Complaints
This profile includes complaints for California American Water's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 29 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 7 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe 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:11/20/2022
Type: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.
Cal Am *****. They lie. They cheat. They over charge. They do not answer their phone. Visit their office in ************* **. It has bullet proof glass. We pay the highest price for water of any consumer in the county. And still they mis interpret our bills and are not available by phone. Walk into their office and they still will not address the issue. It's called a monopoly and it's publicly traded....this they are profit driven on the ****. Unethical. I cannot choose to drop this company. MONOpOLOy.Yuck at its finest
Business Response
Date: 11/21/2022
We were unable to locate "***************************" account. Perhaps, an account number could be provided by the customer so that we may better assist.Initial Complaint
Date:10/25/2022
Type: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 is the second compliant I have filed about this company for the same reason and no resolve. American water is actively ripping me off by over charging the bill and not returning any phone calls. You will see in my previous complaint I wrote in July with no response for 3 months. I had 2 missed calls while at work from a customer ********************** person and no luck getting a return phone call from my 5 attempts to return the call. The customer ********************** agents name was ****** and I believe the phone call was only done to get BBB to close the case. I have had the meter replaced 3 times (one automatic, then manual, then automatic again) with a different person saying a different thing every time. I have had ******* come one say there is no leak the next day a different tech leaves a door hanger stating there was a leak. I have no faith in this company's customer **********************, on site support and good will in general. The last complaint states that because I am not the primary person on the account they are waiting for a call from me. I have tried several times and am tired of being over charged. How can a house doing the same thing like clock work everyday have more than a ****** gallon swing from month to month. This company rips off its customers and enjoys the benefits of a monopoly. If I could chose another company I wouldn't hesitate. NEW HOME BUYERS PAY ATTENTION TO WHO YOUR WATER PROVIDER IS AND DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. I am doubtful the company will deviate from dodging communication with me. I am hopeful that my bill will be adjusted and ongoing issues resolved. The fact this company has an A+ rating on BBB is baffling.Business Response
Date: 11/28/2022
Adjustment Request Form received from customer on 11/21/2022. ********************** will review and reply to the customer via mail.Initial Complaint
Date:08/11/2022
Type: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 recently purchased this condo and noticed that our water bills were very out of the ordinary, $500+ per month for a 1ooo sq ft condo. I had a plumber inspect my condo and he didn't find any issues. He replaced both toilets with new ones, and found no issues with leaking. If I have no leaks, and the condo is small, why would my water be so high. There is something going on that is unlawful. And to top it off, they shut my water off with no notice. I have been trying to work with this company to figure this out but they are not responding. My bill is now $4,800.Business Response
Date: 11/21/2022
On September 22, 2022, we provided the customer with a leak adjustment in the amount of -$1246.80 due to a leaking toilet. Our Customer Advocacy Team followed up with the customer on November 21, 2022. The customer confirmed his satisfaction with the outcome of this case.Initial Complaint
Date:07/20/2022
Type: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.
Received a **** from American Water that was way over as much as my normal ****. This is the second time this has happened to me, the first time being the exact same billing period two years ago. They ended up adjusting that and chalking it up a mistake on their part but it was a hassle and took months to get resolved which ended in me having to pay them and when it was resolved I was just given a credit on my account that took over a year to use. I have changed nothing in my water usage since the last billing period so there is no way Ive used the ******* gallons they are claiming was used when my normal usage is anywhere from ***** to ******. When I called they sent someone out to my property the next week and he checked my reader and determined that there was an error with the reading. The next day I received a call from American Water saying that the meter error was from the previous month and that it showed I didnt use any water. So thats why my current **** was high because it was two months worth. They spilt the usage over two months and because of the difference in tiers then took down my **** $40. Even for two months worthy of bills its still way over the normal. I asked for further investigation and she said that I would have to contact someone else for that. This is the second time in two years they have done this and I can not afford a high **** I know is not correct. It makes me sick because I know Im not the only one they do this too.Business Response
Date: 08/17/2022
As a courtesy, we will normalize customer's usage for ********************** period 05/10/2022 - 07/11/2022 resulting in an adjustment of -$599.37. We left a couple of messages for the customer at ************ notifying her of this adjustment and to make her aware that movement was verified on the meter at the time of our service order visit on August 16, 2022. It is the customer's responsibility to identify reason for the movement on the meter and to make any necessary repairs. Customer has the phone number of our Customer Advocacy Team should she need further assistance.
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