ComplaintsforBuckeye Utility Billing Services

• Initial Complaint

  03/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This past 25 of February I received I bill from Buckeye Utility Billing Services that is overcharged. I get in contact whit my leasing office and they check and say is no leaks. The meter is a new electronic one. I been try to get in contact to them but so far I have no lucks and any replay back when I been left messages whit my contact information.

  Business response

  03/08/2023

  As of 3/8/23, the resident has not left any messages or sent any emails to Buckeye Utility Billing Services about their billing concerns. On 2/25/23, the invoice sent out was for current charges of $444.48 and showing a past due amount of $203.98 totaling $648.46 due on the account. The current invoice shows usage from 12/12 – 1/17/23 2230 cubic feet in 36 days. On 2/28/23, you made a payment of $320.50, which included the $0.50 convenience fee from invoice cloud bringing the total amount due down to $328.46.  I have provided the last 6 months in invoices amounts and usages below. I have also attached a statement of the account as well. I spoke with the rental manager on 3/8/23 and she stated that no work order has been requested to have the home inspected for leaks in the last few months. The rental office stated she would have maintenance come out and inspect the home for any leaks or running toilets and send us the completed work order. They will also check the water meter to see if working properly and get the meter reads to make they are coinciding.
  
  9/25/22   $223.16    7/13 – 8/11   1350 cubic ft. in 29 days
  10/25/22   $263.05    8/11 – 9/12   1550 cubic ft. in 32 days
  11/25/22    $302.32   9/12 – 10/13   1490 cubic ft. in 31 days
  12/25/22   $337.00    10/13 – 11/15   1720 cubic ft. used in 33 days
  1/25/23    $294.66   11/15 – 12/12   1330 cubic ft. used in 27 days
  2/25/23    $444.48   12/12 – 1/17   2230 cubic ft. used in 36 days 

  We will reach back out once we have received the completed work order from the rental office. 

  Thank you,

  *****

   

  Customer response

  03/13/2023

  I want to know why is the high charging price of my sewer fee. In the answer that Buckeye water company give, mention all the water bill information. Thinks like (water uses, how much was i own and how much i pay and when i pay), but they don't explain what is the reason off the high price fee in sewer ($240.00) that is the double of what I used in water. And I spoke whit my closes neighbors and neither of then are receiving a high charge fee for sewer. I that don't have anything to do whit how much water I sepnd or if is a leak in the apartment.  I ask the maintenance guys when they came to check today 13 of March and they say the Buckeye water company is the one that need to take care of that.

  
  

  Business response

  03/14/2023

  The sewer is based on the amount of water the you use. Example if you used 800 cubic ft. in water then you are charged 800 cubic ft. in water and 800 cubic ft. in sewer. The sewer charge has 3 charges as it is not only for sewer it is also for storm water and clean river fund per the city bill for the property. This is why the rate for the sewer tends to be larger than the rate for the water with having 3 items. Please see the explanation of the blending rate billing below. 

  Per your request, we are responding to you as follows regarding your Buckeye Utility Billing Services bill. 

  There are always many questions regarding the billing of water and sewer in apartment communities.  The information below outlines specifics in regard to the billing of water and sewer at Lakes of Westdale.  If there are further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
  
  Lakes of Westdale apartment community is provided water and sewer service by the City of Columbus.
  Typically, the City of Columbus increases its rates each January.
  The City of Columbus bills water based on hundred cubic feet. One hundred cubic feet = 748 gallons of water.
  Sewer is based on water consumption. If you use 1,000 gallons of water, you are billed for 1,000 gallons of sewer. However, the rates for water are different than the rates for sewer. Sewer rates are higher due to the cost of sewer treatment.
  The billing for an apartment community is slightly different than the water/sewer billing of a single family residence.
  Built into the water cost is a service fee based on the size of the master meter. A single family home would typically have a 5/8” meter at a cost of $53.31 per month. Lakes of Westdale has a larger meter (6”) since the meter serves the entire community. A 6” meter has a cost of $407.58 per month which is prorated to the number of days in the billing cycle. Therefore, some months it is higher than $407.58 and if the billing cycle is less than 30 days, this service charge is less.
  Apartment communities are billed using “consecutive” rates rather than “residential” rates. This generally works to the advantage of the apartment community because then it is not subjected to an increased rate over 5ccf (ccf=100th cubic feet) .
  Fees for Clean River Fund and Stormwater charges are based on the impervious area of the community and therefore will be higher than that of a single family residence.
  
  Buckeye Utility Billing is an independent billing company. It is one of many around the country.
  Billing companies are used because the City of Columbus, like most water districts in the U.S., will not bill apartment residents directly for their water/sewer use.
  Buckeye Utility Billing cannot and does not bill residents for more than what they are charged by the City of Columbus. They are recovering their costs.
  Buckeye employs a “blended” rate methodology to calculate the water and sewer bills of their residents.
  A blended rate will fluctuate monthly. It is based on the total consumption of the individual sub meters in the community and the cost of the water and sewer.
  A blended rate allows the community to recapture the cost without billing residents for more than what was billed to the community.
  Buckeye employs an outside firm to monitor usage from month to month. Increased usage due to leaks, excessive use in the community, etc. are deducted prior to the rate calculation so that residents are not paying for water/sewer in these situations.
  A blended methodology is a legal and acceptable form of billing in the State of Ohio and Franklin County.
  Buckeye is allowed to charge a monthly bill or administrative fee to cover the cost of their services. This fee was approved by the PUC in the ******* case.
  
  Please let us know if you have any other questions.
  
  Buckeye Utility Billing Services
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I made a payment to buckeye utility services my bank has it setup so that everything gets paid no matter what the amount is. I get charged directly from my bank. Buckeye utility is a 3rd party utility company that doesn't run its own invoices. They claimed they are charging me fees for an nsf when that isn't true. Because of how my bank is setup. They also made claims that there was 11 digits in the number when that isn't possible. This is a known issue with Buckeye Utility, there have been reviews and complaints about this very specific thing about their banking issues and how they handle money. I would like for my $40 fees to be waived. I did not enter in any extra digits as they claim, I copied and pasted directly from my bank account so I didn't get anything wrong. I did not enter anything incorrectly at all. All they can tell me is to contact invoice cloud. They said they wouldn't wave fees no matter what. The person I spoke was extremely rude and had preconceived notions about people (in people in general) and how they would just say anything about anyone. I asked to talk to the manager and she said she was the manager. I again asked for her manager or her direct supervisor and she hung up on me. I've tried repeatedly to get someone to contact me about my bill or even trying to contact them during business hours. They are only open from 1-5 pm? This is just horrible customer service and horrible expectations of people. This was my first interaction with Buckeye Utility and it was not a pleasant one at all. They seemed to make it like it was all my fault and you should've know better. The manager also made claims that aep charged people fees all the time, I said no they don't because I have had them for several years and can show statements and exactly what was paid as proof. Which I knew she was lying to me right then an there.

  Business response

  10/19/2022

  On 10/14/22, the customer called in about his returned payment. The payment was returned for “unable to locate” and not NSF. This means the routing number or account number that the customer entered was incorrect as the customers banking institution was not able to locate the account number that they entered through the payment portal. The customer enters all his or her own information into the electronic system and the system does not add or delete any information the customer enters. Confirmed with the customer that the bank account only has 10 digits but they entered in 11 digits when making the payment. The customer stated they copy and pasted bank account so there was no way that would happen. Asked the customer if they copy and pasted an extra space possibly. Advised customer they can call Invoice Cloud who can confirm what numbers the customer entered for the payment. The phone number to Invoice Cloud is ###-###-####. The home page on the portal does state that any returned items will have a returned item fee of $40.00. When explaining this to the customer, they started to yell and I advised the customer please do not continue to yell. Buckeye Utility Billing Services does compute all the invoices. We use Invoice Cloud as a payment portal for all payments. There are online/automated phone convenience fees when making payments through the portal. There is a $0.50 fee for using checking/savings routing and account number. To use credit/debit the fee is $3.75. It was stated to the customer that many companies do charge the convenience fee to pay through the portal as the customer was stating we are the only company that charges the fees. Advised the customer that they always have the option to mail in a check or money order to avoid the convenience fees. The customer did ask for a manager and was advised they were speaking with a manager. The customer again went into yelling about the returned item and that we added the extra digit to his payment. Went over how the system works when electronically making a payment. After 20 minutes of yelling customer was told, the conversation was going to end if the yelling continued.
  
  Respectfully,
  ***** ******
  Customer Service Manager for Buckeye Utility Billing Services

  Customer response

  10/20/2022

  Buckeye Utility are the ones charging the fees, they have a repeated history of this same error and they refuse to have the company they change their practices by using data validation. In 56 reviews they have online about 40% are about their payment portal. Buckeye Utility is just shifting blame onto their customers, while not re-evaluating their own practices and procedures. I am not a customer of invoice cloud, Buckeye Utilty hires invoice cloud to manage their payment portal. Buckeye utility should be working out a solution with invoice cloud to use data validation, however they do not want to do anything about it. This same issue has been going on for years after researching the reviews online and itnis evident to me Buckeye Utility refuses to change their practices. I haven't used a payment portal in years that doesn't use data validation to verify the banking information. Each bank uses the same routing information and same digits for each and every customer. This is standard business practice. My company uses it, many other companies use it as well.

   

  In response to the manager above I asked repeatedly for the name of their direct supervisor and was refused multiple times. I asked one last time and she hung up the phone on me.

   

  This company is using outdated business practices that no one hardly uses anymore and all they want to do is just pass the fees onto the consumer. This is wrong. If Buckeye Utility is using an outside vendor to manage their payment portal, they should be reaching out to them to update their payment portal. Using outdated systems would reduce errors and complaints on both sides. 

   

  Regards,
  
  Phil Blair

  Business response

  10/20/2022

  It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure they have entered in the correct numbers not Invoice Cloud or Buckeye Utility. Yes, all banks have the same amount of digits for routing numbers, as they are 9 digits long. Bank account numbers can range from 5 to 17 digits. Invoice cloud has 2 areas to enter your bank account number to help in the reduction of entering in the wrong number. If you are copy / pasting and you copy and pasted incorrectly then you will not be able to catch entering in the wrong amount of digits. You also have to confirm that you have entered in the correct information before you click to process your payment. When paying by EFT check it does take up to 72 business hours for banks to respond to the payment. The customer entered in 11 digits when his bank account only has 10 digits causing the bank to return the payment for unable to locate.
  
  Respectfully,
  ***** ******
  Customer Service Manager
  Buckeye Utility Billing Services

  Customer response

  10/21/2022

  I am requesting that this complaint be reviewed by her manager (which this is now the 4th time I have requested this). She is not grasping the main reason for the complaint, which is why I would like to have another person look at the complaint. They choose to put everything on the customer to even blaming the customer as she told me over the phone. If you copy and paste it should not enter any extra digits, the only way this happens is if their system does it when you copy and paste. Buckeye Utility chooses to hire invoice cloud, Buckeye Utility should go to invoice cloud and request the information and or any changes they would perceive to fix. Many, many other companies are using data validation to reduce errors (even errors made by their own systems). This is a repeated issue among their customers which it seems this manager is refusing to fix. Thus, is the reason I am asking for another set of eyes on this claim.

  If this manager does not have a direct supervisor, then I am requesting that a member of oakwood management (who owns this company) review the process. Thanks,

   

  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Buckeye Utility refuses to update my last name. Even though my last name legally changed a year and a half ago, they refused to update on my billing. They refuse to remove my ex husband also.

  Business response

  04/19/2022

  Thank you for contacting Buckeye Utility Billing Services

  The account name was corrected on 4/18/22

  Customer response

  04/19/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Victoria Piasecka

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩