RICHMOND, Va. — Months after city leaders called Richmond's Department of Public Utilities new utility billing system launch a success, thousands of Richmonders are still reporting problems from payments not showing up to duplicate bills and confusing account balances.
Allison Miessler is one of the customers dealing with billing errors.
"I discovered I had two accounts, and one listed over $600 and the other about $100 so I was very confused," Miessler said.
She said she didn't know anything was wrong until her mother urged her to check her account. Instead of one familiar account, she found two and a balance that didn't make sense.
The Richmond Department of Public Utilities says some customers may see incorrect information in the bill summary section, even though charges and payments have been correctly applied.
The city says late fees tied to these issues have been waived, and postcards with new 10-digit account numbers will be issued the week of July 13.
Watch: Richmond restricted woman’s water flow over erroneous $3,000 bill
But for Miessler, the confusion hasn't let up.
"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.
Miessler and other customers say they have also struggled to get answers from city leaders, describing long hold times and difficulty reaching customer service.
"My brother can't access his account at all, and has tried to call a number of times to talk to somebody, and nobody answers, or he can't get an answer," Miessler said.
City leaders say about 15,000 accounts were impacted by payment processing issues.
I reached out to DPU to get answers about customers saying payments weren't posting to their accounts even though DPU had received payments, hours-long customer service wait times, and overall billing issues still lingering despite the city's claims of a fix and received this response:
The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recognizes the longer than normal wait times for our Call Center, due to high call volume. DPU is committed to providing updates to our customers. To avoid long wait times, we encourage customers to:
- Read updates [rva.gov] on our billing system to see if their concerns are known issues and being addressed
- Use the online Account Lookup Tool [rva311.com] if looking for their new 10-digit account number
DPU appreciates customers' patience as these final system updates are completed, and reminds customers to be on the lookout for a postcard with key reminders next week.
DPU leaders say they are working with software and payment vendors to fix the remaining problems and expect all known issues to be resolved by July 31. If you are still experiencing billing issues, you are urged to contact Richmond DPU.
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