Delays in customers receiving their utility bills has spurred Greenville Utilities into action. GUC is taking steps to reduce the effects on customers from the historic delays the United States Postal Service is experiencing.
“We have had reports of customers receiving their bills not just late, but several days after their bill is due,” said Scott Mullis, Interim Director of Customer Relations. “In checking with our billing servicer, we confirmed that some batches of bills have been delayed in the mail. We don’t want to penalize customers for a situation they can’t control, so we have been looking for ways to help them.”
First, GUC is adjusting their billing software so customers who are about to be charged late fees in the next few weeks will not be charged those fees. Next, staff is working on an individual basis with customers who have received late fees in the past few weeks. GUC will also be monitoring batches of mail to identify if any are likely delayed and will send an automated call to those customers letting them know their bills may be late.
“We have been in contact with other utilities who are experiencing the same issue,” said General Manager / CEO Tony Cannon. “Our hope is that the delays will not last very long, but we wanted to be proactive and find ways to help our customers as soon as we realized there was a problem.”
GUC is also encouraging customers to manage or check their account online. Customers can access it any time, not just when they are expecting a bill. Please note – because GUC has a new online system with enhanced account management tools, customers will first need to create a new online account (even if they had an account in the previous system). More information.
###