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This company supplies water to our subdivision. The trouble started back in December of 2007. They disconnected my neighbors water to turn on water at one of my properties. I have continuously made contact to try to resolve this. I am continuing to get several bills for the neighbor that is next door to mt rental property and also for a residence that has no meter in it. They have recently decided to change the company Name to ECHO Resources. I spoke with a new employee when thet raised the prices and never informed me by mail on the rate increase prior to it going into effect. The new employee stated that the funds where in controversy and reapirs were needed to update the equipment and the previous account for that funding has been use in adequatelt so they have to go to the board to permently increase the rates and until they do these prices wil remain in effect until a decision is made but that is the only way that they can recoup the funds to do more upgrades. I have bills for two properties that we do not own and to which one has no meter at all.
I spoke with them again today and after several attepts to get this resovled for 3 months now. One bill that belongs to another account whix has no meter there at all is for $102.27 and for the one that was for the resident next to mine is $0.40. I run all over the reps and finally was giving a supervisor and she disconnected me 2 times and stated that she had no idea why this was continueing as she made a ticket 3 months ago on this. And that she would have to contact me back when they could figure out what was going.
My main concern is that they also do this to eldery people that have a fixed income more so then I do.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Agree, this company, doesn't seem to have it together at all, recently, in the last three months, our family received water bills for $83.00, $124.00, and another for $97.00, one bill meter reading said we used 19, 000 gallons of water!, several service calls and calibrations revealed that no leaks were present. I have called the water company several times and it was revealed that the meters are not be read at all some months and that they are compiling usage. There are Tier scaled rates and this shows large mass of usage like this. Also, they will not forward a person through that attempts to call the President or Vice President of the company, nor will the billing coordinators get on the phone with you. When asked does the President or CEO of the company care, The reply was that they have nothing to do with the billing. So my reply was so your CEO, President and Vice President have no control of what is going on with their company, what I see is that they are not going to do anything but have us keep paying these outrageous prices, until we as customers uncover what is happening and get enough people involved to stop this type of treatment.
Oh, I couldn't agree more. I live alone, do maybe 2 or 3 loads of laundry a week, DON"T water my yard, and still my water bills (with the latest new rates) are right at $120.00 a month. This is insanity and I can't believe that they can charge this kind of rate. I live in the community of blue mound and if you have ever been there you know that this is not anywhere near being a wealthy community. There are a lot of older people and people with moderate incomes here and this is nothing short of highway robbery as far as I'm concerned. I am going to be selling my house soon and it won't be any too soon for me. the way I figure it 1/2 of my monthly water bill that I pay now can go towards a new house payment.
My blood pressure goes up every time I get my water bill.
TO TOP THINGS OFF! MARK A. SWATEK ACCORDING TO BUSINESS WEEK SOUTHWEST WATER COMPANY PROFILE EARNS $450, 000 A YEAR - YES THAT'S RIGHT $450, 000 A YEAR! AND MICHAEL QUINN MAKES $253, 500 A YEAR.
Hey, I have an idea, Mr Quinn and Mr Swatek - why don't you take a little pay cut so us poor folks aren't going hungry so we can have water?
we need to get the news out about this company ripping customers off. call channel 7 news on our side i am calling today join me in making these calls take a stand
t as a communityhis was my first time having a problem with thr co but i have never been treated so rudely in my life.my bill was $383 that happen due to a leak and not being able to get a tech out to my home;if u live n gp this wtr co is all u hve they are screwing us cuz we hve no whre else to go;we need 2 band together
i live in blue mound and its been 4 months my bills range from145. to 130. a month and just got a termination notice called them and they told me the money posted oct 10, 2010 but the still need proff it was sent. They are raping the citizens of blue maound and then offer bad service when you ask about anythiong.
I am a transplant from the beautiful state of WASHINGTON, (the HIGHEST taxed state). What I saw right off the bat (here) was that when TEXAS stops voting RED/TEA you will end much of the crooked established GOOD OL BOY run monopolitic business's. In Washington State my water bill was NEVER over $50.00 a month, I used allot of water as I had a small fruit hobby farm and 2 acres of lawn which I kept green YEAR ROUND, and that was BEFORE I signed up for the FEDERALLY MANDATED Disabled Veteran's discount. (This mandate is for ALL DISABLED) My water was then lowered dramatically to $.07 cents PER UNIT. Texas always has a BIG TALK and NO WALK approach to everything from illegals, to lower income residents. WE as the TAX-PAYER must band togethor and VOTE RIGHT. Thats where the beginning of the beginning begins. Texans, as with ANY peoples of ANY state, will continue to be preyed upon by the "POWERS" If we want change WE HAVE TO SHOVE IT DOWN THIER THROATS----------------TOGETHOR or sit back and allow Big Business to milk us like so many cattle.
Osborn
100% Disabled American Vietnam Veteran
I live in Granbury TX. Came home yesterday to a lock on my meter! Called to see what their reason was and it was for nonpayment. Uh, my $90.00 payment cleared my bank out on the 22nd of December. I also had a confirmation number for my payment. I was told to call back during business hours and that they could do nothing because it was "not an emergency". I called 3 different #s and got the same answer with all of them. They claim to not see my payment at all in their system. Called back this morning at 8am. They now, all of a sudden, can see my payment but say that the payment should have been for $95.00, not $90.00. REALLY? Even if that was true, which it is not, why would someone shut off my water over $5.00? It could have been added to my next bill! I pay online and I pay what I owe. Why would I have not paid the $5.00 extra? Now they have tacked on a $5 LATE FEE for my "$5 balance" and are charging me $25 to remove the lock and turn the water back on! I AM FURIOUS! I contacted Austin ( Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and filed a complaint with them and they are trying to help me by contacting Monarch/Southwest Waters to resolve my issue. That # is [protected] if anyone else would like to file a complaint. I spoke to Carmella.
Yearly, Monarch/Southwest Water never reads their meters and then we end up with astronomical bills and they often just let us run completely out of water. Now they want to shut my water off over $ 5.oo?!
I also live in Blue Mound. My water bill ranges from $156.00 to $167.00. They DO NOT go out and check the meter at all. It just seem like they just raise my bill by $10.00 or so one month then the next month the lower it just to make you think that they are checking the meter. For one, we are at work all day and by the time we get home afterwork we are there maybe and hour and gone about 2 to 3 hours and on the weekends hardly at home. As of today, I have been without water for 3 days now. They came and took my meter, when my husband got home he realized there was no water and went to see if something was wrong with the meter and notices it was gone. He called me to let me know and called the water company the office was already closed so I talke to a gentlemen in customer serives (after hours) and informed me that the meter was taken off because the house was vacant. Hello...the house is not vacant otherwise I wouldn't be calling. He also, informed me that our water had been cutoff since the 2nd of December. Which was also not true. Believe me, if the water had been disconnected I would have called them right away and that goes to show you if they really go out and check the meter they would have noticed that the meter was still running. I was really furious and upset with them. Which I let them know. Didn't use any bad language which I was really biting my tongue. I was on the phone with them for about and hour and was late to work not including them 20 minutes it takes them to answer the call. I was told that I had to set up another account again in order to get the meter put back on. While I was doing that, the lady is asking all these questions for a new account and then (goes to show you how smart their employess are) she asks me what the address is where the meter it going. I told her, your kidding me right. She said, No. Lady, what address had I been calling you to tell you we had not water, Duh! They informed me that it would take 24 hours for the meter to be put back on and water running. Come on people, Blue Mound is not that big. I was raised in Blue Mound and when I got married I wanted to move back there. Now, I just want to move out only because of this Water Company. Monarch Utilities Co...SUCK...
srodriguez
I live in Joshua Tx in a small house. Over the past 13 months, my average water use has been around 6 thousand gallons. Since they put in these new meters, my water bill this month showed I used 17, 000 gallons of water which is OUTRAGEOUS, and I have NO WATER LEAK. I called and complained that there was NO WAY i used that much water, and complained that my bill was almost 200.00 for that amount of water, which I know my family did not use. All they did was give me tips on how to conserve water. So now, I am stuck paying for 17, 000 gallons of water which I know I DID NOT USE. My mother told me that when I was growing up at home, their water bill was NEVER FOR THAT MUCH WATER, and my parents had a huge house, and a sprinkler system that ran 3 times per week. I asked the representative to explain to me how my usage could go from around 6 thousand gallons a month to 17, 000 gallons. I told her that the meter had to be misread. Got nothing but an argument and a lecture on how to conserve water. So now, We are not taking showers, we are eating off paper plates so we do not have to run the dishwasher, and are going to see if our next months bill goes down or not. In the meantime, I'm stuck paying this outrageous bill when I know I did not use that much water. Where do we all go from here? Someone needs to stop this outrageous robbery that is going on from this company. M. Garrison
This water company is the worst... I lived in a house with a hair salon in the back yard that ran 5 days a week on top of having 4 adults living in the house and my water bill was never over $60. Now I live with my wife and 1 adult child if a smaller house and my lowest bill here has been $95. When looking at the bill we get charged for usage and a base which makes no since at all. The other 3 water companies I have used in the past all had a base of anywhere from $18-$24 but once your bill got over that the base went away. This should be illegal but we have no choice for water except this freaking company. I can't wait to move
I'm 67 years old evey month I call to read the meter, in person the meter reader manually read the meter on June The 7 the they supposedly, they read it on the June the 10 the of June 2 days later. They monarch claimed I used 4000 gallons. in two days. I left town . came back July 2 only to find my water turned off. I called monarch, , they claimed they would call me back, I'm still waiting, I had a child with me, Called the police. They never called. Turned them in to the water commission., I have faxed two bills with the reading of meter. I believe, Monarch was not happy because I turned them in to the water commission. Next I will have to call Chanel on my side.
Monarch water has flooded our property eight times in the last ten years. Ruined our garden and the flooding caused our front porch to crack and settle. Our bill is around $80.00 every month with only my wife and I live here. Also, the local water plant is directly to our south about 150 feet away. Every time there's a leak in the neighborhood and repaired, our water runs brown for a good hour if we leave the water running. Additionally, eight times or so within a ten year period, the main water inlet pipe bursts which runs underground parallel with our property line. Often when this occurs, they leave ditches on our property from vehicles. We also can't drink this unhealthy water and barely can stand taking a shower. Of all our utility problems we've ever had, Monarch water is by far the top of our list. It is truly a sad situation. Us consumers should get together and file a lawsuit against Monarch. Petitions need to be signed and sent to the water commission. I understand problems that utility companies have but this is ridiculous with no comparison to electric, cable, phone, etc. Something surely needs to be done.
Count me in
I live alone and last month got a $1016.32 water bill. It had 2 readings. I called and told them I never had over $100 in the last 2.5 years so asked what changed. Seems they changed the register and glass cover. I wrote a letter with a good faith payment of $100.00 and then talked to them when I received the next months bill. The meter had dropped down to $94.00. So they were trying to tell me that the previous month I used excessive water. I checked the lawn and every faucet. Nothing there. No sign of even a drip. So I think when they changed out the register, they twisted the numbers to spike the bill to $1, 016.32...They gave me this song and dance about the meter being right as Engineers came out and checked it. Well, of course they wont let me see the old meter. What can I do?
I am also fighting the same situation and they are claiming they can't test the original register because it was already sent back. I filed the complaint 4 months ago so of course it's gone. Now I'm pounding the keys to see about finding out how to properly sue them and will gladly let you know when I figure it out.
I got a bill for $468 for water used from June 15th to the 21st. I did not use any water on those days because I was in the hospital. I tried to reason with Monarch but they were not interested in helping
The definition of extortion is to take funds by force. In my opinion, this is what this company is guilty of. Yes, highway robbery is a good term. But I'm uncertain this is actually a law. I've contacted several different attorney's. Most will not get involved, the one's who will charge way too much money for my wallet. Which I don't understand because this would become a class action suit quickly. I also contacted legal aid, who also would not get involved. Still trying to find a attorney on a contingency basis. I've done some research on the tariff junk. There are several states and water companies who employ this tariff. A tariff is a tax, plain and simple, we are being taxed an excessive amount to have water and/or waste water provided to our homes. In Texas, the Public Utilities Commission has approved this tariff to be collected by private/non profit corporations. Thus far, I have not been able to determine if Southwest/Monarch Water is certified as non profit. However, Southwest water has a on-going suit against them for securities fraud. Which means, they have shareholders and this is not allowed by a non profit company. I firmly believe, our complaints should be directed to the Texas Utilities Commission rather than the water company itself. Actually the water company is legally charging their prices, it's the TUC that's allowing them to do so.