Water Works Suck

[MiddleofNowhere]

So... just had a problem with a rather bitchy, presumptious Customer Service worker for my local 'water works' (water company) and need to vent...

Opened up my freshly received water bill this morning and discovered that water company said we owed this month's and last month's bill. I knew we had paid last month's bill, so off I went to my handy dandy bill file and lo-and-behold, last month's paid bill is in there with my husband's notation of 'PAID' and the date he paid it - we use our bank's online 'Bill Pay' function.

So, I dutifully call our local water works and get 'Jo'. As I start to briefly explain the situation, CS worker immediately starts to suck...

Me: Hi! I'm calling about our bill we just received. It's showing we owe for last month in addition to current bill but I know we paid it on *date* due to our notation...

Jo: Well, I don't see a payment here.

Me: Well, we pay through *our bank* bill pay. We paid it on *this date* and here's my confirmation num...

Jo: *cuts me off* I have no record of your payment. You have to take it up with your bank.

Me: Oh... okay. I'll check with *my bank* - maybe there was a mixup.

Now, at this point I'm thinking, perhaps there was a problem with our bank's bill pay. I get back online and find NOT ONLY where we set the bill to pay, BUT ALSO the confirmation that the water works company cashed the check three days later.

So, I call Water Works company back, thinking I'll get another CS associate, but incredibly, I get 'Jo' again, who immediately starts being a bitch again (perhaps they have Caller ID or my account number pops up when I call... I digress)

Me: So, I just talked with you and you said you never received our payment for last month but I have the confirmation from my bank that Water Works cashed our check on *this date*

Jo: Well, you must've have made a mistake in your bill pay and put the wrong water works account number on there..

Me: Well I have the account number it was posted to right here, may I verify it? Account *numbernumbernumbernumber*?

Jo: That is the account listed to your name...

Me: Well, that's the account the check posted to according to *my bank. And that's my account number, so why are you not showing it posted.

Jo: Well, we have nothing to do with Bill Pay. We don't archive that information.

Me: So, let me get this straight. I paid my bill on time, to the right account, you guys cashed it, but you don't have that information?

Jo: We're not responsible for that. You need to contact your bank and have them fax us a copy of the check so we can verify it.

Me: I don't understand how I have to track this down. You have our money. You cashed our check.

Jo: *getting snippy* I don't suppose you have the check number...

Me: Actually, I do. It's check number *blahblahblahblah*.

Jo: No. We don't have that information. You need to have your bank fax us this information.

Me: Fine. Whatever. *hangs up*

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! So, even though I've done everything right and they screwed up and didn't post it right, I have to jump through the hoops to prove I paid my bill. What a bunch of morons!

[Soulstealer]

Call them up again, this CSR sounds pretty incompetent. If the next one is too ask for a supvervisor.

[taxguykarl]

Agreed with Soulstealer. Also threaten a complaint with various regulators--we're talking a possible wire fraud here.

[sirwired]

My favorite water co. tale...

My apartment complex decided to install individual meters for the apartments. As a single guy, I just didn't use much water.

Every month's bill showed the previous month's reading, along with the current reading, and then charged for the difference. Pretty basic, isn't it?

One month, I got a bill where the "Previous Month" reading was far less than the "Current Reading" from the previous month's bill. This means they were charging me for the same water twice.

It took me a full hour on the phone, and a fax to demonstrate my point. I faxed them the two bills with the readings circled, and wrote "SHOULD MATCH!" in 2-inch letters. It still took another 15 minutes to get the point across.

SirWired

[gaspode]

Don't talk to me about water companies(ok do, its interesting )

We moved house,exactly 1 year ago today funnily enough,we only moved 12 miles farther south of the area so we are with the same water company.when we moved in we had the water bill and the same water from the same company cost us £100 more a year and when we phoned up to complain ,all we got was "thats just the way it is"

[Lachrymose]

First off, CSR exhibited Grade A suck.

But let me explain why you need to provide them a copy of the check. This is speaking as an ex-check poster for a collection agency.

When a check is misapplied, there is usually no way to track it unless they see the stamp on the back of the check that could show, among other things, the date it was applied, a batch number, your account number at the utility, etc.

Once they have this info, they can pull that particular batch for that day to see where it went. If it was applied to someone else's account, it has to be reversed and reposted to yours.

So, although it's a pain in the butt to provide this, and since mistakes do happen occassionally, there is usually no other way.