Complaints

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

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  Eastern Municipal Water District

  2270 Trumble Rd Perris, CA 92570

• 

  Eastern Municipal Water District

  PO Box 8300 Perris, CA 92572-8300

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:02/19/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  This is a follow up to my **** dispute that was closed. I emailed BBB about it and was asked to confirm my email address. I did and have not heard back. **** is alleging I owe about $600 for a water leak that I have already had a plumber come and state there was no evidence of. The original bill was for about $1,800 and EMWD gave me a "courtesy credit" and my bill is now around $600. I am sure they did this hoping I would be happy but I do not agree to pay for water I did not consume. I've never been late on a bill and I put myself on a payment plan as to not incur their imposed late fees. They did come and test and replace the water meter. I do not agree to pay this bill just because they say so. I am willing to go to the media and/or file a lawsuit at this point.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/15/2025

  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 bill from **** for a little over $1,800. I was sure this was a mistake so I called and was told there was a water leak at my property from 12/1/2024 to 1/2/2025 that wasted 141 CCF or ******* gallons of water. I do not have a pool. I do not have swollen walls, I do not have damaged floors, I do not have any pools of water in my front yard (the only yard that has sprinklers turned on to 1X per day). I called and was told basically that that was what my meter read and I had to pay it. The water district said they would not be sending anyone to verify the accuracy of the meter. I called my plumber who came out and looked for a leak or damage from a recent (very large) one. He found nothing and was as dumbfounded as me. For reference I have lived in this house since 2021 and my average water usage is 7CCF per month. I live alone, and have never made a late payment. I am especially frustrated with their lack of assistance. They gave me a "courtesy" reduction of my bill and I now owe about $540. They expect me to be thankful for this. Why is this company that I did not even choose allowed to claim there were water leaks but won't even send anyone to verify their meter? I request assistance with this matter. I have attached the invoice from my plumber with his notes stating there was no active leak or signs of a recent one. I also attached a snapshot of my water usage since I began living at this address.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2025

  Customer has been in contact with ********************** (EMWD) about the subject matter received by the Better Business Bureau. **** contacted the customer about potential high ********************** usage on December 1, 2024, December 15, 2024, and December 29, 2024. Customer did receive an adjustment on January 9, ******************************** and a **************** Representative reviewed the customer's smart meter usage with the customer and advised that there was over a month of continuous usage. The customer acknowledged that they would review their smart meter daily for continuous usage in case a possible leak happens again. The customer reached out to **** again on January 14, ******************** contact with EMWD over the matter on the remaining balance. 

  
  
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/13/2024

  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 reached out to EMWD twice today to get a bill adjustment for wasteful and excessive use due to when I had my pool filled in June 2024. I filled out the proper documentation needed to fill my pool at the time and was told if I see either of these charges to call in to get them removed. My husband has been dealing with ongoing health issues and I just noticed the charges today when I was doing a bill review. When I called in I was told its too many billing cycles away to get those charges removed. This is completely ridiculous because Im not asking for a miracle just the charges to be adjusted that Im entitled to have adjusted it shouldnt matter when I call in they dont know my circumstances as I said my husband has had ongoing health issues and Im just getting on track with looking over things.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/16/2024

  The customer was previously notified that they were responsible for contacting EMWD within one billing cycle once they received a bill with the overage resulting from filling the pool. However, EMWD has made an exception and has adjusted the customer bill in accordance with our policies for variance requests for the filling of a pool. A total of $113.09 was adjusted from the bill. The customer has a remaining balance due of $585.02.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2024

   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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/30/2024

  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.

  They shut off my service prior to my last payment due date,overcharged after service was disconnected and even sent a notice to the property owner saying I told them I was moving out in attempt to collect from them my remaing balance

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2024

  This particular customer has a history of using services,non-payment for services, and legitimately going through the entire EMWD delinquency process which does include informing the Owner when a tenant leaves an unpaid balance on the property. This customer also established payment arrangements with us at one point but still did not honor the arrangements.
  Please see below for details:
  The account started to fall behind starting with her March 2023 bill.
  3/13/23 bill $75.95 late fee $25.00
  4/13/23 bill $78.45 late fee $25.00
  5/11/23 bill $73.45 late fee $25.00
  Total balance $302.85
  June 8, 2023 payment $120.00 that left a balance of $182.85
  On July 24, 2023 ***** called our office and set up a payment arrangement for $94.56 monthly plus the bill.
  EMWD staff explained the payment arrangement guidelines, there was no payments made on the account after the payment arrangement was made
  Our past due notices, final notices, door hanger text and door hangers were sent to the customer starting September 2023 when there was no payments made on the account from the payment arrangement that was set on the account July 24, 2023
  The order for disconnection was served on September 25, 2023.
  A collection move out was placed on the account on October 2, 2023 due to no payment made on the account and no response from the disconnection, on October 12, 2023.
  Our records indicate there was water consumption used and no response from a customer to apply for the ********************** service
  Due to no response from the consumption used at the property the water was locked off on October 26, 2023.
  On November 27, 2023 our IVR call system called with a payment reminder call, and due to no response the account was placed in the pre collection status, on December 28, 2023 the account was sent to the collection agency.
  On December 29, 2023 ***** called our office stating she was unable to reach ****** and other information in regards to what the owner had advised her in regards to the property.
  On January 19, 2024 ***** came to the front counter and stated she is living at the property and wanted the water back on
  She was quoted $490.00
  ***** wasnt able to use her credit card at the front counter, but she was able to make the payment for $490.00 at our Kiosk
  She signed a water release agreement and we activated her account and sent an order out to the field for the water to be reconnected on January 19, 2024.
  The water was reconnected on January 19, 2024 the reconnect fee for $57.00 and the deposit for $150.00 was reassessed to her account, on January 22, 2024 ***** had a balance of $155.87.
  ****** February 13, 2024 bill was $390.28 plus her prior balance of $155.87 which totaled $546.15
  March 13, 2024 bill $79.48 late fee $25.00
  April 11, 2024 bill $78.20 late fee $25.00
  May 13, 2024 bill $89.91 late fee $25.00 totaling $868.74
  May 20, 2024 door hanger fee $16.00
  Help 2 others payment $215.00 account balance after payment $669.74
  June 5, 2024 door hanger fee $16.00
  Due to no record of payment the collection move out was placed on June 5, 2024.
  The closing bill generated on June 7, 2024 for $67.16. The deposit for $150.00 was reversed leaving a balance for $602.90 currently the account is in pre-collection status:
  1st pre-collection status notice was sent on July 12, 2024
  2nd pre-collection status notice was sent on July 29, 2024
  After reviewing ****** account there is a history of no regular monthly payments and minimal communication regarding each monthly bill.***** was on paperless billing which had all of the resources needed to monitor her account. There were only 3 payments made on the account within 1 year.
  June 8, 2023 payment for $120.00
  January 22, 2024 payment for $490.00
  May 23, 2024 payment for $215.00 (help 2 others)

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/12/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  I obviously had to reach out to outside services to request help with paying my bill and I dont understand how adding late fees to someone whos already struggling to make payments helps the situation.I was charged *********** when there wasnt even any and this utility company has no compassion for those who are struggling I have never experienced this with so *** gas or ****** they have gone out off their way to assist me in making payment plans and finding resources to help me 

  Business Response

  Date: 08/13/2024

  While we understand that our customers can be in difficult financial situations, EMWD has one-time payment assistance programs available to help. However, a total of three payments were made over the course of a year -- one of which was done by our payment assistance programs. The customer made little effort to maintain their payment arrangements they agreed to. Additionally, So Cal *** and So ******************* are investor owned utilities and have a different set of regulations they must follow, which enables them to have specialized long-term customer assistance programs. As a government agency, EMWD is very limited in the programs it may offer to ensure compliance with Proposition 218, which dictates we must charge customers for the cost of service to their homes. Those laws also state that we must make every reasonable effort to collect from customers or property owners so that other ratepayers are ultimately not paying for the costs that an individual customer failed to pay. While we understand this customer was facing challenging **************** the customer is responsible for the costs of ********************** used and to maintain payment arrangements they agreed to.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/13/2022

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  For the past 9 months, I have been charged a $25.00 late fee for bills as small as $75.00 past due. I receive income at different times throughout each month, so it's difficult for me to always pay the bill exactly by the due date. Each month, I pay the balance due but have been subtracting out the late fees. So, this incurs yet another $25.00 late fee even though the balance was satisfied. Even when I pay the monthly current charges on time, I still receive another $25.00 late fee because I didn't pay the late fee balances. This is a standard practice of EMWD, and someone should really look into filing a lawsuit against this company for unfair practices. I have no choice to use another water district, so I'm forced to be responsible for fees that I didn't agree to when I signed on to be a customer with EMWD. If this is not resolved, my next attempt will be with the CPUC.
  **** *****
  Account #50******9
  Service Address: ***** ***** Circle, **********, CA *****

  Business Response

  Date: 11/16/2022

  Good afternoon, staff has responded to the complaint (response below) and is looking further to see how we can assist the customer. Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you!

   

  Good morning,

  
  
  

  Your complaint from the Better Business Bureau has been
  received.

  
  
  

  Staff will be looking into your account to see how we can
  further assist, and will reach out to you with more information as soon as
  possible.

  
  
  

  In the interim, more information, background, and frequently
  asked questions in regards to late fees can be found on our website by clicking
  here.  As a reminder, EMWD remains committed to working with customers
  by offering a range of Payment Assistance Programs tailored to customers on a
  case-by-case basis, you can find more information about that by clicking here.

  
  
  

  We will be in touch; however, please let me know if you have
  any questions in the meantime.

  
  
  

  Kind regards,

  
  
  

  **** *******, MPA

  
  
  

  Public Affairs Officer

  
  
  

  Eastern Municipal Water
  District

  
  
  

  Office: ###-###-####

  
  
  

  Email: ********@emwd.org

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/03/2022

  Type:Billing 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.

  I am being charged 150$ for opening services under my name. I spoke to an agent to ask where the money is for and he stated it was 150$ to start new services. The water was never disconnected so I never understood why he was telling me to start services. He hung up after I asked him why the occupancy of the house is 3 especially because no one is living on the premises however we do want water there. The bill is currently over 100$ and I do not agree with that, especially because the water was not used.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/18/2022

  This customer has been contacted and a request for them to return our call has been made. We will make every effort to go over their account and discuss billing.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/24/2022

   I am rejecting this response because: I called the agent back and still waiting on a response.