Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromJade L

  Date: 07/12/2024

  1 star

  Jade L

  Date: 07/12/2024

  Since the pandemic their payment policy have changed for the worst. *** had two disappointing experiences with them in the last year.1st time: June 2023 I submitted a payment for future date but later went online to cancel the payment because it was already paid. The online payment center kept giving me on error and kept repeating the loading screen. It never confirmed whether payment was cancelled. A couple weeks later I received a rejected payment letter and charged of $100. 2nd experience: February 2024 I attempted to make a payment online but since its doesnt allow you delete any expired debt/credit or closed banking it automatically tried to take payment from the default account listed which was a closed bank account. Again a couple weeks later I received another rejected payment letter and charged a $100 fee added to my Tacoma Public Utility balance.I attempted to discuss with customer service to see if they can make some adjustment because these are errors within their online system but there was no ***** or assistance shown. I was just advised to call 211 to see if theyll give me assistance with paying my bill.

  Tacoma Public Utilities

  Date: 07/16/2024

  Good afternoon ****,

  Thank you for contacting Tacoma Public Utilities via the Better Business Bureau. We apologize for the disappointing experience you encountered the payments made in June of 2023 and February of 2024. If you have issues with not being able to cancel a payment on our website you can always attempt to call our office to see if we can cancel it. They payment may have already been in process as bank payments take 3 days to process. Per our policy when two payments are returned within a year timeframe and $100 security deposit is added to the utility account. The security deposit is returned to you after one year of payments are made on time or on your final billing if service is ended before that date. For updating card details on the website you will cancel your autopay enter the new card details and then re-enroll. Please don't hesitate to call us to confirm we have the correct account information enrolled for your autopay or if you have any other questions **************** can be reached at ************.

• Review fromHillary B

  Date: 05/31/2024

  1 star

  Hillary B

  Date: 05/31/2024

  For as long as I have had water with tpu (20 years) they have been bi monthly. In April they changed our meters to monthly. I did not receive a notice, and my water was shut off at 11am. I paid IMMEDIATELY and they said they would send someone back out by 5. I have called back several times to get my information on where the technician is and stayed this was an emergency. I have children here who need water. It has been several hours and they are unable to get someone out here.

  Tacoma Public Utilities

  Date: 06/04/2024

  Good morning *******,

  Thank you for contacting Tacoma Public Utilities. We apologize for the frustration this has caused. A letter was sent to you on February 15, 2023, that the account would be switching to monthly billing on the next March cycle and be monthly moving forward. A postcard reminder was also sent two weeks later. We show you are registered for monitoring your account on our website and receiving paperless billing. We have also added a new feature recently for automated calls to advise if a balance is past due. Please contact our office at ************ if any changes are needed as we want to make sure your information is accurate. 

   

• Review fromTarrence G

  Date: 04/23/2024

  1 star
  Tacoma Public Utilities has been giving me the runaround as to why my bill for the last 4 years has been flexing from an average for the year, $220 to 400 dollars a month. From 2018 to 2020, my bill was consistently the same, at around $200 a month. This all started when they read my meter wrong in 2022. It went from $220 in 2021 to $400+ in 2022... When I called the supervisor and went over the math, he could not explain to me why there was $500 that I paid to TPU that was uncounted for and where it was distributed to. In this conversation he was only trying to get me off the phone, but did agree with me that he had no idea where the money went. Then, in 2023, my bill was back down to $220 a month, so I thought that they had fixed the problem. NO! In 2024, my bill went back to $400 a month, so I went in to talk to the supervisor and break down the bill in every way possible. He himself could not figure out why my bill was the way it is. He told me he could not figure it out, he did not know why it was so high and the math did not work. Again, he was just trying to get me out of there. He gave me every possible excuse he could. He said he had changed something in the system but did not tell me what it was. Ever since I talked to him, in the last 3 months, my usage has been higher than all the previous years. Hmmmmm... And I can't use any-other power company.

• Review fromBritani B

  Date: 02/20/2024

  1 star

  Britani B

  Date: 02/20/2024

  The customer service is a lack there of. The supervisor ***** was no help and continued to talk over me attempting the rectify an overcharge. If I had a choice of utility providers this would not be it. They have technical issues that they fail to address or take responsibility for. As well as the poor customer support. *********** employees/supervisor that have a sense of hospitality and care for customers.

  Tacoma Public Utilities

  Date: 02/22/2024

  Thank you for contacting Tacoma Public Utilities via the Better Business Bureau.  We apologize for any unpleasant experience you may have had with any of our employees.  If you would like to discuss your complaint further or provide further details for ******************, please don't hesitate to contact our office directly and request to speak with a manager.  

• Review fromCiara S

  Date: 07/21/2023

  1 star
  From the wait on the phone, to the unprofessionalism of the customer service reps. **** place is absolutely horrible and you all should be ashamed of how you are treating people. I made a $374 payment 7/13 and was disconnected 7/15! Of course it was a Saturday you cannot call in and talk to anyone about the issue. So I paid my past due balance (which was on a budget payment plan and wasnt due). So I now have paid over $1100.00. Today 7/21 I get an email saying that $275 is due for a security deposit because I have returned payments from APRIL! I am disgusted and frustrated this place is greedy and horrible and they know theres nothing anyone can do because theres only ONE power company!

• Review fromLori D

  Date: 07/11/2023

  1 star
  I am the president of a homeowners association and have called TPU on the following dates Jan 9, 2023, Feb 8, 2023, Feb 15, 2023, March 10, 2023, March 14, 2023, March 15, 2023, April 3, 2023, and again today July 11, 2023. Asking that the street lights that are out be fixed as we are paying for the lights monthly. Post lights TP *****, TP *****, and TP *****. I have spoken with a customer service agent each time I called and then left a message on a VM-type system with the Account number, post numbers, and times I have previously called along with my phone number for contact. To date I have not been contacted by anyone.... but, I have spoken with a very rude employee **** (who has no employee number or anything other than a name ) I spoke with **** on April 3, 2023, and again on July 11, 2023. On April 03, 2023, he told me it would be 1 or 2 weeks before I heard anything from anyone. Today I called and got **** again and he was just as rude as before but today he had a hard time finding my account. After I insisted he make sure I was reporting everything correctly and that all the numbers matched the same. ( Pole ID numbers, phone number for contact, etc.) He again told me I should be contacted in 1 to 2 weeks. If I didn't pay my bill I assure you they would contact me but, when I'm asking for a problem to be fixed TPU as a whole can't seem to assist me in any way. No one after 7 months and 8 calls can fix the street lights they charge us for monthly. I assure you if we could use another electricity company we most differently would. I guess that's the reason they do not need to fix or call us as they have a captive audience and no choices. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! ! !