Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/24/2023

  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 received bills every single month at least 5 days after due date. I pay full amount as soon as the bill comes in, they charge me late fees and tell me every single month it’s the mail but on my bill every month the issue date is for the date after due date! I’ve been paying them late fees because I believe they mail bills out after due date regularly. I don’t get any other bills late “ because of mail” They won’t cooperate with me. I’ve kept all my bills from. Moths past and they do it regularly. $5 late fees when it’s their fault adds up to a lot of money considering the amount of customers they have.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/02/2023

  Thank you for providing us with an opportunity to explain
  our utility billing and mailing procedures for the City of Marion Illinois
  Water Department!
  
  In this particular situation, Mrs. ******** is understandably
  frustrated that she has only been receiving the late bill notices by mail well
  after the due date of the 16th each month.
  
  To give this situation some context, our billing and
  mailing procedures are as follows:
  
  We read the water meters each month on the first business
  day or as close to the first business day of the month as we can.  Then, between the 21st-23rd of the same month, we finalize the billed charges due by the next month’s 16th  and send them electronically to a third-party
  company to be printed and mailed for us. 
  The first notice mailed has borders of blue. 
  
  If we don’t receive payment in full by the due date of the
  16th, then a penalty of 10% of the bill is added.  The next business day after the due date
  (usually the 17th) we send the second/late notices electronically to
  our third-party company to be printed and mailed.  The second/late notice mailed has borders of
  red.  The following message is displayed
  above the original due date: “FINAL NOTICE – PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE 25TH”
  *All past due balances are subject to disconnect for nonpayment after the 25th of the month.

  Back to our particular situation with Mrs. ********’s
  late notice:  She has included a picture
  of the second/late notice with the red border that displays the current due
  date as “5/16/23”, but the issue date (the date it was sent to our third-party
  company to be printed and mailed) is “5/17/23”.
   
  I understand that this can be confusing without the original first notice (with
  the blue border) that shows the original due date!  The second/late notices are shown with the
  original due date to let the customer know which bill has not been paid.
  
  I pulled the history of the bills mailed from our third-party
  printing/mailing company for Mrs. ********’s water account to see if it could tell
  me if there have been any issues with the USPS delivery of her monthly mailed
  bills in the past.  *I have redacted her
  water account number, address, and all money amounts to protect her privacy.
  
  A further description on each column of information listed
  from our third-party bill printer/mailer: 
  Name = Water account customer name
  Account Number = water account number (redacted)
  Job Code = a unique identifier for the electronic file that we’ve submitted
  Bill Date = date in which we invoice the bill
  Due Date = our water bill due date
  Total Due = amount of the bill (redacted)
  Received Date = the date in which we electronically submit the bills to
  our third-party printer/mailer
  Amount = amount of the bill (redacted)
  Mailed = the date that our third-party actually mails the bills
  Last USPS Update = date and time that the bill was scanned by the USPS
  before being given to a mail carrier to deliver
  Last USPS Zipcode = the zipcode of where the last scan was completed before
  being given to a mail carrier to be delivered
  
  Mrs. ******** has submitted a picture of the second/late notice
  due 5/16/23, so let’s take a look at both the first notice and the second/late
  notice that was mailed.  The first notice
  due 5/16/23 is the third line down on the first page.
  
  According to our third-party bill printer/mailer:  We invoiced the first notice due 5/16/23 on
  4/21/23. Our third-party printer/mailer also received it on 4/21/23.  They printed, stuffed into envelopes, and then
  mailed on 4/24/23.  Once in the mail, the
  bill traveled until it was last scanned by the USPS in the zip code of 62959
  (Marion, IL) on 4/27/2023 at 10:07AM.
  
  When payment was not received by the due date of the 16th:
  We invoiced the second/late notice past due 5/16/23 on 5/17/23 (second line on
  the mailed billing history).  Our third-party
  printer/mailer also received it on 5/17/23. 
  They printed, stuffed into envelopes, and then mailed on 5/18/23.  Once in the mail, the bill traveled until it
  was last scanned by the USPS in the zip code of 62959 on 5/22/23 at 10:12AM.
  
  The mailing history for Mrs. ********’s monthly first
  notices all show that they are being received by the USPS office in Marion,
  IL well before their due dates!  It
  appears that if Mrs. ******** has not been receiving the monthly first notice
  bills at all, then the issue may be with the mail carrier.  She should follow up with the USPS Postmaster.
  
  *Also, we go over our due dates and nonpayment shut off processes
  with every new customer verbally in the office when they apply for water
  service.  They also receive a paper copy
  as well.  I’ve attached the copy that
  Mrs. ******** would have received back in 2022 when she first applied for water
  service.  (The current minimum rate has
  now increased, but all other information is the same.)
  If Mrs. ******** would like to reach back out to us, we can
  explain in person and provide her with whatever materials that might help her
  battle with the USPS!