Tannehill Sewer System 03/28/2016 a member of the ēco-preservation Services Group (printable version) Billing Questions Please visit our website www.tannehillsewer.com for the latest version of this document When is a Security Deposit required for my sewer account? After March 31, 2016, a Security Deposit as set forth in the Sewer Rate Schedule will be required for; a) all new customers that accept a deed to their property, b) any customer that has filed a bankruptcy petition, c) any customer that has been subject to a Late Fee three times within a twelve month period, or d) or any customer that has received a Disconnect Notice. Until the required Security Deposit is paid, utility service to the property may be interrupted. Who is responsible for paying the sewer bill? Probate in the county where your property is located. If sewer service charges and assessments are not paid, they become a lien against your property. Any subsequent owner that accepts a deed also inherits the sewer debt. If you have a renter or if your property is vacant this rule still applies. When is my sewer bill payment due? Payments must be received by our Payment Processing Center on or before the 25 th day of each month (Please allow 3-5 days for normal U.S. Postal Mail delivery). Late Fees and Finance Charges are assessed thereafter. When sewer service charges and assessments are not paid in full, they become delinquent and are subject to Late Fees and Finance Charges; utility service to your property may be interrupted and your account turned over to the Attorneys for further action. What if I need to get a payment to you in a hurry? For Customers who need to get payments to us quickly, payments can be sent direct to our Payment Processing Center through the U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail Express for overnight delivery. You should then Email the tracking number to Customer Support. Remit your payment to: Tannehill Sewer Fund P. O. Box 1063 Leeds, AL 35094 Note: FedEx and UPS do not deliver to a post office box. Payments are credited to your account on the date received, and checks/drafts will usually be processed within 24-48 hours of the date received. Payments are not processed on weekends or legal bank holidays. What if my payment is not honored by my bank? You will be charged a Returned Check/Draft Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule. Late Fees and Finance Charges will then apply as if the payment was never made. How are payments credited to my account? Typically, payments are applied first to the oldest outstanding assessment. Page 1 of 5
Why am I still getting a sewer bill, when we have sold our house? If an Assessment Letter was issued to your closing agent prior to the closing, we may have not yet received the required payments and proper documents. Until the required payments and proper documents are received by our Payment Processing Center, both you and the new owner are responsible for the debt, including any additional sewer service charges, assessments, Late Fees and Finance Charges. We suggest that you contact Customer Support, your real estate agent, the closing agent and the new owner to insure the required payments and proper documents have been remitted. I just purchased my house, why have I not yet received a sewer bill? If an Assessment Letter was issued to your closing agent prior to the closing, we may have not yet received the required payments and proper documents. Until the required payments and proper documents are received by our Payment Processing Center, both you and the prior owner are responsible for the debt, including any additional sewer service charges, assessments, Late Fees and Finance Charges. We suggest that you contact Customer Support, your real estate agent, the closing agent and the prior owner to insure the required payments and proper documents have been remitted. Do you pro-rate sewer billing? We do not pro-rate sewer service charges and assessments between buyers and sellers, they are assessed against the property, much like property taxes and fire dues. Typically the contract agreement between buyer and seller determines which party is responsible and how such amounts are to be pro-rated between the parties. If you are the new owner of the property and there remains an outstanding balance, by accepting the deed you inherit this debt. I own the property, but have moved and the property is vacant, why do I still have to pay a sewer bill? Sewer utility service is considered to be an always on utility and the legal owner is still responsible for all sewer service charges and assessments for the property. Sewer service charges and assessments are assessed to your property regardless of occupancy status and regardless of water usage or interruptions. Why are sewer service charges and assessments charged to my property even if my water service has been locked out? Sewer utility service is considered to be an always on utility and the legal owner is still responsible for all sewer service charges and assessments for the property. Sewer service charges and assessments are assessed to your property regardless of occupancy status and regardless of water usage or interruptions. What if I want to question a charge on my sewer bill? If your sewer bill has a charge that you believe is incorrect, you should first read all of the information available on our website regarding billing, collections and frequently asked questions. If you do not find the answer to your question there, you should contact Customer Support. If you then wish to dispute a charge you should first pay your outstanding sewer bill in full to avoid Late Fees, Finance Charges and other assessments, and avoid having utility service to your property interrupted. You should then send a written request (or Email to Customer Support) as to the nature of your dispute and why you feel that you should not have received the specific charge in question. You also should include your name, account number, service address, Email address, and contact phone number. You will receive back from us a final determination response, in writing (or by Email), regarding the disputed charge. If it is determined that you were charged incorrectly, you will receive a credit to your account for the disputed charge and any other charges resulting from the disputed charge. Page 2 of 5
What if I did not receive credit for my payment? If you have made a payment that is not reflected on your sewer bill then it may have been received after the billing date. You should contact Customer Support. They will need your name, account number, service address, email address, contact phone number, check number, check date, check amount and the bank it was drawn on. If your payment was misposted (which sometimes happens with the volume of transactions we handle) it will be corrected and you will receive a credit for your payment and any charges resulting from the clerical error. If Customer Support cannot locate your payment, you will need to obtain from your bank a copy (front and back) of your check and forward to Customer Support for further investigation. If Customer Support cannot locate your payment, you should immediately contact your bank and put a stop payment on the check and overnight mail your payment to our Payment Processing Center to avoid additional Late Fees, Finance Charges and other assessments, and to avoid having your utility service interrupted. What if there are charges on my sewer bill from the previous owner? We do not pro-rate sewer service charges and assessments between buyers and sellers, they are assessed against the property, much like property taxes and fire dues. Typically the contract agreement between buyer and seller determines which party is responsible and how such amounts are to be pro-rated between the parties. A title search should have listed the recorded Utility Services Agreement as an exception and the closing agent should have requested an Assessment Letter to verify if there were outstanding assessments against the property at the time of closing. If you are the new owner of the property and there remains an outstanding balance from the previous owner, by accepting the deed you inherit this debt. You must pay your sewer bill by the 25 th of each month, including any inherited balance, to avoid Late Fees, Finance Charges and other assessments against your property, and eventual interruption of utility service to your property. You may be able to recover some or all of these expenses from your real estate agent, the closing agent, the former owner, or by filing a claim with your title insurance company. We suggest that you retain independent legal counsel to advise you on what legal rights you do and do not possess. I own the property, but have a renter that is supposed to pay the sewer bill? Probate in the county where your property is located. If sewer service charges and assessments are not paid, they become a lien against your property. If you have a renter or if your property is vacant this rule still applies. We suggest that if your property is occupied by a renter, that you change the billing address for your sewer bill to be sent to your new address. You should pay your sewer bill by the 25 th of each month and then collect from your tenant for the sewer utility services for your property. Otherwise, you run the risk that your tenant may not make timely payments, resulting in Late Fees, Finance Charges and other assessments charged to your property; and the risk that utility service to your property may be interrupted, a Claim of Lien filed and your property foreclosed upon to satisfy the debt; and you could be left unaware until it is too late to avoid substantial penalties or loose ownership of your property. What if I want to change the name on my sewer account? Probate in the county where your property is located. To change the name on the sewer account you should order an Assessment Letter. The account must be paid current, and we must be provided with a copy of the recorded deed to the new owner(s) of record. What is the 'Late Fee' on my bill? If your account is not paid-in-full and received by our Payment Processing Center on or before the 25 th of each month, your account will be assessed a Late Fee in the amount set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule. Late Fees are not charged against outstanding Late Fees, however; if you have other outstanding sewer service charges and assessments a Late Fee will be assessed. Failure to receive a bill does not waive sewer service charges and assessments, Finance Charges or Late Fees. Page 3 of 5
What is the 'Finance Charge' on my bill? A Finance Charge will be assessed to your account for each sewer service charge and assessment not paid within 60 days from the date of the assessment at a rate as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule. Finance Charges are not assessed against outstanding Finance Charges. What is the Utility Service Transfer Fee on my bill? Each time a property changes ownership or each time a billing name or address is changed, you will be assessed a Utility Service Transfer Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule to offset the administrative cost to change and verify our records and update your property file. What is the Deed Search Fee on my bill? If you purchased your property without the closing agent first obtaining an Assessment Letter and/or the required payments and proper documents were not remitted to our Payment Processing Center, you will be assessed a Deed Search Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule to offset the administrative cost to obtain a copy of your recorded deed from the Office of the Judge of Probate in each county where your property is located. What is the Excess Pollutant Charge on my bill? If your property has a commercial kitchen, or if we have indication that the sewer discharge from your property exceeds the pollution content of normal domestic household wastewater, a sample of your sewer discharge will be taken on a periodic basis and sent to our testing laboratory for analysis of the pollutant content. If any of the pollutant parameters exceed normal levels, you will be assessed an Excess Pollutant surcharge as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule, plus the cost of monitoring and laboratory analysis. What is the Disconnect/Collection/Lien Notice Fee on my sewer bill? If your unpaid balance is over your credit limit, or, if you have an outstanding charge that is 65 days old and remains unpaid or unresolved, the utility service to your property may be interrupted, a Claim of Lien may be filed against your property and your property foreclosed upon, and you may be subject to a personal court judgement for the outstanding debt, plus attorney fees and process cost. A Disconnect/Collection/Lien Notice Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule is for the administrative cost of notifying you that such actions are pending. What is the Certified Delivery Fee on my sewer bill? Some notices require delivery in person or by Certified Mail or by a nationally recognized delivery service (such as FedEx or UPS) to the Property Address. A Certified Delivery Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule is for the administrative cost for such delivery. What is the Collection File Referral Fee on my sewer bill? If your unpaid balance is over your credit limit, or, if you have an outstanding charge that is 65 days old and remains unpaid or unresolved, or, if you file for bankruptcy, your account will be referred for Collection actions to be taken. A Collection File Referral Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule is for the administrative cost of duplicating and preparing your account file for delivery to the Attorneys. What is the Assessment Letter Fee on my sewer bill? An Assessment Letter is a certified statement of the outstanding amounts and status of sewer charges and assessments against your property; this is usually required when a sale takes place so that the closing agent may pro-rate charges between buyer and seller. Otherwise, by accepting a deed to the property, the buyer inherits the seller s unpaid debt. An Assessment Letter Fee as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule is for the administrative cost to research, prepare and deliver this estoppel certificate. Page 4 of 5
What is the Inspection Fee on my sewer bill? Any time an inspection or re-inspection is required under the Wastewater Standards, rules and regulations, or if you request an inspection of your property, an Inspection Fee is charged as set forth in the current Sewer Rate Schedule. Page 5 of 5