Richmond DPU misses its own deadline to fix billing system problems

RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond's Department of Public Utilities provided an update on its ongoing billing system problems just before 5 p.m. Friday — hours after missing its own July 31 deadline to resolve the issues and after CBS 6 reached out every day since Tuesday seeking answers.

The statement, issued jointly by the City of Richmond, software vendor Oracle and payment technology provider KUBRA, acknowledged the frustration customers have experienced since the city launched its new billing system, known as Project Synergy, earlier this year.

"We understand how frustrating these issues have been, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through them," the joint statement said.

DPU said several improvements have been made, including a decrease in call center wait times following the addition of 15 newly trained customer service agents. An additional 17 agents are set to be onboarded in August. Customers calling to start, stop or transfer service can now select Option 4 to be routed for direct assistance.

The city said 93% of online account inquiries submitted in June and July have been addressed, with the remaining 7% actively being worked. Customers with non-urgent requests are encouraged to email the department to avoid wait times.

DPU said the MyHQ and EZ-PAY payment portals have been updated and account and summary information has been corrected. Most bill formatting issues have been resolved, with the exception of duplicate meter reads, which will be corrected in the next update. Additional bill improvements related to how meter reads are displayed will be implemented over the next two weeks.

However, some problems remain. DPU said it is still verifying customer accounts that have not yet received bills and that some customer payments remain unprocessed due to missing or incorrect account numbers on checks or other payment methods.

As part of the new billing system, all customers have been assigned new 10-digit account numbers. Customers who pay through a financial institution's bill pay service should update their account number with that institution to ensure correct processing. Customers who pay through MyHQ do not need to update their account number.

Customers who believe they have a billing issue are asked to contact DPU at 804-646-4646 during normal business hours or email dpucustserv@rva.gov. Customers receiving an error or validation message when accessing MyHQ should contact the vendor directly at clientsupport@kubra.com. The latest information, including how to locate a new account number, is available at rva.gov/public-utilities/account-update.

RELATED: Richmond utility billing errors impact 15,000 accounts: 'It's all over the place'

Customers still reporting problems

The billing problems have been ongoing since June. City leaders previously said about 15,000 accounts were impacted by payment processing issues.

CBS 6 reached out to DPU every day since Tuesday seeking an update on the billing issues. The city did not respond until just before 5 p.m. Friday.

DPU previously warned customers that they may see incorrect information in their bill summary section, even though charges and payments had been correctly applied. The city said late fees tied to the issues had been waived.

Allison Miessler was among the customers who shared concerns with CBS 6 weeks ago.

"It's all over the place. It's changing constantly. So, when we don't have a clear, concise option, we just get left in the dark and wait for a late bill to come in," Miessler said.

After soliciting responses on social media, CBS 6 received multiple messages from Richmond customers within the last 24 to 48 hours reporting that problems persist. One person said they are "still having issues getting our commercial business accounts straight." Another said they are "still having issues with our business accounts after two visits to their office in Church Hill."

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