Billing issues plague Pflugerville customers

Chuck Profilet, vice president of SouthWest Water Co., said the issues were because of a new billing system implemented in November, but that the issue would be resolved soon.

Shifting dates

Four Pflugerville residents provided copies of their water bills to Community Impact Newspaper, and each bill showed the same pattern.

Prior to November, bills were marked with a billing date of the 10th of the month and a due date of the 10th the next month.

Starting with November's bill, however, those dates shifted. Bills dated Nov. 17, 2011, were due Dec. 3. Bills then dated Dec. 8 were due Dec. 24.

From there, customers received bills dated Jan. 17 that were due Feb. 2 and a Feb. 8 bill that was due Feb. 24.

Profilet acknowledged that the new system was still being adjusted.

"That's part of some technical difficulties we've had with the new system. With any conversion of this magnitude there are going to be some problems," he said. "Going forward, now that we have stabilized the system, we will send the bill out on the same date, give or take a day."

Profilet said the billing date will be about a week or less after the meter reading date, and that due dates will be 16 days from the billing date.

TCEQ investigation

Pflugerville residents are not the only ones experiencing billing difficulties under SouthWest Water Co., which is trying to consolidate a number of water utility companies throughout the state as Monarch Utilities.

In February, Community Impact Newspaper reported that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had opened an investigation into Monarch's billing practices. However, it appears that investigation may not include the Pflugerville area.

The investigation was triggered by a letter from a customer in Quitman, Texas. The issue there was that the local utility company had an exception to the state's local office requirement, which says that a utility company must have a local office as defined by the Texas Administrative Code within 20 miles of all of its customers. If the company does not, it can receive an exemption, as Monarch did for that area.

Under an exemption, the utility company must allow 30 days between the billing date and the due date. Utilities that do not have exceptions—and thus have local offices—need only allow 16 days between those dates.

Though the TCEQ declined to comment on a pending investigation, Janice Hayes, communications manager for SouthWest Water Co., said the issue was not relevant for Windermere customers.

SouthWest does have a local Pflugerville office in the area. By statute, that means due dates only need to be 16 days after the date the bill was issued.

All of the bills examined by Community Impact Newspaper met this requirement.

Customer service

However, the bouncing dates have confused many customers.

"I was more concerned that they were overcharging," Pflugerville resident Dale Boswell said, adding that the shifting billing periods made it difficult to gauge how much water he was using.

Boswell and Huff are just several among a number of residents who have found the issues trying. At a Feb. 28 City Council meeting, resident after resident stepped up to the microphone during public comment to register their displeasure with shifting due dates and customer service.

Mayor Jeff Coleman said he has personally received dozens of emails from residents asking for help, and Profilet acknowledged the company has received complaints.

"By changing the due date, we may have created some hardship, and we've told customers we would work with them on that," Profilet said. "Going forward, we would be willing to work with them on a case-by-case basis."

Profilet said any customer experiencing difficulties should contact customer service, adding that during the transition, the company has not charged any late fees or disconnected any services due to late payments.

However, Huff and Boswell said they contacted customer service and received less than helpful answers.

Huff said when she called to inquire about the billing dates, she was told by a customer service representative that it was due to the fact that it was a leap year.

The experience has been so frustrating, Huff said, she has considered moving.

"We've talked about moving. But if we move, we're not going to be able to sell our house [because of the water bills]," she said.

Boswell said he also found his experience with customer service unsatisfying.

"The feeling I got was that I was a bother, someone to be put off," he said.