Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Pinellas County Utilities's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Pinellas County Utilities

  14 S Fort Harrison Ave Clearwater, FL 33756-5105

• 

  Pinellas County Utilities

  PO Box 1780 Clearwater, FL 33757-1780

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/09/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  December 2023 I received a water utility bill for ****** gallons billed. That amount is almost triple any bill I have ever received in my home living there for 15 years, including when I had my pool resurfaced so it was drained completely and refilled. One billing cycle prior to this ****** gallon charge, I had received an assistance credit from a non profit org totalling around $700 for ********** assistance with water utilities. The ****** gallon charge absorbed the entire credit amount. I called PCU with concerns because I thought I had a leak. No leaks detected. They assured me the meter reader had read my meter in person, however my meter box was completely buried in dirt with no signs of disturbance. I said they were acting very dishonest about this situation and the supervisor became defensive because their story wasnt aligning with the physical evidence presented. Since then Ive not received a water bill even close to half that amount of water. I believe *** took the ***** amount for themselves instead of allowing me to utilize the full amount *****ed to my account. If the ***** was over the amount allowed for one account they should have returned the remaining amount to the non profit for someone else to use. Falsely billing a customer to use up a ***** meant for assistance to ********** families is wrong.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Towards the end of 2024 I discovered a leak in the pool and it needed to be drained for an examination by the leak company.They repaired and refilled the pool. I called Pinellas County Utilities to explain and they said to forward the repair invoice and state that you had to refill the pool with your water from the property in which I did. They also said not to pay the invoice until the issue is reviewed which at a future date, was told I would receive a credit towards my water bill.I spent a long time on hold and was told i would not receive more than $25 towards the ******* average bill is $150 every other month. This timeframe was $363 so i asked for a fair amount of $200 I have resided at this residence for 20 years and always paid on time, meanwhile, a friend in another community, who is not homesteaded, had a similiar issue with his sprinkler system and received $145 as a credit.Very unfair. My billing invoice # is ************ I have attached the repair bill that I also sent to PC.Hopefully I can get some resolve here.Sincerely,****** ******* ***********

  Business Response

  Date: 05/29/2025

  Pinellas County Utilities does not provide an adjustment to a customer due to a pool fill so a leak can be found.  The only adjustment we will provide is a credit if the customer is charged with a conservation fee due to using higher than their normal average consumption up to $25.00.  In this particular case, the customer received a credit of $6.00, which has already been adjusted to the customer's account.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/28/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Description of Complaint:In January, I was out of the country and did not receive my utility bill for water. Upon returning home, I found a paper bill along with a notice stating that payment was late. I immediately contacted customer service and paid the bill in full as soon as I was made aware of it.However, my next bill included additional late fees. I attempted many times to resolve the issuecalling customer service, sending emails, and submitting inquiries through the companys website portalbut received no response. After several weeks without any follow-up and with the next bill now due again, I paid the amount owed excluding the disputed late fee, and sent another email explaining the situation. Again, I received no **************, I received a letter stating that I have defaulted on payments and am now being required to pay a deposit. This is unfair and frustrating, as the issue stems from not receiving my initial bill, which is the responsibility of the utility company, not mine. I have made more than enough attempts to resolve this and even asked for my concern to be escalated to a supervisor, yet Ive heard nothing back. I was as also trying to set up autopay which I stated in my emails but wanted to resolve this billing issue before I did so. Desired Resolution:I am requesting that all late fees and penalties related to this issue be waived, and that the requirement for a security deposit be removed. I would also like to set up autopay going forward to avoid similar issues and thus rendering a security despot unnecessary. I am eager to resolve this matter amicably and quickly!

  Business Response

  Date: 05/29/2025

  This complaint has been addressed.  The Late fees have been reversed, and the customer has been placed on ACH (AutoPay).

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/27/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My husband (an army veteran) and I have submitted a leak reimbursement request for our Dec-Feb billing cycle multiple times. The first time was via ***********************************************************************************************************************, and then I called in May to check on the progress and was told there was no record of my submission and they instructed me to email the documentation directly to ********************************************* **** times I provided a copy of the Dec-Feb bill as well as documentation of repair by a licensed plumber.We still have not heard back from anyone about this matter, received no reimbursements, and we closed on the sale of this condo on July 22, 2024, so we are no longer the owners of ********* addition, the "Move Out" request we submitted in July for disconnection of services upon close of sale was not properly processed and I was just auto-billed erroneously for the July-September utilities at this address. I would like to know when I can expect a reimbursement for the Dec-Feb leak as well as the cost of July-Sept utilities due to Pinellas County failure to disconnect. Our forwarding mailing address for reimbursement, etc. is:**** ****** ************************************** ************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  During Covid Pinellas County Utilities charged me massive penalties for falling behind on my bill. The second time I fell behind on my bill in June of 2022 due to falling ill from Covid, they disconnected my water, forcing me to go and live with relatives. During this period, they continued to bill me monthly even though my water was cut off. Additionally they began charging me interest. I cannot live in my home without this basic human need - water - and they are insisting I pay nearly $1000.00 to get it reconnected. I am now facing homelessness due to this issue.They refuse to work with me and disconnected my water for a $148 bill despite the fact that they are holding a $215 deposit. All of the utility assistance programs I'm eligible for are unreachable and/or out of funds.They are a municipality that I cannot file a complaint against with the ********************************* or the Secretary of State so I have little recourse and they have zero accountability which is how they get away with and feel comfortable charging people for not using their services.If you read page 2 of the bill, you can see zero usage which I can demonstrate back to June 2022, the interest being charged and the deposit being held.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2024

  I do not see where this customer was charged massive penalties due to being behind on her payments.  This customer was charged one late fee in January 2020 of $9.81 due to a past due bill.  No other fees were charged during this period.  During September 2021, this customer was charged a late payment fee of $11.46 and a preterm fee of $18.  The late fee was reversed as a one-time courtesy.  She was charged another late payment fee in November 2021 in the amount of $13.45 and a preterm fee of $18.  In addition, we requested a security deposit of $215 due to 2 preterm fees within a 24-month period.  This is standard practice within the Utilities Industry with delinquent account activities.  The deposit is held for a period of two years and released with a good account payment history or applied towards the final bill.  Customer was provided with phone numbers for ********************** for financial assistance.  In January 2022, the customer was charged a late fee of $12.75 and a preterm fee of $18. She was disconnected for non-payment with a fee of $21.  She made payment and was reconnected with a fee of $16. 
  
  In March 2022 we received a partial payment guarantee from Daystar for $115.  We contact this customer by phone and email as a courtesy on June 2, 2022, to make her aware of a small past due balance that needed to be paid prior to June 7th to avoid termination of services.  Payment had not been made, so her services were disconnected on June 7, 2022. A lien was placed on account number ************ under the name of ***************************** as of 01/23/23 due to non-payment with two billing periods,four months, remaining unpaid.  The only fees that have applied to this account is the lien processing fee of $23 and lien interest. We are billing water,sewer, and backflow at this property. The charges billed are base charges only due to no usage.  

   The Board of County Commissioners approved Resolution ***** adopting revised retail billing practices, which included the water base charge for the County water system.  Base charges are assigned to capture the cost to the County for providing water availability to a customer.  We have fixed operational costs that continue whether the water service is on or off.  We assess these costs equally among all customers.  Fees charged to our customers must fund all costs incurred. ****************** is self-supporting,deriving its revenues solely from the services we provide.  Pinellas County Utilities receives no Ad Valorem taxes or any funds from the County General fund.

  Pinellas County Resolution ***** requires that base charges continue to bill to the owner of record until the property changes ownership.  Pinellas County Utilities levies base charges for services provided such as water, sewer, backflow, and reclaimed water.  These charges are part of a customer's bi-monthly bill and do not stop billing when water is disconnected.  The charges continue to bill to the legal owner of the property until a Certificate of Title or Deed is issued to the new owner.  Unpaid Utility charges are lienable and follow the sale of the property from owner to owner.  We will continue to bill this customer the base charges until there is a Certificate of Title or Warranty Deed either of which would indicate a change of ownership. Pursuant to Board approved policy, we will stop billing the base charges as soon as we get proof that the ownership of the property has changed hands.
  
  This customer contacted us on July 3, 2024, regarding her outstanding balance.  We reconnected the water for this customer on July 8, 2024, and offered her an installment plan for the past due balance.  Installment plan No.40000005285 : 12 installments total -11 of them are $76 even 1 of them is $77.25, for a total past due amount of $913.25.   She was advised that if at any time during the installment plan period, her account becomes past due, the installment plan will automatically be deactivated, and she will be responsible for the past due balance in full. 

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/24/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I've been living at the same residence for about 5 and 1/2 years and my water bill is always between $190 and $210 my last billing cycle. It was high because I had a leak in my toilet which I fixed. But now this feeling cycle shows that I used ****** gallons. My bill was five times the normal amount there is a bunch of water company flags down my street and I'm wondering if they did work and it affected my water because the new estimate is out for this next billing cycle and it's back to normal

  Business Response

  Date: 05/24/2024

  Good Afternoon,  After reviewing your statements, it appears your leak may have started during your statement for 11/15 - 1/16/2024.  That statement showed you used 22K gallons of water.  Your next statement that showed 82K gallons of water used was from 1/17 - 3/14/2024.  Your Most current statement of 3/15 - 5/14 shows you are back to normal with a consumption of 7K gallons.  As stated, you had a leak on your property, when was that leak repaired.  Once repaired, you can submit your invoice of repair, if it was repaired by a professional, or if you were able to make the repair yourself, you can complete the attached statement of repair (please make sure you get it notarized).  You can submit your paperwork to ******************************************** 

  Once we receive the paperwork, we will review to see if you qualify for a leak adjustment on your high bills.

  Please contact us at customer service at ************ if you have further questions.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/13/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They are trying to add on to my bill of ****** in which is previous renters. Im not the owner Im just a renter thats now responsible for other people bills. In which puts me in a bad bad spot

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2024

  The customer has been informed correctly of our policy.  All Charges remain with the property.  The customer was advised we could provide him with copies of the invoices that show the previous unpaid balance.  He would need to contact the owner to discuss payment arrangements of the outstanding balance of $254.79.  If the owner is unwilling to pay the outstanding balance, we can work with the customer to allow him to make payments over few months.  He would need to call back into the **************** to make these arrangements at ************.  Attached to the original complaint is the letter the customer received that provides a detailed explanation of the charges.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/03/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sending this informally as I prepare a more formal case for PUC, ********'s office, Attorney general, and consumer affairs. Have tried many times to work with this organization to fix this already.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/03/2024

  This customer had a leak at their property during their 11/22/2023 - 1/23/2024 bill statement - The overall bill was $775.58 - Customer has already received a credit of $274.10 towards that bill.  This customer was also provided a leak adjustment on the next statement 1/24/2024 - 3/22/2024 of $12.18. This was communicated to ********************** on 4/19/2024 & 4/16/2024.  Total Adjustment ********************** received was $286.28.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/06/2024

   
  Complaint: 21647702
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  So you are not willing to review this thoroughly and I need to further escalate? Note that the most glaring issue with your statement is as you know, the leak was reported and understood by all parties to be split over two invoices and the total was not the ~$700 you mentioned. It was $1,927.52 ($1,151.94 + $775.58). The leak was clearly located mostly in the period you are apparently not considering from your statement here. This lack of thought and care is why I had to escalate here and will likely need to escalate to the governors office, public utilities commission, and others. I will include these correspondence and mine over email so they can so how unreasonable and careless you have been so far. 

  Note, they have refused to call or share there calculations to help clear this up though I have offered several times to spend my time doing this process with them. Though, as you can see, something is clearly wrong and they just dont care.

  As I mentioned in the extended details that might have not been captured here (for those reading this and further escalations as it is clear Pinellas utilities does not care at all), a representative from their organization and I did the math together on the phone. She lead this conversation and did the math on her end sharing the results. The credit was supposed to be $900! Yet here I am on hour 10 working with them and THEY DONT CARE AT ALL. So frustrating this is what our city does for us :(.

  That being said, I am now seeking a full refund as their billing cycle is far too long and their meter technology is outdated which greatly contributed to the charges here. If they had been applicable to be reasonable and honest, we could have just settled on the $900 credit but this has been a nightmare dealing with this organization which does not care at all and gives the same error riddled thoughtless responses time and time again. Very upset and disappointed in Pinellas leadership appointing those who "manage" this organization.

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2024

  I sent your concerns to our billing department to review. They reviewed your statement for 9/22 - 11/21/2023 Total Charges were $1151.94.  A Credit was applied to this statement of $446.30.  Statement for 11/22/2023 - 1/23/2024 was for $775.58.  A Credit was applied towards this statement for $467.17.  Total Credits applied was a total amount of $913.47.  You currently have a credit on your account for $627.19 that can go towards your future statements.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/17/2024

   
  Complaint: 21647702
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I emailed you 20 or so times asking for someone to work with me on this to get the correct number and I was ignored and give a generic response while wasting my time trying to work with you. Then you gave a similarly careless response to my additional inquiry here. Then miraculously you process the additional $600 dollars without saying anything or acting like anything happened? Please explain why it took so many replies and I was ignored and given inaccurate information for so long and had to escelate and spend so much of my time on this?

  Not to mention, the process for the leak was ****** cumbersome as mentioned I submitted all documentation and it was "not enough" despite meeting every requirement and then some ... then you rejected it without informing me further delaying this month. You made me notarize a document to get you to finally acknowledge the leak which was completely unnecessary as I provided every single element very clearly as described.

  Also, as mentioned you meter is very slow and outdate due to this leak.

  Please process a full refund for the full leaks amount in those months (an additional $700) to acknowledge the failure in your systems and processes here and if you could actually admit something went wrong and you are working to get better at this for your forced customers that would be great.

  Otherwise, I feel i still must submit all of this to FL PUC and FL Gov to ensure others do not meet these same horribly frustrating and unnecessary fates.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/24/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Pinellas county Utilities, my ****** ******* here in Pinellas County, sent me a late bill/notice, on my Waterbill. I have automatic payment. I have not missed a payment yet. I paid that bill then I get another notice. I called Pinellas County Utilities they added on $57 in fees as well as $290 for a security deposit equaling $459, my water bill is only $60 a month, it is on auto pay, I spoke with **************** Friday. They agreed to allow me to make this months payment in the amount of $155. Thats for approximately three months and get rid of the 459 and all the late fees, which I can prove I do not have, however without informing me today, they took out $459, after I was told Friday they would waive all of that because Ive been a customer of theirs for five years, even when I tried to explain to a supervisor today that I did not even owe them money now theyve double charged me, I have no idea what to do now my bank is overdrafted which is going to be $35 per transaction of overdraft fees because I live on a monthly income and monies are only put in my account every *************************************************************************************************************************** anything. The supervisor was not empathetic would not listen to the recorded call and would not do as they promised me on Friday, can I do anything to resolve this ?

  Business Response

  Date: 04/26/2024

  This customer was contacted on 4/25/2024.  After reviewing the recorded calls, we reversed the $290.00 deposit on the customer's account.  This will now sit as a credit and will go towards the next billing statement.  The customer was satisfied with this.  No further action is needed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/19/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  PCU changed the water meter. After this was done many residents complained of enormous water bills. In review of my payments to *** since last June our water bill has never been over 120$ When we were billed this amount we had a plumber come and inspect our home, we had no water leaks at all. Now the bill is back down to the normal amount. We called but go absolutely nowhere with PCU

  Business Response

  Date: 03/19/2024

  This concern has already been addressed with the ******** in January. Here are the details of the conversation that took place between the ******** and the Billing Supervisor:

  ************************* ********** questioning 3k gallons difference in readings.  Adv ******** the November invoice was reversed and rebilled based on reading provided in January.  Adv 8k cons went through old meter and 21k cons went through new meter.  Account is now back to a normal average as of the January invoice.  Only log note I show that reflects a difference in 3k cons is where the *** advised him the 01/03 reading was 26 and the 01/18 reading was 29.  That just means that 3k cons was used during these periods. Advised ******** the water went through the meter.  I have no work orders showing either GMD or the Contractors were out there and made any repairs.  The high usage stopped around October 21st.  I cannot tell him what changed at his property, I can only tell him what others have found based on my experience.  We cannot offer an adjustment for unexplained water loss.  The readings were verified and the water went through the meter as he can see via Customer Advantage.

  With the account being back to a normal average with no repair done, there is no adjustment that can be given. Per Pinellas County Utilities Policy we do not give adjustments for unexplained water usage. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/23/2024

   
  Complaint: 21442303
  
  I am rejecting this response because: They are at least 100 people that have commented about exuberant water bills after the meter was changed. We did have our home inspected by *********** Plumbing and there were no leaks, drip etc. 

  The response is incorrect, they were suppose to give us a 3000 gallon credit but we did not want that. Something is wrong with PCU for SO MANT people to be complaining.

   

  I would like to know the exact date of the meter change and who was it completed by. I have never had a $500 dollar bill.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/29/2024

  The new meter was installed 10/02/2023. It was installed by the Subcontractor ***********. The company Pinellas County hired for the meter install project