City of Austin Customer Assistance Program Summit - June 28, 2012
The City of Austin utility bill payment and
collections process is designed to give a customer a number of reminders and
opportunities to pay a utility bill and keep their account in good standing.
The amount of time between when a bill is issued
and the payment due date has been reduced from 23 days to 17 days. In addition,
the number of days between when a bill is issued and the possible disconnection
of utility services due to non-payment is being reduced slightly from 46 days
to 35 days. These changes conform more closely to industry standards and to
best practice guidelines set by the Texas Public Utility Commission.
The City of Austin bill payment and collections
process provides substantial opportunity for customers to keep their utility
account up to date. Here are the timelines for the Collections process:
Day 1- Bill issuance
date
Day 17 - Bill payment due
date
Day 21 - Delinquent notice
sent
Day 31 - Delinquent notice bill payment due date
Day 33 - 24-hour notification that services will
be disconnected if payment is not
received Day 35 - Disconnection of utility service if
payment is not
received
Options available for overdue accounts
Customers who fall behind on their utility bill
can set up a Payment Arrangement. This allows the customer to break up a
large balance due and pay part of that balance each month – along with current
monthly charges.
Customers with a good payment history may ask for
a one-time extension on a utility bill. Under this option the customer
would be simply be given additional time to pay their bill in full.
Payment convenience
Under Budget Billing a customer pays the
same amount each month. This monthly amount is determined by averaging
their utility bill costs for the previous 12-month period. Budget Billing accounts
are reviewed every six months to adjust a monthly payment that falls far below
or above actual usage. This might occur, for instance, during a summer or
winter that is much warmer or colder than normal.
A customer can also take advantage of Auto Pay.
This option can be set up by visiting www.coautilities.com
to have your bank account pay your City of Austin utility bill
automatically each month on the due date of the bill.
Why is the due date different every month? Confidence in a consistent due date is worry free.
ReplyDeleteHi, we apologize for missing your inquiry of April 4 regarding utility bill due date schedules. The number of days in a month can result in a small movement (1-2 days) of a due date, but due dates should always occur at about the same time for each billing cycle. If you are seeing big differences on monthly due dates, please send your contact information to us at socialmedia@austinenergy.com and we will investigate and report back to you.
DeleteThank you,
Pat R.
Austin Energy Social Media
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy mom is 86 years old and lives in the montopolis neighborhood (78741), she recieves her Social Security Check on the first of each month. Each month she has to pay a $20 late charge to Austin Energy because she doesn't get paid until the 1st. My brother called you guys and was told that utility due dates cannot be changed they are based on zip codes. I know a lot of my moms neighbors are low income and get monthly 1st of the month checks. Why would the city take advantage of these low income people by setting their due date on the 31st? Then she's stressed about not paying on time and in fear of having her utilities shut off. She lives like many in Austin paycheck to paycheck, her bill is about $400 each month thats over 60% of her income, so $20 dollars is a big deal to her. What can we do to change the due date, just one more day would be helpful. Please advise. Thank you. Hope Degollado
ReplyDeleteHi Hope,
DeleteIf you would like to email your contact information to us at socialmedia@austinenergy.com, a senior utility customer service specialist will be in touch with you to assist with the account matter you have described. Thank you for reaching out to us from our blog site.
Sincerely,
Your Austin Energy Social Media Team