Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2016 · 41 posts · 12 votes
When we purchased our two properties, the water, sewer and garbage were billed by the local municipal government. A larger water/sewer authority took over these accounts and its been very problematic. It takes over ten business days for a payment to be credited to the account. The billing sometimes arrives around 12 or 13 business days before due date, sometimes less than that. Sometimes the online billing works, sometimes it doesn't. At least four times a year, we need to call them and straighten out payments and demand to not be assessed late fees. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. A copy of the utility bills and late payment notices are also sent to our tenants also so our tenants think we don't pay those bills. Both municipalities demand that only the landlord pay the account - so the tenants have to give us the amounts for those bills. We tend to pay them before we receive their payment since it takes an excessive time for the payment to be processed.
Our own home has the same water/sewer authority and I personally take the bill down to them in person. Its the only way I can get it paid on time and not late. My husband handles the income properties bills and I'm tired of him going through this billing fiasco multiple times a year. I posted our woes on a local forum and many similar complaints. The only way to get the bills paid is to go in person. Mailing the bill or using a bill payment via bank account does not work well.
To me they seem criminally slow - who else is allowed to take over 10 business days from receipt of payment to credit the account?? What company is allowed to receive payments and not credit the right account three to six times per year?? We have confirmed with our bank that payments are sent way ahead of due date yet they keep charging us late fees. Is that legal? What can we do to get this fixed? Before we hire a lawyer, what should our strategies be?
Investor · Pittsburgh, PA USA · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 5 votes
3y
Sorry to hear of these agitators! I have somewhat similar issues down in Greene County, PA. Our water and sewer are billed separately, but both are excessively antiquated systems, and only one can be viewed online... They're so poorly set up, when you go into the third-party payment portal, you have to enter the amount you want to pay, and aren't shown what's currently due. You also can't set up automatic credit card payments... You'd have no idea it's 2023!
I'm unsure with your specific providers, but would assume your due date is the same every month for these fixed utilities. If they aren't going to permit the tenant be the point of contact on the account, you still have a few options;
First, you can take a look at your average cost for each utility over the past year, roll that (plus a slight margin) into your base rent and simply market the rentals as "utilities included."
Second, you could pin the provider down on if it's possible to have a separate mailing vs. service address; most providers should have a way of doing this, since some physical service addresses don't have direct USPS service, and instead receive mail to a PO Box.
Third, this is a bit more involved, but you can simply become regimented about not waiting for the mail (can we really trust USPS anyhow??). Schedule an "Admin" day around when the usage period ends for each service, and create a monthly recurring calendar reminder to call and get the balance due on each account. This way, you know where you stand regardless of the bill in the mail. This reduces your reliance on your tenants seeing and forwarding or forgetting the bill to you, and what could be a poorly-run Accounts Receivable department, if they are in fact not sending bills out in a timely fashion each month/period.
Fourth, if your or your husband's names are on the bills (and you don't intend to live in these properties), you could set up either temporary forwarding or file a change-of-address with USPS for your family name. This way, any bills addressed to either of your names would be forwarded to your chosen address. You can fill out that form online with USPS HERE (https://moversguide.usps.com).
I'm not a lawyer, but to my knowledge, there's no firm requirement as to how long it can take a payment to post to an account like you mentioned, but so long as you have proof of payment (credit card or bank statement showing withdrawal), you should be free from any late fees. Something I'm not entirely clear on from your post; you said you confirmed with your bank that payments are sent ahead of the due date. Does this mean you're using your bank's Bill Pay service and the bank is mailing the provider a physical check on your behalf? If so, do check what the bank's policy is on when they mail checks; whether the date you specified during setup is the mailing date or deliver-by date. For my bank, I tell them when the payment should be delivered by, and they'll adjust the mailing date to make sure it's there by at least the prior business day (relative to weekends and holidays). If you're using this method, also make sure you're receiving confirmation from your bank when those checks are being sent/postmarked, as this will help you in a case against late fees!
Unfortunately, you're ultimately not in control of how the providers run their business, so if your payments are being applied to an incorrect account, there's likely not much you can do about that. Perhaps if you're mailing a check, look to add your account number, customer ID or the property address to the "MEMO" line?
Also, if you're looking for a good way to systematize your bills and expense, consider a service like Bill.com (https://www.bill.com) to have a central location for all your bills, to help prevent expenses slipping through the cracks!
Keep us updated if you're able to improve these nuisance conditions; hopefully something here might be useful to you! Cheers, K