Think Utility Services Reviews (%countItem)
Think Utility Services Rating
Address: 4685 118th Ave N, Clearwater, Florida, United States, 33762-4444
Phone: |
Show more...
|
Fax: |
+1 (727) 573-1506 |
Web: |
|
E-mails: |
Sign in to see
|
Add contact information for Think Utility Services
Add new contacts
ADVERTISEMENT
I do not recommend this company, scammers, rude, awful employees, overcharging, plus their system had a employees stealing our social and scamming us.
PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, THEY WILL SCREW YOU OVER, THEY ARE SCAMMERS, BE AWARE, AWFUL COMPANY.
I overpay a large amount for several months ahead so don't need to deal with this often. Then forgot to replenish once, in short of 20$. Got charged for 10$ of late payment? How is this 50% penalty make any sense. Did you pay me any interest for the overpayment of 500$ sitting idle in my account for several months?
On top of this, they charge billing fee, credit card fee, notice fee. Whatever fee that they manage to come up with.
This is a shady company, stay away!
we must get together and grab a few lawyers! I have the same issues, I know for a fact this company is full of crooks and they behave like scammers!
we need to get all together and bring a few lawyers to bring them down and for ever!
I am so tired of this 3rd world country where the gov does nothing! in fact, they are part of the chaos !
No company in the USA charges a fee to pay a bill if it's done with checking account number if done on line which they don't allow. Think is gouging.
Never in the USA has this type of practice been allowed for on time payment. I'm talking since 1961. This is an investigation which should be pursued by the Revdex.com. Gouging is a violation of USA law.
Where are the extra charges going for on line payment which are on time. Violation of psc
My name is James Anderson. I am the Senior Account Manager with Think Utility Services. I will provide helpful information in regards to payments and fees.
First, we are a third party biller. We do not provide the water to the property, the property's local municipality does. We match the water and sewer rates charged to the property by the municipality. It is illegal to add monies to the water/sewer rates.
Submetering is a cost recovery program for a property, it is not a money maker. The property desires to recover only the monies that a resident uses in relation to their water consumption.
Think Utility charges a billing fee on each resident invoice as this is our charge for providing the billing service. This fee covers the cost to read the meter, generate invoices, mail invoices, and provide customer service support.
*** Very Important ***
In utility submetering, we cannot hide any costs. Typically, a company offering a "free" service can hide the operating costs in with the product or admin fee. In the this case, the product is water and as stated, we cannot add monies to the municipal charges.
Regarding payments:
Every company that runs a credit card is charged a fee, there is no exception. Small businesses will require a minimum purchase amount before a credit card is run - due to the credit card charge. Our company is no exception to a credit card company assessing charges. This is why we offer alternate payment methods with a convenience fee.
With that, I can provide information on the various payment methods that can be made.
Payment Methods/Options
Mail check/money order: Free
Pay online using tenant bank: Free (Note: Bank will mail a physical check. Please give them 2 business days to mail a check).
Pay online using Think Utility website: $3.95
Pay over the phone with a Think Utility CSR: $4.95
Pay using ACH each month: $2.95
We offer alternative methods of payment outside the traditional mailing of checks/money orders in order to give residents multiple options to pay their monthly invoice. Please know that folks have the power to choose their preferred payment
option. If we had to absorb the cost of the alternative payment methods, we wouldn't be able to stay in business. Our billing fee is how we get paid.
Explanation breakdown on the alternative payment methods.
Website Payments
We use a third party that handles the online payments. We are charged for the service. This charge is passed to the residents. The website clearly states the convenience charge before the resident proceeds with the payment.
Website payments - checking account.
We used to offer this service. However, whenever residents mis-typed their checking account numbers, the online transaction was considered, "NSF". As such, we would be assessed an NSF fee which was passed to the residents. Residents refused to pay the NSF charges. This payment offering was not cost effective for us. As such, we terminated this payment offering.
Over the phone Payments
We use a live person, the cost is to cover the labor to handle the processing and running the credit card on the machine.
ACH Payments
The bank charges us for the service, we pass the cost to the resident. This is an automatic payment option for a resident or condo owner.
Bank
I always encourage folks that are budget conscious to pay online using their bank. Banks do not charge for online payments. The bank could take a couple of days before they cut a check and mail it to us, the payment is not sent electronically. So, if a resident goes online and makes their payment, while the amount is deducted from their account right away,
the check still has to be cut, mailed, and received by our Billing Department.
If a resident is mailing a check/money order, the USPS will process the mail and deliver it to Think Utility. We receive daily mail from the USPS. The daily mail is processed by 1 pm each day. The current monthly payment is due on or prior to the due date. 1 to 2 days after the invoice due date, a late fee will be applied if no payment is received, partial payment received, or if the payment arrives late.
Think Utility Services is not gouging. We offer various alternative payment methods. Yes, they carry a convenience fee to handle the credit card company charges and cover the third party billing charges. There are payment methods that a resident can choose that are free.
I hope you find this information helpful. If you need anything else, please let me know. Thank you.
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
GOING to check with my bank to see if they will send the check free, since think water doesn't have auto pay where the company automatically deducts the funds from the bank account. Thanks
Think Utility Services has been overcharging us every month for water services since new account opened.
Think Utility Management has been charging us monthly water usage between $379-$502. Service began in March 2019-present. This is a 2-bed apartment with 3 tenants. They claim our usage is between 26,590-34,960 gallons per month. A leak detection was performed on 6/26/19 and 7/16/19 by our leasing company Great Jones and no leak was detected. TUM gave us a pulse count that shows water usage while we are (sleeping). We have paid $50/month and leasing company Great Jones has been paying for the rest of the balance each month. A billing adjustment has not been done.
Account number: XXXXXXX
Would like for Think U Management to provide me a daily/monthly itemized water usage they claim we use and an adjustment to the bill.
To whom it may concern,
Think Utility Services (TUS) is a billing company, we are not the actual water provider. Tampa Water provides the water to the entire property. They read their master meters and invoice the property for all the water consumed from the master meters. TUS is contracted with the Association to provide the service of reading each unit sub-meter, invoicing the owners, collecting payments, and remitting water/sewer monies back to the Association. The billing of water to the owners is a cost recovery program for the Association.
It is important to note that TUS cannot add monies to the water/sewer rates. This is illegal. TUS receives no money from the water/sewer charges.
On 7/3/19, the property manager for the unit contacted our customer service department and stated that the toilet and faucet had been leaking. Please note, a running toilet can waste over 30k gallons in one month. I looked at the usage in the files going back to 3/30/19. Looking at data, there appears to be an issue with the unit. The water usage began to spike into the 26k gallon range in April 2019. In subsequent months, the water usage average between 23k gallons - 34k gallons. In November 2019, the meter stopped advancing. The pulse count on 11/4/19 was 34280. The meter hasn't advanced since then. We would like to schedule a technician to take a look at the meter. It must be noted that pictures of the meter head were submitted to customer service that proved water advancement.
Since water sub-metering is a cost recovery for the Association, TUS cannot adjust an account unless the Association submits a written notification approving the financial adjustment. The water/sewer monies owed by each homeowner belong to the Association and not TUS. It is important to note that if TUS committed a billing error, there wouldn't be a problem in adjusting the account. In this case, the reads are showing as accurate and the consumption occurred.
Sincerely
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
We thank Think Utility Services for their response. This issue shows there has been problems with this unit before we moved in. Since we are rent tenants of said unit and not the owners it explains why the owner has been paying water bills and thus passing the bill on to the renters. The scheduling of a technician would need to be addressed with the owner/leasing company Great Jones. Thank you.
Excessive fees and fees with payments
Think Utility Services charges an unnecessary amount of fees. They charge a billing fee of $2.79 as well as a fee to pay for your bill if you decide to pay via credit card ($3.95) or bank transaction. The only way to pay for your bill and not incur an additional fee for paying is to pay by check, which needs to be post-marked 4 to 5 days prior to the bill being due. If the check is late, then you are charged a late fee. When your account is closed, you are then charged a $5.00 deactivation fee, in addition to your billing fee, and in addition to the costs associated with paying your bill in the first place. Lastly, when you close your account, the full month is billed per their normal practices, then the partial month is billed when you close your account. If you have not paid for the full month by the time your account closes, they roll that amount over to the new bill. Your final bill is then a summation of both bills, due on a different date than the full month's bill. The bill for the full month is still due, and a late fee is charged if it is not paid on the original due date, even though that month's amount has been rolled over to the most recent bill. Lastly, their charge of 'water' and 'sewer; seem arbitrary, as the sewer amount is simply a doubled value compared to the water amount. Think Utility Services (Florida) operates the utilities for the apartment complex I moved from (in Indiana) when they are not even in adjoining states.
I would like Think Utility Services to review their fee structure, eliminate the fees associated with payment, void the due date for the final bill generated when the account is closed, and refund my late fee for the final bill.
Contact Name and Title: *** A./Acct Mgr
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: ***@ThinkUtilityServices.com
My name is James Anderson. I am the Senior Account Manager with Think Utility Services. I will be happy to provide helpful information in regards to the Billing and how submetering works.
First, we are a third party biller. We do not provide the water to the property, the property's local municipality does. We do not compose the water and sewer rates charged to the property. The property provides the municipality invoices to Think Utility. This enables us to match the exact water and sewer rates charged to the property. It is illegal to add monies to the water/sewer rates. Sewer rates (for any municipality) are normally higher than the water rates because the bad water has to be treated by the municipality or their third party sewer vendor.
Submetering is a cost recovery program for a property, it is not a money maker. The property desires to recover only the monies that a resident uses in relation to their water consumption.
Think Utility charges a $2.79 billing fee on each resident invoice as this is our charge for providing the billing service. This fee covers the cost to read the meter, generate invoices, mail invoices, and provide customer service support.
*** Very Important ***
In utility submetering, we cannot hide any costs. Typically, a company offering a "free" service can hide the operating costs in with the product or admin fee.
Every company that runs a credit card is charged a fee, there is no exception. Small businesses will require a minimum purchase amount before a credit card is run - due to the credit card charge. Our company is no exception to a credit card company assessing charges. This is why we offer alternate payment methods with a convenience fee.
With that, I can provide information on the various payment methods that can be done.
Payment Methods/Options
Mail check/money order: Free
Pay online using tenant bank: Free (Note: Bank *** mail a physical check. Please give them 2 business days to mail a check).
Pay online using Think Utility website: $3.95
Pay over the phone with a Think Utility CSR: $4.95
Pay using ACH each month: $2.95
We offer alternative methods of payment outside the traditional mailing of checks/money orders in order to give residents multiple options to pay their monthly invoice. Please know that folks have the power to choose their preferred payment
option. If we had to absorb the cost of the alternative payment methods, we wouldn't be able to stay in business. Our billing fee is how we get paid.
It is a typical business practice to assess a late fee in the event of the following: payment is late, no payment, partial payment on the balance due on the account. We are collecting monies for the property in order to send one reimbursement check to the property for water/sewer reimbursement (minus our monies).
Explanation breakdown on the alternative payment methods.
Website Payments
We use a third party that handles the online payments. We are charged for the service. This charge is passed to the residents. The website clearly states the convenience charge before the resident proceeds with the payment.
Over the phone Payments
We use a live person, the cost is to cover the labor to handle the processing and running the credit card on the machine.
ACH Payments
The bank charges us for the service, we pass *** cost to the resident. This is an automatic payment option for a resident or condo owner.
Bank
I always encourage folks that are budget conscious to pay online using their bank. Banks do not charge for online payments. The bank could take a couple of days before they cut a check and mail it to us, the payment is not sent electronically. So, if a resident goes online and makes their payment, while the amount is deducted from their account right away,
the check still has to be cut, mailed, and received by our Billing Department.
Mr. is correct that he would have to mail a payment 4 to 5 days prior to the bill being due - if a check or money order is being sent in the mail.
Mr. was setup with our E-bill notification process. He would receive an e-mail the day that his current monthly invoice was posted to his account. In this fashion, he would have immediate access to his current balance due. This enables residents to make payment arrangements well ahead of the due date.
If a resident is mailing a check/money order, the USPS will process the mail and deliver it to Think Utility. We receive daily mail from the USPS. The daily mail is processed by 1 pm each day. The current monthly payment is due on or prior to the due date. 1 to 2 days after the invoice due date, a late fee will be applied if no payment is received, partial payment received, or if the payment arrives late.
If Think Utility is asked by the property to close an account, the account will be closed and a $5.00 deactivation fee will be applied on the account. This charge is simply to cover the labor cost to close and process a closed account. This charge is in the legal contract between Think Utility and the property.
Final Bills
We close out an account at the direction of the property. There are times that a property *** have the account closed out in advance of the impending move out date.
For Mr. account, the October invoice was for water usage from 8/28 - 9/27/19 and was mailed on 10/7 with a due date of 10/25/19. The invoice amount was $47.55.
On 10/15/19, the final bill was generated. It covered the timeframe from 9/28 - 10/11/19 with a due date of 11/2/19. Since the payment on the October invoice had not yet been received at the time of the final bill creation, the $47.55 was listed as a "Previous Balance" on the final bill. The final bill charges with the deactivation fee (minus the Previous Balance) came to $28.32. With the previous balance of $47.55 included on the final bill, the total amount due was $75.87.
A late fee of $7.00 was applied on 10/28/19 due to the fact that payment was not made on the October invoice ($47.55) that was due 10/25/19. As a typical billing practice, all invoices generated (by any company) will have a due date. The due date is designed to invoke a timely payment from the customer. As a courtesy, I had the recent late fee on the account removed. Mr. balance is $75.87. Please see the attached ledger for documentation purposes.
I hope this information proves beneficial. In conclusion, we have invoiced Mr. for water/sewer monies owed. A late fee was assessed for non-payment. However, we removed it as a courtesy. We have explained submetering and how it works. Further, we have provided the various methods in which payments can be made. Think Utility is not engaging in any deceptive invoice or billing practices. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.
I agree with all of the experiences here! Think Utility Services, Inc., if you read this, do not give me childish defensive replies like all the other replies on here. For your actions, simply give a, 'thank you for your feedback, we are working on improving!'. At least *tryto appear to have customers interest.
This feedback is to make things better for other residents in the future so they don't hate you. We both want that, right?
Constructive Criticism
(1) Find a way to better communicate to new residents.
Took me months to receive a bill, and that was after *I called them!*
(2) Make your no fee option more clear online.
I am reading that there is an option for my bank to 'cut a check' and send it to you for no fee. Great. But I can't find this anywhere in your portal. And when I receive my ebill, it gives me an invoice to download. I believe you, but I don't see this option, and with the other complaints, the problem is not that it doesn't exist, the problem is it is not easily accessible. Make giving you money easy. (right now only the credit card/debit option shows for the pay bill tab in the portal.
(3) Modernize.
Your billing model is 10+ years behind. It is not a problem with 15 days to 18 days to give residents to provide payments as shown in previous comments. The problem is not using the online methods at your fingertips to their fullest potential. Look at 99% of other billing companies and see what they do. They are better, learn from them.
(4) Login verification update.
Instead of *onlyverifying a user by a paper bill, use what countless other utility services/billing service use now, verification by email. Or by phone. Or both. You can still have it in the bill, but provide *bothoptions. Low hanging fruit effort here to get new users in the system so they can give you money. We both know you want money, make it easy to get money.
If I ever have a choice to choose a billing service for my business, then the above 4 items would be *criticalin my decision to go with Think Utility. As of today? Not a chance.
Company makes it nearly impossible to make payments without incurring additional fees in addition to standard bill.
Living in my apartment complex *** I have no choice of water service provider as the landlord contracts Think Utility Services to sub-meter and bill tenants. The payment process is where the issues come into play. Think Utility Services (formerly Midway Services) allows for payments in the form of check mailed to their PO box in Clearwater Florida or through credit/debit card payments over the phone or online. The issue is that the credit and debit card payments incur a "convenience fee" of $4 per payment. While this may seem standard looking at the charge based on the bill this fee actually ranges from 15-20% of the entire bill all while most major credit cards only charge a fee of 1-3%. The company also charges an administration fee of $2.79. Factoring in the up charge for the "convenience fee" this exceeds the maximum $4 administrative fee permitted by state law. The only "free" option of payment is in mailing a physical check to the PO box of the company. This then risks the company claiming they did not receive the payment in time of the due date which results in a $7 late fee. I have been subjected to a similar situation this past month 9/29 as just described in which I had my bank schedule for payment to arrive on 9/16 with payment due 9/23 so a week prior to the payment due date. This company insists they did not receive payment until 9/25 just 2 days after the due date. This has led to them issuing a late fee to my account in the amount of about 26% of my original bill. My bank has provided proof of payment as attached for my bill of $26.24 as attached. I find it highly suspect that payment did not arrive on time as USPS had over two weeks to make the delivery. *** unfortunately cannot provide me with a tracking number.
The company website used to feature a pay by bank account option which did not function. I previously commented to this company back in November 2017 about the nonfunctional bank account payments which would not incur an additional fee to which an Amy A. stated "The purpose of this message is in regards to the customer service web form you submitted about payment methods. I have attached a form that states all the different payment options that we provide. Unfortunately, making a payment online can only be with a credit or debit card. The checking account option was removed due to customers entering incorrect information causing a nonrefundable NSF fee."
This company is "gotcha!" in terms of billing as it is not clear on the bill that you will be charged an additional $4 for paying with a credit/debit card. One also has to go on their word of when they received payment as justification for a late fee issuance. Operations such as this are unjust particularly to lower income groups for being charged additionally just to pay your bill.
I am seeking for this company to adjust their billing to allow for a grace period in terms of mailed payments or reinstatement of the no cost option of payment by a bank account to allow for customers to make payments without incurring additional costs just to pay their bill.
Contact Name and Title: James A./Acct Mgr
Contact Phone: ***-***-2084
Contact Email: ***@ThinkUtilityServices.com
My name is James A. and I am the Senior Account Manager with Think Utility. I will respond to the complaint with important information.
The Billing/Admin Fee, the deactivation/activation fee, the late fee and the demand notice fees that we charge are in the contract between the property and Think Utility. The billing fee is $2.79. This is our fee for reading the meter, processing the consumption data, producing and invoice, mailing the invoice, and providing customer service.
The water/sewer rates that are charged on the invoices are composed by the water provider. Neither Think Utility nor the property compose the rates. Water submetering is a cost recovery program. It is not designed to be a revenue generator for the property. The property only seeks to recover the water/sewer monies from each resident for the water that they use.
Late fee
A late fee is applied in the event of no payment, late payment, or partial payment. Typically, a late fee is applied 1 to 2 business days after the due date. Applying a late fee is a typical business practice. The agreement between Think Utility and the property has the late fee set at $7.00. If full payment is not made 10-12 days after the late notice is mailed, a Demand Notice is mailed in order to try and induce a payment from the resident. The outstanding monies on any account belong to the property, not Think Utility.
Payment Methods/Options
Mail check/money order: Free
Pay online using tenant bank: Free (Note: Bank will mail a physical check. Please give them 2 business days to mail a check).
Pay online using Think Utility website: $3.95
Pay over the phone with a Think Utility CSR: $4.95
Pay using ACH each month: $2.95
We do offer alternative methods of payment outside the traditional mailing of checks/money orders. Folks have the power to choose their preferred payment option.
Website Payments
We use a third party that handles the online payments. We are charged for the service. This charge is passed to the residents. The website clearly states the convenience charge before the resident proceeds with the payment.
Over the phone Payments
We use a live person, the cost is to cover the labor to handle the processing and running the credit card on the machine.
ACH Payments
The bank charges us for the service, we pass the cost to the resident.
Many residents love this option as the invoice amount comes out automatically every month.
*** Very Important ***
In utility submetering, we cannot hide any costs. Typically, a company offering a "free" service can hide the operating costs in with the product or admin fee. As stated, it is illegal to add monies to water/sewer rates. We have to charge the exact rates by the municipal water provider.
We used to offer the option of paying online with checking account. But, we were getting hit with a lot of NSF fees because residents would type their account number incorrectly. As such, the
Payment couldn't be processed and we were charged the NSF fees. We had to pass the charges to the residents - and they refused to pay. The owner of the company turned that feature off. This option will not be re-instated due to many residents incorrectly entering their account numbers. We simply can't absorb NSF fees.
Bank
I always encourage folks that are budget conscious to pay online using their bank. Banks do not charge for online payments. The bank can take a couple of business days before
they cut a check and mail it to us, the payment is not sent electronically. So, if a resident goes online and makes their payment, while the amount is deducted from their account right away,
the check still has to be cut, mailed, and received by our Billing Department.
*** We are not responsible for the timeliness of the postal service. Its a known fact that mail can on occasion take longer than expected to arrive at its destination.
Invoices for this property have an 18 day turnaround. This turnaround is in agreement between the property and Think Utility.
The resident is signed up for E-bill Notification. As soon as the invoice is ready, an e-mail is sent. As such, payment arrangements can be made upon the receipt of the e-mail. The resident's invoices are typically under $30.00.
Tip: If an additional $7-8 dollars is made on the account for a few months, the resident will actually carry a one month credit on the account. This way, when they receive their statement, they will have more than 18 days to pay.
In viewing this account, the resident has an excellent payment history. Policy allows us to remove 1 late fee every 12 months. The late fee was removed on this account. Of course, if we made any sort of billing error that resulted in any late fee during the 12 month period, we would gladly remove it. Also, we empathize with any special situation that a resident may incur. There are times in which a resident may face a difficult situation (loss of job, loss of loved one, being the hospital, etc.) that may involve an account adjustment.
I hope this information helps.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
This company, like many other people have stated here, is terrible. To begin, they did not send me my first water bill until almost two months after move-in. While this was in time to pay the bill before they assess late fees (by about 15 days), there's still no excuse for it to take 17 days for me to get my bill after the billing period ends. There's even less of an excuse for them charging a $3.14 "billing fee."
This wouldn't be so much of an issue if you could set up your account online with them prior to receiving your first bill (like nearly every other utility company I've ever dealt with) but of course you need a "security code" that's printed on your physical bill before you can create an account or enroll in paper-less billing. Once you have an account the online interface is extremely limited and laughable. Unlike every other utility provider I've dealt with, I have yet to figure out a way to enable recurring payments on a saved card/bank account. Furthermore it seems that online, through this joke of a portal, they only accept credit/debit card payments which are of course subject to a $3.95 "convenience fee." That is simply ridiculous when the fees that card processors actually charge merchants to run the transaction are a fraction of that cost (for reference, a MasterCard transaction will have a fee between 1.55% and 2.6%, Visa between 1.43% and 2.4%, Discover between 1.56% and 2.3% and American Express between 2.5% and 3.5%). And even more obnoxious is there is seemingly no way to store a payment method in this system, resulting in the user having to enter their payment information each time.
I love my apartment complex but their choice of this company for utilities was certainly an unfortunate one.
Think Utility Services is a Billing Company. We are not the water provider. As such, it is important to relay important information regarding submetering and the billing process. A property will notify us of new residents. This can be done either by the property entering the new resident information or by e-mail notification regarding a new resident. In submetering, billing is in arrears. When we invoice for the current month, the water usage being invoiced is from the previous month. The monthly invoices have an 18 day turnaround. This is an established timeframe between the property and Think Utility. Mr. recently switched to E-bill notification. He will be notified via e-mail when the invoice has hit his account. He will no longer receive a paper invoice. Paper invoices have envelopes with bar codes. We can track every invoice through the USPS. The water/sewer charges on the monthly invoice belong to the property, not Think. Water submetering is a cost recovery program for the property, it is not a money maker. The property seeks only to recover the water/sewer monies spent by the residents. Our Billing fee of $3.14 is our cost to provide the meter reading and invoice service. We are not a Non-profit company. Every submetering billing company charges a billing fee. Think Utility does not setup individual online accounts, that is the responsibility of the resident. A resident's desire to view their account online is their option. For security reasons, the security code is assigned to each individual account. If a resident desires to setup their online account, their security code must be entered first before a username/password is chosen. Regarding online payments, we use a third party to process the payments. As such, yes, there are convenience fees for alternate payment methods. Using our website to pay, the fee is $3.95. To use a live customer service rep, the charge is $4.95. If a resident wants an automatic payment made every month (ACH), the cost is $2.95. A resident can request the ACH form in order to setup this payment method. Of course, we take the traditional check or money order via mail. Lastly, I always recommend that residents use their bank to make an online payment. The bank will not charge and they will mail a payment from the resident's account to Think Utility. Mr. stated that there is no way to store a payment. This is incorrect, the ACH payment method (once setup) would make the payment automatically every month for the resident. If Mr. had contacted our Customer Service Dept. We would have gladly explained all of this information over the phone. For documentation purposes, we could also replay information in writing if chosen as well. I hope this information helps to clear up any misunderstanding.
Issue with refund the remaining balance of my water utility account
I am having a refund issue with think utility water company for my apartment located at *** Unit *** XXXXX. I have over $4000 balance on my account and had requested Think Utility to issue me the refund since May 2019. I have been calling this company every month and everytime I was told the refund would be issued to me within 4-6 weeks. After several attempts and being told the same thing over and over again, I decided to file a complaint.
I would request Think Utility to issue my refund in the amount of $4286.38 for account number XXXXXXX as soon as possible to my address at
***
I have attached the final bill for your reference.
I would request Think Utility to issue my refund in the amount of $4286.38 for account number XXXXXXX as soon as possible to my address at
My name is *** M., and I am an Account Manager with Think Utility Services. I'm responding to the complaint. Unfortunately, refunding the credit has taken longer than expected. We at Think Utility would like to apologize for the delay in refunding her credit. According to the Billing Manager, this refund check was mailed last week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused Ms.. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information.
Thank you,
Saul M.
Account Manager
Think Utility Services, Inc.
Office: XXX-XXX-XXXX Ex. ***
***@ThinkUtilityServices.com
This company charges you to send you the bill (even electronically)Meter readings are not correct and will not correlate with bill amount
259,824.00 = 1,268 gallons ($38.32)
where as
263,454.00= 3,630 gallons ($76.90)
Which makes no sense to me because these numbers are not far off let alone 3x the amount of gallons that it should be reading.
My bill doubles when I have had the same schedule and the same, if not less water usage. I see every review who uses this company is having the same issue and its tough to get someone on the phone when they only operate 8-5 M-F. They also charge you for making payments along with a charge for them sending you the bill which is not right. This is a company that my apartment complex has hired which I have no control over. Everyone is saying to make complaints through this in order to achieve fair and just service.
It shows that they charge $95 to come out and adjust/reset your meters. I am in Naples and this company is based out of Clearwater. They need to come out and reset everyones meters for no charge because this is their mistake. They need to come up with a bill pay way just like FPL, and ComCast does for online billing. No charges should be allowed when this is one of the only ways to make a payment.
Contact Name and Title: James A./Acct Mgr
Contact Phone: ***-***-2084
Contact Email: ***@ThinkUtilityServices.com
My name is James A. and I am the Senior Account manager with Think Utility. I have looked at this account and will respond accordingly with important information.
First, it is important to note that we are the billing company, we are not the water provider. We are contracted to read the submeters and invoice for consumption. The submetering equipment does not belong to Think Utility. The equipment was purchased many years ago. We did not install the equipment either. This was a takeover property. Another billing company had installed the equipment. The submetering equipment is not under warranty. We began billing this property in November 2009. Think Utility has performed repairs on the property when issues have been brought to the property management's attention.
The initial invoice with the start read of 258556 was an estimate. New accounts, the system estimates the start read based upon the last read in the system. In actuality, the read on 4/30/19 was 257818. The read as of 7/23 is 266173. Usage in this unit from 4/30 - 7/23/19 is 8,355 gallons. This is a daily average of 99 gallons per day or a 30 day pace of 2,970 gallons. The National Average for usage is up to 100 gallons per person per month. There are two names listed on the account. For 2 people to use 99 gallons per day is actually very good. They are conserving water. The August invoice will be for 2,719 gallons of water for usage from 6/17 - 7/16/19.
Since we do not own the equipment, Think Utility does not perform free water meter testing. We charge monies as it is customary for any service company to charge for services. I do not see any billing errors on this account. The transmitter is sending a signal on consumption. The transmitter ID is listed as ***. If Ms. has a different transmitter ID, she should contact me immediately.
If Ms. would like to confirm meter functionality, I propose the following test. Ms. should take a photo of her meter head on any given day, then take another one at least 7 days apart. She can e-mail me the pictures. I will go into the system and pull the reads for the exact same days. The meter head usage and the electronic usage should be similar. If there is a huge variance in the comparison, the meter will need to be replaced. I suggest this to folks in order to save on a technician trip charge to troubleshoot the meter.
Our customer service is open from Monday - Friday from 8 am - 5 pm (EST). We are fully staffed and the average answer time is less than 30 seconds. We are closed on the weekends.
It is important to address the various payment methods offered by Think Utility. Being a submetering company, we cannot hide any fees with the cost of water/sewer.
Payment Methods/Options
Mail check/money order: Free
Pay online using tenant bank: Free (Note: Bank will mail a physical check. Please give them 2 business days to mail a check).
Pay online using Think Utility website: $3.95
Pay over the phone with a Think Utility CSR: $4.95
Pay using ACH each month: $2.95
We do offer alternative methods of payment outside the traditional mailing of checks/money orders. Folks have the power to choose their preferred payment option.
Website Payments
We use a third party that handles the online payments. We are charged for the service. This charge is passed to the residents. The website clearly states the convenience charge before the resident proceeds with the payment.
Over the phone Payments
We use a live person, the cost is to cover the labor to handle the processing and running the credit card on the machine.
ACH Payments
The bank charges us for the service, we pass the cost to the resident.
*** Very Important ***
In utility submetering, we cannot hide any costs. Typically, a company offering a "free" service can hide the operating costs in with the product or admin fee. It is illegal to add monies
To water/sewer rates. We have to charge the exact rates by the municipal water provider.
Bank
I always encourage folks that are budget conscious to pay online using their bank. Banks do not charge for online payments. The bank could take a couple of days before
they cut a check and mail it to us, the payment is not sent electronically. So, if a resident goes online and makes their payment, while the amount is deducted from their account right away,
the check still has to be cut, mailed, and received by our Billing Department.
Lastly, it is normal for us to mail a paper invoice every month. However, we do give the option of E-bill Notification. If a resident signs up for this service, no paper bill will be mailed. An e-mail is sent to the resident advising that their invoice is ready. They can log online and retrieve their balance and/or invoice amount. There is no charge to sign up for E-bill or to have access to our website.
I hope this information helps. Please let me know if you need anything else.
The customer service is horrible. Prepare to be nickle and dimed to death. They have a fee for everything. Their billing system is garbage and they are terrible at giving you notifications that you need to pay your bill. Having used many different billing companies over the years, this company is by far the worst.
Mr. was invoiced for water consumption from July 2018 - June 2019. During this time period, his account was assessed 8 late fees for payments not made in a timely manner. Invoices carry an 18 day turnaround. He signed up for E-bill notification. As soon as the invoices are available online, an e-mail is sent. We removed his first late fee as a courtesy as this is our policy. 1 late fee removal per 12 months. An exception would be if we made a billing error. A resident chooses their method of payment. Mr. chose to make his payments either over the phone with a CSR or online. Yes, those methods carry a convenience charge. The charge is given up front with an option to continue. With E-bill notification, a resident (upon receiving an e-mail) can make payment arrangements through their bank at no charge (a paper check will be mailed) or submit a check/money order - no charge. In submetering, you cannot hide any charges. We chose to give residents the option of alternative payment methods that carry a convenience fee rather than increase our billing fee overall to all the residents of a property. A deactivation fee is applied in the event of closing an account. This is simply to cover the labor cost to close an account. This charge is in the billing contract between the property and Think Utility.
As I stated, your billing practices are inadequate. I opted for the emailed billing statements in an effort to increase efficiency by notifying me directly. I travel a lot for work and do not have the luxury of checking physical mail often. This was a disaster because either your emails were never sent or they were sent at different times of the month. This made it very difficult to predict when my bill would be due. I had one month the bill was sent on the 4th and another it was sent on the 14th. No consistency. I use billing services for all my other utilities and have never had a late payment. Unfortunately, your company can't figure out how to make things easy for the customer, which is supposed to be the purpose of hiring a billing company.
Very shady business.
Charges $4.30 to "produce the bill" and another $4 to use credit card.
Overstated water usage and billing
Beginning October 2018 and continuing through March 2019 my residence water gallon usage has been over billed. Having taken pictures of the old meter and the new replaced meter I have been billed for inflated usage. I was informed that my water usage was the highest of all 69 units in the complex by the property manager. Combine the fact that I was away from the residence 7- 13 days a month. The most reading is was 000003 on 2/26 to 000011 on 3/26. Prior to all this the old meter reading was 000067 TOTAL for all months!! The residence and meter were brand new I was first occupant, That is a total 670 gallons used. I was billed over 1000 mo!
I am seeking to be billed for the usage of 670 gallons 10/18 - 02/19 and the usage 70 gallons for March 2019 and a credit of all late fees while they were going to investigate.
Think Utility Services (TUS) is a billing company, we are not the actual water provider. TUS is contracted with the property to provide the service of reading each unit sub-meter, invoicing the tenants, collecting payments, and remitting water/sewer monies back to the property owner. The billing of water to the tenants is a cost recovery program for the property.
On 2/26/19, TUS replaced the water meter. The water meter recorded the correct usage. The issue was previous meter reed switch that was registering higher water consumption. The old water meter was an MJP 100. The meter head reading on 2/26/19 was 75. To come up with the consumption, you multiply the meter reading by x100 (the original meter installed was an x100 gallon meter). The actual consumption was 7,500 gallons. Attached is a picture of the old meter. From 10/28/18 - 2/26/19 Mr. was billed 22,630 gallons. The total gallons overbilled were 15,130 gallons. On 2/27/19, TUS revised the bills from 11/27/18-1/26/19. Below is a breakdown of the original invoices vs the revised invoices:
Original Bill Revised Bill
11/27/18 - 12/26/18 = 6,690 gallons 2,090 gallons
12/27/18 - 1/26/19 = 10,840 gallons 0 gallons
Total gallons credited were 15,440 gallons. For the records, attached are the revised water bills. An additional ($37.38) credit has been applied for the remainder overbilled usage (7,190 gallons).
On 3/26/19, Mr. e-mailed the TUS Customer Service Department a picture of the current meter reading. The new meter installed is an MJP 10. The meter head reading on 3/26/19 was 110. To come up with the consumption, you multiply the meter reading by x10 (the new meter installed is an x10 gallon meter). The actual consumption was 1,110 gallons. The pulse count on 3/26/19 was 108. The total usage from 2/26/19-3/26/19 was 1,080 gallons. This is in line with the meter head usage provided by Mr..
Attached, please find the balance ledger showing all the credits. TUS removed an additional $30.00 in late fees. I hope that you find this information helpful. If Mr. has any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
the meter reading was 3 to 11...so I did not use 100 gallons of water....110 gallons were used....that is the problem
I would like to speak to the customer over the phone about this complaint. If Mr. can clarify his response, I will be more than happy to assist. On 4/16/19, I left Mr. a voicemail for him to return my call. Mr. can reach me at X-XXX-XXX-XXXX.
***
Account Manager
Think Utility Services
Company overcharging on water *** and claiming that its from water leak
I am an owner of 1 *** and property manager for other ***s at grand *** complex which contracted Think Utility Services to manage the water billing for this complex . Unit *** XXXXX been overcharged on water bills company claiming there is water leak plumber was sent verified no water leak despite this fact bill still high entire toilet was replced still water bill around $1200 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment my bill is up to $4054 right now without resolutions the HOA pointing to water company and water company sending me back to HOA SEEMS LIKE THEIR ELECTONIC reading is way off just shut off main water valve to the apartment and I still been charged thats daylight robbery.
Just when I been meetings with Hoa office that keep replacing LCAM and water company on this one my water bill on *** XXXXX went up from usual around $45 a month to $170 for February bill guess what its going to be their excuse water leak .I am currently reaching out to all owners at this complex with similar problem to file a class action suit againg water company/hoa this company seem like they scam their clients also if they see that there is higher bill why they dont notify clients / turn off water and test for leak /and their billing system i.e. meter and electronic readers
Investigate and adjust bills for both units plus this Company should take immiate action to correct any of this issues in the future by working with owners to check for leaks shut off water so no more $1200 a month bill untill issue resolved and check their meter reading system
To whom it may concern,
Think Utility Services (TUS) is a billing company, we are not the actual water provider. Tampa Water provides the water to the entire property. They read their master meters and invoice the property for all the water consumed from the master meters. TUS is contracted with the Association to provide the service of reading each unit sub-meter, invoicing the owners, collecting payments, and remitting water/sewer monies back to the Association. The billing of water to the owners is a cost recovery program for the Association.
It is important to note that TUS cannot add monies to the water/sewer rates. This is illegal. TUS receives no money from the water/sewer charges.
On 3/20/19, a TUS technician tested the water meter. The meter calibration test showed that the meter is tracking the correct consumption from the unit. The meter is geared driven and cannot advance with no water running. In fact, the meter reading taken at the time of the test was 480340. The meter pulse count from 2/28/19 (meter read date) was 473640. Total usage from 2/28/19 - 3/20/19 is 6,700 gallons. The usage has gone down.
While billing issues do arise, the consumption was confirmed as accurate. How the consumption occurred is something that we simply cannot troubleshoot.
Since water sub-metering is a cost recovery for the Association, TUS cannot adjust an account unless the Association submits a written notification approving the financial adjustment. The water/sewer monies owed by each homeowner belong to the Association and not TUS. It is important to note that if TUS committed a billing error, there wouldn't be a problem in adjusting the account. In this case, the reads are showing as accurate and the consumption occurred.
Sincerely,
Saul M.
Account Manager
Think Utility Services
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As expected, Think Utility Services (TUS) do not take responsibility for their wrong installations of the Water meter and the electronic reader box found by their technician (listed to attached recording) which needed to be reinstalled and reset in order to work properly and made the correct reading. Secondly when monitoring water meter/billing for a 1 Bedroom apartment with average bill of $40-50 a month company should notice that there is a problem and notify Owner/Association and close the water until the cause of this problem found starting December 5th 2018 water bill of $1154, than January 2019 bill of $610 and Feb water bill of $336 Owner/Association never got notifications until bill reached $4054.32 that is when I paid $85 to Think services to have technician which did not find any leak at the apartment but had to reinstall water meter move electronic reader box from been installed on the meter to install it on the wall and after resetting the electronic it did passed the test...Owner should NOT being paying $4054.32 due to Think Utility Services negligent and faulty equipment Again if anyone from Grand Reserve Complex had similar problem with their water Bill please contact me at 813-951-3083 to join a class action suit against this company cheating the public.
In order to test the accuracy of the meter, we performed a water consumption test. The meter tracked 10 gallons of water and the transmitter registered 1 pulse which is 10 gallons. The important item is that the picture of the meter head MATCHES the electronic pulse count in our billing system. As a result, there is no faulty equipment. TUS has proven that the meter tested ok.
The property is sent a Prebill report each month prior to invoices being mailed to the residents. The Prebill report will list the unit number, unit owner, consumption and the charges associated with that billing cycle. Please note, the monthly water bills are being mailed to the owner's tenant Ms. Nailet V. The owner does not receive the water bills. It must be noted, we are not the actual water provider and we cannot shut the water off to a unit. Additionally, we do not close an account due to high consumption. TUS is simply a billing company that reads the meters and invoices the residents for their actual consumption.
Furthermore, I went back and reviewed the account notes. On 3/8/19, the Grand Reserve Property Manager contacted TUS and advised that this unit did have a toilet leak. This most likely is the culprit for the high usage. In addition, the balance on the account is over $4,000.00 due to sporadic payments. The last time that the account was at a zero balance was on 4/27/17. See the attached ledger.
If we had made a billing error, we would make any correction necessary. In this case, the water went through the meter. If the owner is seeking a credit he should submit the request to the Grand Reserve Homeowners Association. As previously explained, TUS cannot adjust an account unless the Association submits a written notification approving the financial adjustment. The water/sewer monies owed by each homeowner belong to the Association and not TUS.
I hope that you find this information helpful. Please know that we have been diligent in researching this owner's complaint. We have proved the usage occurred in the unit. We empathize with the owner regarding his high bill. Our first priority upon hearing his initial complaint was to verify the accuracy of the billing, which we have done. With this information, we hope to bring closure to the complaint.
Terrible company, they literally do not give you enough billing notice to pay your bill on time. It has happened twice. I have the bill paid and in the mail the same day it is received and twice, they have said it is late. It is always the last bill received of all monthly bills. The only other option is to pay online with a "convenience" fee which will cost you an extra $50 through out the year. This company is listed under the dictionary definition of scam.
We are sorry that Mr. had an issue with his invoice. We removed the late fee. The invoice turnaround is 15 days and that is part of the original agreement between Think Utility Services and the property. We are going to look into the possibility of increasing the turnaround time to 18 days. We have already reached out to the property for approval. Mr. does have online access. One suggestion is that he sign up for E-bill notification. It is free. As soon as the invoices are posted in the system, he would receive an e-mail. At that point, he can make payment arrangements either by sending a check or making an online payment through his bank. The bank will cut a physical check. All of the invoices for the property go out the same day. Unfortunately, we cannot speak for the delivery of the mail via the USPS. We believe that an increased turnaround time will help and also E-bill is a great way for quick notification on the monthly invoices. We will send an e-mail to Mr. with this information.
Think utility is fraud and intentionally overcharged the water bill.
Since the opening of my business in 2012, the water consumption has been very stable and usually pay around $80 a month for the water usage, on May 2017, think utility service (previously known as midway utility) began to produce my water invoice, since then, my water bill are incredibly high and I was forced to pay twice or even more the amount of the water charge that I typically pay. I disputed to think utility company for the bill error on July 2017 I took pictures of my water head reading to compare the usage against the transmitter signal consumption that billing me and send it to the think utility company but they did nothing. They continuously over reading and over billed. In fact, I have not been invoicing based on the actual meter reading. The existing situation is every month I got over bill and accumulated until 22 of January 2019. My water meter reading has been over calculated by 45520 gallon for about $780 overpay. I requested a full refund.
Think utility charged illegal rate. They are using local public water company (consolidated utility district)CUD rate to make their own profit. At CUD under 5000 GL water usage per thousand is $6.29; however, Think Utility charge $7.79. The water and the sewer reading are always the same.
Think utility is a ripoff, they charge me a $10 billing fee every month. They charged $3.95 fee even make a payment online.
Think utility is a terrible company, after I filed a consumer complaint against think utility to Division of Consumer Affairs of Tennessee on January 28, 2019. Case *** then on February 13, 2019, someone from the think utility company tried to steal and replace my water meter without my authorization, my water meter has no issues at all, it keep the authenticity of the readings.
I request think utility to reimbursed the over bill charge for the amount of $780. I request think utility to disclose the water rate on the water bill.
February 25, 2019
Think Utility Services (TUS) is a billing company, we are not the actual water provider. Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County provides the water to the entire property. They read their master meters and invoice the property for all the water consumed from the master meters. TUS is contracted with JLL, the management group for the property New Market at Victory Village to provide the service of reading each unit sub-meter, invoicing the retail tenants, collecting payments, and remitting water/sewer monies back to the management group. The billing of water to the tenants is a cost recovery program for the property.
On 1/25/19, the tenant provided a meter reading picture and the meter head reading shows 173,800 gallons consumed. The pulse count shows 220,098 gallons. Difference is 47,180 gallons (overbilled). However, in February 2018 the property approved a $770.75. The $770.75 credit was for water/sewer/tax. TUS gave an additional $105.00 in late fee credits. So the total credit was for $875.75. Attached is the balance ledger, you can see the credits listed in the ledger.
We would like to replace the meter equipment with a brand new meter and transmitter. Once we have 30 days of usage history from the new meter, we can go back and make additional financial adjustment if necessary. In the meantime, we *** remove any late fees that may apply to the account.
Sincerely,
Saul M.
Account Manager
Think Utility Services
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Think utility does not answer my questions
Think utility charged illegal rate. They are using local public water company (consolidated utility district)CUD rate to make their own profit. At CUD tiler rates , 5000 GL water usage per thousand is $6.29; however, Think Utility charge $7.79 even The water and the sewer reading are always the same and dose not disclosure .please find attachment
Think utility charge $10 billing fee every month , please explain
Mr. claims that he made five random payments on 2/15/18. Those payment amounts are: $151.20, $130.90, $126.63, $125.44 and $236.58. These are not payments. These are the credits that had been applied by Think Utility. If Mr. feels that he made these 5 payment amounts on 2/15/18, he *** need to provide proof of payment. If he can show that these payments were made by him and these are not credits or write offs performed by Think Utility, we *** refund immediately.
When Think Utility establishes an account, we obtain a recent municipal invoice for all the master meters on the property. This information enables us to obtain the actual/current water/sewer rates from the provider. In most cases, the municipality assesses commercial rates to a property. Attached is a copy of the city ***. Mr. is free to contact the provider directly for the rates.
At this time, we are working with the property on the meter change out.
In conclusion, Think Utility Services has explained the process in how the water/sewer rates are composed and charged to the residents. We are reading the meters once a month and billing off of the reads. We are assessing the correct water/sewer rates and invoicing our billing fee per the billing contract between Think Utility and this property.
I hope that you find this information helpful.
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Think utility give an irrelevant answer ,I didn't get any refund the credit was placed against the account on 2/15/18 was my water payment , not a water over-billed refund that I requested on Dec ,2018
The company did not return the money they had overcharged. The overcharged money from XXXX-XXXX. During this period, they were a company with deliberately more fees and rogues. They like to quibble to their customers ,look at their online negative reviews, *** know what they are like.
I never receive an initial bill but then somehow I receive a late notice bill in the mail? How do you send a late notice but never send a first notice?
I will say their new website is much more user friendly and easy to navigate, but ACH doesn't work, Debit cards won't link, and a credit card 'convenience' fee is $3.95? That's ridiculous and an outdated fee from the early 2000's before companies realized that it doesn't cost that much to process a payment. The amount I've paid in processing and late fees is another few months of utilities. If only I wasn't forced to use them through my apartment.. No focus on the customer.