Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Seattle Public Utilities's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Seattle Public Utilities

  700 5th Ave STE 4900 Seattle, WA 98104-5004

• 

  Seattle Public Utilities

  PO Box 34016 Seattle, WA 98124-1016

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:05/30/2025

  Type:Order 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.

  From the year of ********* *** allowed a light bill from a previous home of mine to accure an unpaid bill of $456. They contacted me via email which did not get opened for multiple years as I used to pay via mail and check. They did not contact the building nor did they shut off the electic while the bill went unpaid for 3 years. I have proof of not living in the apartment for the entire time of the bill. SPU states that it is mine and the landlords responsibility to alert of a change of address, however they are footing me the landless with the bill while not holding the building management or the actual current renter responsible for the bill. *** claims they can't make changes to an account after 4 months but has given no reason for this. I find this practice to be predatory and unethical and as a public service to the people think that SPU should do everything in their power to make sure the bill goes to the landlord or current tenant who is the user of said ********************. As It was my and the landlords equal responsibility I have stated that I am willing to split the bill with Somerset offices and pay the amount of $228.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/10/2025

  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today, I was happy to help find the best way to resolve your issue.
  
  After reviewing the details of your account including the discrepancy between your move out date of 2/28/2021 and notification to Seattle City Light on 9/17/2024, we agreed that your best option for paying the lowest amount would be to accept your previous landlords offer to pay $200.00 of your $465.95 total balance. After the balance is paid in full, please let me know and I will make sure that your account is removed from collections.
  
  Please feel free to reach out to me with any further questions or concerns related to this matter. I enjoyed working with you and hope that you have a great weekend.
  
  All the best,
  
  
  ******** *******
           Utility Account Representative Supervisor II 
  City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities 
  O:************ | ************************************************************************************ 
  At ************ Blog | ******** | X (formerly *******) 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/17/2025

  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.

  WM is the company that is contracted by Seattle to pick up garbage and recycling for our building.This company frequently misses our collection, this time two weeks in a row. Seattle Utilities are unable to help. So I tried to reach out to WM directly, however, they purposely do not disclose their contact information anywhere visible on their website, forcing me to file a complaint here.What I would like, is for WM to investigate why they constantly miss our collection. The issue refunds for all the times the collection was missed.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2025

  The customer last called in on 04/15/25 and at that time, the customer was educated on the requirement to report missed collections within 2 business days of their normal collection day.
  
  Since then, there have been no new reported missed collections submitted.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/05/2025

   
  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.

  However, I strongly suggest that *** investigate the collection company to see why there have been so many missed collections.

  I manage several buildings and cannot babysit each time a collection isuposed to be maid, We pay for a service and that services should be completed and not wait for me to report it with in a limited amount of time.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/05/2022

  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.

  Seattle Public Utilities (and the waste collection that contracts for them) has failed to collect my garbage on 3 separate occasions within the last month.(July 7, July 21, August 4)In each case, it took multiple reports (online form and phone) before the garbage was eventually picked up.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/29/2022

  Hello,

   

  Our records show we returned to collect his Garbage at 7:50 a.m. on 7/9/22. **** called **************** on 7/11/22 around 3:20 p.m. and informed us his garbage
  Was not yet collected as of that date. The agent who took his call submitted an expedited order to collect
  His garbage. That expedited order shows it was collected at 5:16 p.m. on 7/12/22.
  
  Next, **** called **************** the afternoon of Friday 7/22/22 and informed us that his garbage
  Was missed on 7/21/22. No reason for the missed garbage collection was noted by the collection contractor. Our records
  Show we collected his garbage at 6:45 a.m. on 7/23/22. **** called **************** the morning of 7/25/22 informing his
  ******* had not been collected. An expedited order was placed at 2:16 p.m. on 7/25 to collect his garbage and that order
  Shows we collected it at 3:14 p.m. on 7/26/22.
  
  The customer reported a missed garbage collection online on 8/4/22. That order shows we collected his
  Garbage at 5:41 p.m. on 8/5/22.

   

  Thanks,

  **************