Columbia, SC – SEPTEMBER 29, 2017
Background
- On September 28, 2017, a local news outlet reported a customer had an unexpectedly large bill.
- The bill had a July 19 bill date with $3,869.69 in previous charges and $21.75 in current use for a total due of $3891.44.
- No customer identifying information was provided on the post.
Investigation
- When Columbia Water was alerted to the post by a constituent, an investigation was initiated. Customer Care was able to locate the bill in question.
- Bill History
- The bill was issued on July 19, 2017.
- In July 2017, the customer contacted Customer Care. Customer Care initiated a meter reread/ billing investigation. The account was placed on two* 30-day holds so the investigation could be completed.
- When the 30-day holds expired, the account was placed on the disconnect list because of the past-due balance. The customer’s water was disconnected on September 26, 2017.*
- On September 27, 2017, the customer contacted Customer Care. Customer Care determined that the investigation was still on-going and the customer’s water should not have been turned off. The customer’s service was restored the same day.
- On September 28, 2017, the investigation was completed and staff determined the
$3,869.69 charge was a billing error. The customer’s meter had been changed out, and the system had not been updated to reflect the correct starting usage. * The account was adjusted and all charges and service fees from the billing error were credited back to the account.
Results
Customer Care has identified three areas, marked with an asterisk (*), that were unacceptable and contributed to this customer experiencing unnecessary stress. For that, we sincerely apologize.
We will be reviewing our procedures and staff’s responses to determine how they can be improved to better protect customers in similar circumstances in the future.
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Columbia Water is the drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utility owned and operated by the City of Columbia, SC. For more information, visit www.columbiasc.net/utilities-engineering.