You can't get good customer service from a monoply

I am so frustrated today!

Last August the city had to shut off our water for a day to do street repairs. When they turned the water back on it blow out our water meter. So our local water company came out and fixed. YEAH! The guy was very nice, quick, life was good.

Next came the strange billing. My water bill has always been between $22 & $30 per month. Starting in Oct. I started getting weird bills. $56, $13, $5 and then a credit. So I called the 1-800 on my bill. Apparently they were switching their billing to a new system but I should be good next month. Fine. Next month...still weird bills. Then more credits in April, May and June. I called again...now a tech is coming out.

Nice Mr. Tech guy says that they are reading my meter in Sq. Ft. but billing me in gallons and that I need to go to the local office TODAY and tell them. So I do...Here's where my story gets ugly.

The local office hates the 1-800 people because they took their jobs and are moving all the billing out of state. Why this is my problem is beyond me. So bitter local people tell me that Mr. Tech was wrong for telling me to come in and that they can't do anything until he does a report. HELLO! All I had to do was tell them that they were billing me in gallons and that the meter was in Sq. Ft. Nobody cares. They tell me to leave, they'll call on Thursday.

Thursday...no call.

Friday...I go in again. Bitter lady says that she is on the phone with corporate and that she'll send me a new bill next week. Fine.

I get home and find a message on my machine that I now owe the water company $164.78. So I call and ask why the bill is so high. I thought I had a credit. Even if they billed me $30 for the 3 months that they gave me a credit that's only $90.

Answer...Bitter lady says I should be grateful that that even fixed my account so fast and that they gave me a $110 credit as I really owed $270. At this point I asked her for a itemized bill. I want to see exactly how much water I used each month and the charge. Nope...can't do that. So I get a little irate at bitter lady and explain that I am the customer. Nope again. She tells me to be quite and let her talk. I then get a lecture about how I should be grateful that she even looked at my account and that she will send out something that says they overcharged me, gave me a $110 credit and that I owe $164.78. WHAT! Turns out my credit was really an over-charge.

I ask bitter lady if I can talk to her supervisor. On hold...bad music...Nope...She's busy but I can leave a message. So I tell bitter lady that I am going to report her to every agency I can think of...hey I'm mad. She apparently could care less.

The good news is that I did file a complaint with the utilities commission.

The bad news is that when you are dealing with a monopoly they can be as rude and nasty as they want and that just stinks. It's not my fault that they screwed up the meter and the bill, it's not my fault that they are phasing out her job, it's not my fault Mr. Tech guy told me to visit her. However bitter lady made it very clear to me that I had no right to question her and that I was the one being rude to her for demanding to see an itemized bill.

This is wrong on so many levels.