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:07/20/2023

  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.

  Our water was shut off on the 7/11/23. I have little kids and take full responsibility for not paying on time. I called the on call service 6-8 times, which they notified the tech. No one came so a I cut the tag and turned our water on. I got an invoice for $65 on 7/14/23. I called the office and Laura told me I would have to speak to the lady who handles that on Monday. Laura said the invoice was for $15 for cutting tag and $50 for reconnecting the water. I went into the office today 7/17/23 and paid for cutting the tag. I explained how I do not feel like we should have to pay the reconnection fee. This one particular lady who calls the shot was incredibly rude and unprofessional. She wears glasses and her desk is in the corner of the office. She explained what we should have done. I did not realize we had to pay to get our water turned on before they would come out (it does not specify that on the bill). The bill just says what the after hours reconnection fee is. This lady in the office received the messages and told the tech that there was no payment to not come out. I know she even got a message from the on call staff saying we had little ones including a 1 year old baby. She had our contact info and could have easily been nice and given us a call to let us know we needed to pay before the tech could come out. We would have gladly done that. They know we have no other choice when it comes to water so the proceed to treat customers horrible and disrespectful. There are many incidents with this business, not just ours. To correct this issue, I would like for the $50 reconnection fee to be removed from our account and to also know they are coming up with a plan to have customer service that is professional and caring.
  
  Chelsea *******

  Business Response

  Date: 07/27/2023

  Customer was sent a statement (included in the attached) that notified them that the water would be disconnected if the past due amount was not paid by July 9. We start disconnections on the 10th each month. Customer did not pay by this date so service was interrupted. Customer cut the lock off of the meter to access the water after hours. (Lock & note are part of the attachment) Per the contract (also included in the attachment) 

  16 ... If the UTILITY
  discontinues service for non-payment or any other reason and the service is
  turned on without authority of the UTILITY, the UTILITY shall charge a
  reconnection fee and penalty charge according to its Rates and Fees Schedule.
  17 ... The CUSTOMER agrees that
  in the event any utility property is damaged, destroyed or tampered with by the
  fault of the CUSTOMER, it shall be repaired or replaced at the CUSTOMER’S
  expense and shall be subject to the fees and charges set forth in the utility’s
  “Theft & Tampering policy” .

  A copy of the contract was given to the customer when she came to the office to dispute the charge.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/07/2023

  We did pay TUD what we owe including the $50 reconnection fee. I don’t trust this company whatsoever. The check number is 1715 . Just in case they decide to “lose” the check and disconnect us on Wednesday. I placed the check in the drop box on Saturday, August 5, 2023. I want there to be documentation that we did pay before the 9th. And if they have a problem. They can call us at ********** and speak to my husband Clint Charles. 

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2023

  Remarks and complaints are duly noted. Any calls made to TUD were made after hours and are handled by an outside service. They have access to a list during the monthly disconnections and are aware of account numbers, pay by phone numbers and amounts that need to be paid to restore services. This should have been conveyed on the initial phone call. Once a customer contacts the answering service with a confirmation number of payment; a technician is notified and dispatched to restore service. Our technician never received a confirmation number so he did not come out after hours. Had this occurred- the charge would have been an additional $100.00.

  The office sent a technician out the next morning when online payments were downloaded and he observed that the lock had been cut.  Therefore the additional charges were placed on the customers account.

  TUD has contacted the after hours service and spoken to a supervisor to ensure that phone operators know the prodigal and adhere to it.