor called us back but we found out later that she lied and never did called back the next month because we was still stuck with this amount found out she didnt put it in had this representative resubmit another request for a supervisor she provided a confirmation number but never received a call back from a supervisor so our water service was disconnected we went in took a number spoke with someone at the window was told that when the water guy reread the meter to show that our bill was higher but we was told that his camera wasnt working to take the picture showing the difference waiting on a supervisor at the office for ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************** another system we paid the whole bill because it was almost 3 oclock and we wouldve had to pay an additional ****** after 3 had to get the kids from school so she said she would give us a callback I ask her was she sure she was gonna call us she said yes but never did we have be lied to given the run around and they have no proof of the extra money that was charged on our bill Birmingham Water Works have not done right at all by us

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/07/2023

  Dear ********* Files,
  
  The purpose of this response is to convey to you that we reviewed your account history.  We waived a ***** Reconnection Fee per your request on 10/02/23.  Your account is experiencing several months delinquents and requires immediate actions to restore your service.  Currently, your balance due to restore your service is ******, which includes (2) ***** Return Check Fees.  If, you have additional questions please feel free to contact us regarding your attempt to restore your services.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/24/2023

  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.

  On Sept.21,2023, Thursday a bill was paid ($******) to the Birmingham Water Works Board which is seven times higher than what is normally paid. After, checking the home for possible leaks none found, having it professionally check no problems, and questioning why this bill has jump. Was told the was read and that was the cost. I know the monthly usually runs ***** per month plus **** service fee. Has been in this home for over 40 years and has never received a bill ever this high.I went to the BWWB and requested a reread of the meter, and was told a work order would be placed and it would take up **** workings, on Oct.5,2023. Waited until October 13, 2023 spoke with a clerk in the office I was told to wait on a supervisor to give me a call. of course no return call by anyone. On October 23,2023 (10 days later) went to the Birmingham office again to be told the reading is correct. Meanwhile, received another bill three times higher $******. Again told the meter was read and that the reading is correct. Of course, I have a problem with this especially when this is the home of an elderly person, with no one in the home with her, weekly washing by her daughter, no dishwasher in the home, no leaking pipes, or dripping faucets, no watering of any lawn being done, just a few plants on the porch watered weekly when someone reminds her to do it. This is very, very strange, and I would like some type of answer, I have requested the meter to be pulled and prayerfully they will replace it which is I was told it will could possibly take up to two months and the cost would be $126.00. What in the world is going on.? There seems to be something extremely wrong, this is not acceptable for this elderly adult who is unable to address this issue at this time in her life. I see this as elder abuse. Especially when there is nothing observably wrong in or outside of the home. Can you help with this issue? From January 2023 until July 2023 the total bill paid was $424.68 for seven months. All of sudden one bill is ****** and the following month bill paid was ******. Great concern, please help.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/07/2023

  Dear Valued Customer,
  Unfortunately,your test meter results showed that your meter is working properly.  We did not find any leaks on the Birmingham Water Works side.  Please check your toilets and consider changing your flappers once every 12-months.  Also please secure outside spigots and irrigation system.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/25/2023

  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 have been trying to work with BWWB members/workers. I have been trying to resolve a billing problem since July. On 8/23/2023 I noticed BWWB had fraudulently withdrew $518.83 from my bank account. This fee was not authorized. I was and have been disputing $392.83 invoice date 7/26/2023. This was July billing. It was NOT withdrawn. However, my my August bill, which made my bill two months, was automatically withdrawn. I am contesting my billing. I had a plumber come out from BWWB HomeServe and I brought in a letter saying I did not have a leak. Therefore the $392.83 was wrong. I even requested and received a new meter. However, I have not had any recourse. Yesterday ******************** changed my billing to indicate I authorized automatic deduction and she had to go in and turn it off. This justified the withdrawal.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2023

  Dear Valued Customer

  After reviewing your ******************** account, we found that the unfortunate result of higher-than-normal bill was due to a faulty meter.  We processed a billing adjustment on 8/25/2023 and refunded you a check in the amount of ****** on 8/29/23.  We apologize for any inconvenience you have experience when we drafted your account.  We can confirm you have since been removed from your automatic draft.