Jay's Automotive

I have quickly reviewed the compliant and the custlmers payment history as well as discussing this issue with our office employees. At this moment, it appears that the customer was billed correctly. Our office staff attempted to explain to the customer that the December bill he received, was for...

water used in November. Our billing cycles mimic other utilities; customer is billed this month for services provided last month. Customer did not receive a January  bill which indicates that he incurred  no charges for the month of December. I will submit several months of the Customers billing cycles and payment dates for your review. As for the second part of the compliant regarding the new owner and said customer both receiving bills in December, I agree with the statement. The Authority, like all utilities, has a minimum  monthly usage charge. At the time of the compliant, the water rates were: 0 to 2000 gallons used - $24.00All additional   - 0.95/100 gallonsAny customer that is receiving service, be it one day or 30 days,  is charged the minimum monthly rate simply because the customer has the ability to use any and all water that he/she desires and when property changes hands, as was this case, both the prior and current owner receive equal and fair treatment by paying for services that only they themselves  received.Respectively  Submitted,[redacted]Executive Director

I accept Mr. [redacted]'s explanation concerning the Castlewood Water Authority's billing cycles..  HOWEVER:  If the Water Authority employees had explained the billing to me in this manner, I would have been satisfied when I discussed this matter with them in person at the office in January.   Furthermore,no one suggested it was necessary for me to sign anything to cancel my account.  And none of the employees, all of whom were present, offered to help resolve my problem.  [redacted]

I have reviewed the September 2104, October 2014, November 2014, and December 2014 water bills for Mr. [redacted].  In response to this review, I offer the following:1. All water used during one month's billing cycle is due by the 10th day of the following month.  2. Mr. [redacted]'s meter was read on the 8th day of September 2014 at 3:16 pm and again on the 6th day of October 2014 at 11:34 am.     Payment for water used between these two dates would be due by the 10th day of November 2015.3. Mr.  [redacted]'s meter was read on the November 06, 2014 at approximately 1:19 pm.  Payment for water used between 11:35 am on October 06, 2014 and November 06, 2014 (1:19pm) would be due by December 10, 2014.4. Mr. [redacted]'s meter was read on November 27th for the final time. Payment for the water used between November 06, 2015 and November 27th would be due by Jan 10, 2015. 5. As you can see from the information above, the normal billing cycle for Mr. [redacted] will split months. His meter is normally read between the 6th and 10th of each month. The water Mr. [redacted] used between November 06, 2014 and November 27, 2014 fell in the November 06, 2014 to December 10, 2014 billing cycle. This is why Mr. [redacted] received a water bill with a due date of January 10, 2015.6. Mr. [redacted] agrees that he used water up to November 27, 2014. Although the Castlewood Water and Sewage Authority's policies do not recognize verbal requests (persons wishing to connect to or disconnect from water and/or service must complete the applicable paperwork and present two forms of identification, one being a photo I.D.) the Authority does not challenge Mr. [redacted]'s statement concerning  an employee (who was asked by Mr. [redacted]) turning the water off.  Mr. [redacted] was not charged for water, or any other type of service after November 27. 7. Mr. [redacted] did not receive a bill  for the December 10, 2014 to January 12, 2015 billing cycle.8. Mr. [redacted] has not approached either myself nor the Castlewood Water and Sewage Authority's Board of Directors to attempt to resolve this matter.  The Board of Directors as well as myself will gladly meet with Mr. [redacted]. We ask that Mr. [redacted] bring water bills for the same months that I have referenced above.9.  To date, Mr. [redacted] has not completed the necessary paperwork to have his service properly disconnected. 10. The Castlewood Water and Sewage Authority has not received any complaints or questions from the person now residing at the residence in question. The Authority's policy prohibits discussing a customer's account with a third party without written consent.11. If Mr. [redacted] does not wish to exercise his right to state his grievance to either myself or the Board of Directors, but insists on continuing to use the Revdex.com, I will be forced to turn this matter over to our legal counsel. Any further correspondence will immediately be forwarded to legal counsel for comment.12. I feel that Mr. [redacted] does not understand that the water he used between November 6th and November 27th did not have to be paid for until January 10, 2015. The Authority does not and cannot alter billing cycles each time someone disconnects from service in the middle of a billing cycle. We can only assure that customers are not charged for service after the disconnection date. Mr. [redacted] received a $24.00 water bill for the water he used between Nov. 06 and Nov. 27, 2014.  This bill is a direct reflection of the Authority's minimum bill policy (0 to 2000 gallons - $24.00).  Mr.  [redacted] is fully aware of this policy.13. In fairness to all, I will make one last attempt to clarify our billing cycles and hopefully satisfy Mr. [redacted].  I will use Mr. [redacted]'s read dates.  Mr. [redacted]'s meter was read on September 8, 2014. This reading was brought to the office and entered into the computer. The bill associated with this reading was mailed to Mr. [redacted] around the 25th of September.  Mr. [redacted] had until October 10, 2014 to pay this bill.  His meter was read again on October 6, 2014. That reading was brought to the office and entered into the computer. The bill for water used between September 8 and October 6 was mailed to Mr. [redacted] around the 26th of October. Payment was not due until November 10, 2014. Meter was read again on November 6, 2014, brought to the office and entered into the computer and bill mailed to Mr. [redacted] around the 26th of November, with a due date of DECEMBER 10, 2014. METER READ AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 27, 2014. BROUGHT TO THE OFFICE AND ENTERED INTO THE COMPUTER. THE BILL FOR THE WATER MR. [redacted] USED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 06 AND NOVEMBER 27, 2014 WAS NOT MAILED TO MR [redacted] UNTIL THE 3RD WEEK OF DECEMBER. WITH A DUE DATE OF JAN. 10, 2015.  MR. [redacted] IS FULLY AWARE OF THE FACT THAT HE DOES NOT RECEIVE A WATER BILL UNTIL THE 3RD WEEK OF THE MONTH AND THAT IT IS NOT DUE UNTIL THE 10TH OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH.  ALTHOUGH HE DISCONNECTED ON NOVEMBER 27TH, WE DID NOT IMMEDIATELY SEND HIM A BILL. WE FINISHED READING THE METERS OF OUR OTHER 2000 CUSTOMERS, ENTERED THE READINGS, AND MAILED THE BILLS TO ALL CUSTOMERS AS NORMALLY DONE, MONTH AFTER MONTH, AFTER MONTH.I regret that Mr. [redacted] did not come to me on this matter. I sincerely believe that he and I could have settled this matter without having to involve your office. The Castlewood Water and  Sewage Authority makes every effort possible to ensure that customers are not charged one cent more than they owe. If Mr. [redacted] will meet with me and show that he does not owe the $24.00, I will personally guarantee that his money will be refunded, and I will extend my deepest and most sincere apology to him.Sincerely,[redacted], Executive DirectorCastlewood Water and Sewage Authority

Upon receipt of your letter, I spoke with the employees involved and reviewed the repair order, fees in question and the nature of the letter. In reviewing the fees, we determined that they were in line with what we charge for the type and amount of work involved. The customer also noted that we...

were to address an issue with his A/C system and that work was not completed. This was an error on the part of our Service Advisor. In the customer’s letter to the Revdex.com he stated he would like a partial refund or have the A/C fixed at no charge within a reasonable amount of time. Although we would not be able to agree to fix the system at no charge, not knowing what was wrong with it, we did feel it was fair to offer the diagnosis at no charge and to offer some type of discount for the repair of the system once it was determined what the problem was. I called the customer and let him know we were willing to offer that solution and he said he already had the vehicle scheduled to go to another location for the A/C work. The customer made it clear that he would not be returning to our shop so a customer retention credit was not an option for him either.I called the customer back and let him know that after further review we did not feel like we overcharged him. This is our 40th year in business and we may not have been able to stay in business that long if we were known as the shop that overcharges or takes advantage of our customers. We feel very strongly about that, as we have always prided ourselves on our reputation. We do feel however, that the customer was inconvenienced and we know our customer’s time is valuable. Based on that I asked the customer what he felt would fairly compensate him for the inconvenience and the loss of time due to dealing with these issues. He said he would talk it over with his wife and get back with me. We are waiting to hear from them.Christopher S. C[redacted] Owner

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The bill I received in January of 2015 was not a November bill as stated by Mr. [redacted].  It was a December bill.  The bill itself, a copy of which is attached to the original complaint, states that it is for service from December 1 through December 15 - a billing period of 14 days.My contention is that a phone call to the Water Authority to close an account constitutes an oral contract.  Oral contracts are valid if steps are subsequently taken in furtherance of the contract.  In this case an oral contract was made on November 27th when the Water Authority was requested to close my account.  On that same day, an employee of the Water Authority came to [redacted] and took a final meter reading, which was a step in furtherance of the contract.  The final bill records zero consumption for  Dec. 1st. through Dec. 15th. which proves the contract.Mr. [redacted]'s claim that the Water Authority's practices parallel those of other utilities is incorrect.  I checked and they do not.  Other local utilities pro-rate their bills based upon the date the final reading was taken, not upon the date the date the account is closed by clerical employees.  To do otherwise would make a final reading pointless.Mr. [redacted] statement that Water Authority employees attempted to explain that my final bill was for November service is also in error.  Water Authority employees told me I was billed for December because my account was still active as of December 1st - and that if I had an open account for even one day I would be billed the minimum charge for the entire month.  When I asked if [redacted] the new owner of my property, had an active account on December 1st. I was told she did.  The Water Authority employees also confirmed the final reading date of November 27th. for my account.Regardless of what the Authority's clerical practices may happen to be, I contend I was billed for services I did not receive.
Regards,
[redacted]