ComplaintsforTennessee American Water

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  There was a broken water line that is Tennessee American's issue. They dug up my yard on April 8th and were supposed to send someone to fill in hole and reconnect my watering system. So far I have heard from no one and every time I call they say someone will get back with me. I am going to continue to call but this is unacceptable.

  Business response

  05/10/2024

  To Whom It May Concern: 
  
  On April 8, 2024, our distribution crew made several repairs to Ms. *****’ service line, including renewing the service from the main to the customer line and replacing the setter for the meter box. While onsite the crew damaged Ms. *****’ irrigation line. Tennessee American Water contacted *** ******** to repair it. Once the irrigation line was repaired, our Field Operations Supervisor returned to the premise to ensure the customer’s safety with the exposed hole by placing cones and caution tape around the hole to barricade it. The supervisor also had hay and grass seed applied to complete the restoration. However, Ms. ***** requested to have sod laid instead of grass seed. Tennessee American Water agreed to lay sod as the customer requested and she is on the list to receive sod by a third-party contractor.  
  
  I spoke with Ms. ***** on April 29, 2024, and May 9, 2024, and provided her with an update on the next steps. She expressed her frustration with the miscommunication from the beginning of this process with Tennessee American Water and the insurance company, but she also expressed appreciation for the local office communicating with her now and fulfilling her request to have sod put down in her yard.  
  
  If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.  
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ******* ******** 
  Field Operation Specialist 

  Customer response

  05/10/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  
  

  I did hear from Tennessee American Water thanks to you.  They have now finished most of the work and are working toward completion.  I was unsure if they actually paid attention to complaints to BBB but they obviously do.

  
  

  Thank you for all your help

  
  

  **** *****

• Initial Complaint

  02/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We reported a water flow problem to the property in December 2023. There was a field technician and other field representatives check they old valve and agreed it need to be replaced or removed. It was not replaced or removed. There is a water flow problem to the property and the old valve is believed to be the issue due to the inability to ensure it’s opened fully. The old valve can not be turned so until it’s removed we can not determine if that is what is restricting water flow to the property. Attached is the photo on the new shut off installed on top of the old valve. This photo was shared to the field rep and also directly to TN American Water Customer Care. A field rep at the number ************ went to the property on Jan 8th and I was told the part would be ordered for replacement. That part was not ordered. Another tech went out and installed a new shut off above the valve that is causing the water flow problem. The water pressure to the property when tested reaches the minimum required pressure to the house but when 2 or more sources are in use the water pressure drops very low. This was the issue discovered and originally reported and now we are almost 90 days into this issue with no resolution. The photos attached below show the valve issue as reported by two plumbers prior to the new shut off being installed. The valve is restricting flow to the property.

  Business response

  02/28/2024

  Complaint ID: ******** * ***** ********
  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  A field service representative (FSR) visited the customer’s home on February 16, 2024, and opened the side cut off value on the meter setter all the way to help with the water flow. When I spoke to Mr. ******** on February 19, 2024, he stated the water pressure did not improve.
  
  A distribution supervisor also spoke with Mr. ******** on February 19, 2024, and advised him that the area where his home is located has low pressure, however we would send out our leak detection crew to search for any leaks near his house and conduct pressure tests in the area. The leak detection crew did not find any leaks. A crew was sent out on February 23, 2024, to replace the setter at Mr. ******** home. When the crew arrived onsite, a plumber working for Mr. ******** was replacing the customer’s galvanized service lines and indicated there was no need to replace the setter.
  
  On February 27, 2024, the distribution supervisor spoke with Mr. ******** to provide an update. Mr. ******** said he appreciated all the extra steps we took to assist him.  Mr. ******** indicated that after the initial conversation with Tennessee American Water, he began to investigate his lines and found that replacing his galvanized lines fixed the problem.
  
  If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********
  Field Operation Specialist

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Let me first start this off by this has been the most h*** I’ve been thru as a consumer, a mother, and as a person. This company is so lazy and emotionless when it comes to the things THEY do such as DROPPPING THE BALL. I didn’t have any water FOR 5DAYS (12/1-12/5) WITH A CHILD WHO IS MEDICALLY COMPLEXED. You read that right 5 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF NO WATER!!! I couldn’t cook, clean, bathe me or my child as well as flush the toilets for 5 DAYS!!! First they tried to blame the local city of Chattanooga for the issue- said it was a hold up on their side as to why I didn’t have any water connection but my e-mail said something different. I called them and they most definitely let me know this was all them-TN AMERICAN WATER. They kept giving me different answers as to why which was all lies when in reality all they had to do was read the notes on my account and COME TO THE PROPERTY to work with maintenance to get it correctly on because they were cutting on THE WRONG WATER VALVUE. I had to CUSS someone out to GET HELP CORRECTLY and my water got cut in WITHIN 5 MINUTES YEASTERDAY because this time THEY READ THE NOTES & HAD A ACTUCAL TECH COME OUT TO CUT IT ON VS TRYING TO DO IT DIGITALLY. In the mist of all of this, I paid $144 PER NIGHT for a HOTEL and they only offered me $20. $20?!?!? I’m still pissed about this and I was going to let this go but when it comes to MY CHILD I will shake the ROOF about this. This was no fault of me, the company I rent from, nor the city of Chattanooga, IT WAS TN AMERICAN WATER!!!!!

  Business response

  01/04/2024

  ****** ******** ****** *****  *** * ****** **  ************ ** *****   
  
  Complaint ID ******** * ****** * ******* ******* 
  
  To Whom It May Concern: 
  
  Mr. and Mrs. ******* became active on the account at **** ********* *** ** ************ ** ***** on December 5, 2023. The service order to turn on water was not completed on December 1st due to movement on the meter. When a Field Service Representative (FSR) returned to complete the order on December 4th, it also was not completed due to movement on the meter. Because the FSR did not read the notes from the call handler requesting that they call the customer when they were performing the turn on, we have added a courtesy adjustment to their account in the amount of $144. We also held a coaching session to stress the importance of reading notes in our customer management system prior to performing any work on premises.  
  
  I called Mr. and Mrs. ******* on December 15th and left a voice message. I followed up with an email informing them of the credit on their account and they are able to view their account on myWater, our online portal.  
  
  If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.  
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ******* ********  
  Operation Specialist 

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I would like to for someone to explain to me about my mother's water bill, why it higer than i feel it should be for he being on Budget Program. The bill we received on 09/16/2023 was $102.63 Budget Billing-Pay This Amount on page one, but on page 3 it has Current Budget Bill Amount $43.98 which she paid,but the sent a Disconnection Notice we received on 10/16/2023 for $58.65. So, i called ************ for a explanation on this problem, but it was long wait, they said they would give me call back. Which i got a call back from number ************ on 10-16-2023 at 4:20 p.m. Eastern Time i spoke to an representative to explain my problem. The Disconnect Notice was threatening to cut off our water on or after 10/23/2023, she said to paid the amount that would equal $58.65 which came to $14.67. My mother paid the $14.67 on 10/22/2023 at 13:43:25 on **** ********* *** ************ ** ****** Now, the bill due 11/20/2023 is for $146.61 for Budget Billing, but Current Budget Bill Amount is $43.98. The 12/19/2023 Budget Billing is $131.94. I called on 11/03/2023 several times counld not get a representative to answer my call. I emailed on 11/06/2023 this problem to the ********* ****** ******* *****************, they responsed on 11/07/2023 and 11/08/2023 from numbers ************ and **************. What i need is a supervisor from Billing/Collection Issues Department. So, we can understand what is the problem with our bills and we can get a better understand why the bill is so high. You can reach us at ************. Thank you

  Customer response

  11/21/2023

  Yes, i have my mother's permission and authorization to file this complaint against the Tennessee American Water .  Also, we want to speak to a supervisor in the Billing Collection Department about the issue with the water bill. Also, where is the physical building located?  My mother and brother went to *** ***** ***  ************** ***** to speak to someone in person for this issue and Tennessee American Water is not located at this address.  This is would be the solution to our problems with the water company.  Thank you ***** ****

  Also, my mother made an payment on this bill although she was not sure was the actual payment was for 11/20/2023 for $87.97 on 11/17/2023 or 11/18/2023, estimate amount and payment.  ***** ****

  Business response

  11/28/2023

  November 28, 2023
  *** *** * ****** ** ************ ** *****  ********* *** ******** * ***** ****
  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  A billing agent spoke to Ms. ***** **** and Ms. ** *** **** on November 27, 2023, to explain their bill. The ***** were satisfied with the information that the billing representative provided to them when they reviewed the bill with them.
  
  If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********
  Field Operation Specialist 

• Initial Complaint

  11/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I requested Tennessee American to correct a water meter reading due to repeated incorrect meter readings at my residence over the past 3 years. To date, Tennessee American Water has declined my most recent request, this is the 4th meter reading error in 3 years. I am providing additional details below. I received a bill in September showing '0' usage for the previous month. I knew this to be incorrect due to (1) this being my irrigation that had run multiple times the previous month and (2) this being the 4th time TNAM has incorrectly read my meter. After September, TNAM read the meter in October correctly which equated to roughly double my normal usage. While the meter reading is now correct, TNAM did not update the September reading, making all of my usage at the higher rate in October. I initially called TNAM on 9/29 to report this error and provided the usage from the meter to prove the meter was not 'stuck'. Additionally, it took a total of 5 more calls over the next 45 days to get a response from TNAM billing department after repeated missed commitments. I am not asking to reduce usage, but input an estimate usage for the month of September due to TNAW's meter reading error which will result in a billing adjustment (credit). Account number: ***************** Service Location: Chattanooga, TN Request to TN AM: update estimated usage to September 2023's reading due to incorrect meter reading to receive lower price per gallon on monthly billing usage.

  Customer response

  12/04/2023

  I received a note requesting an update on complaint ******** with Tennessee American Water.  
  
  First, thank you for your and BBB's support with this matter.  Secondly, I received a phone call from American Water on 27 November.  ***** from Tennessee American Water confirmed receipt of this feedback and that he is looking into the request.  The representative did not provide an approximate resolution time or next steps nor has the bill been revised to correct the issue.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *********

  Customer response

  12/06/2023

  TN American Water has resolved the issue.  Attached is the semi-automated correspondence from them confirming their error.
  
  I am okay to close this as resolved due to the bill being updated that fixes the error.
  
  Once again, I appreciate your and BBB's help in resolving this matter with this company.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******

• Initial Complaint

  10/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Our monthly water bill has been increasing to over $100 per month, and we have not increased our water use. There are just the two of us here, and these bills are too high. We would like someone to check into this and reduce our bills to the rate we were used to paying, which was about $30 a month for the first two years we lived here. The last two years, they have been over $100 per month.

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  On October 4, 2023, a Tennessee American Water field service representative (FSR) ran a data log on the customer’s meter. The data log indicates a continuous leak starting on June 30 through October 4. The results are attached for reference.
  
  When the FSR was onsite there was no movement on the meter which typically means a toilet is hung up and is running constantly. The FSR spoke with the customer, and she confirmed they did have a toilet running. The FSR left a leak detection kit with customer to use when needed and advised the customer to contact the landlord to get the toilet fixed.  
  
  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********
  Field Operations Specialist  

• Initial Complaint

  09/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had TN American Water install a meter for my irrigation system a few months ago.I cost well in excess of $600.00. On Sep 3rd early AM , My neighbor called and told me that water was spewing all over the street from my Water meter. I was in transit from having been out of town. I arrived home a couple hours later and found my neighbor who had turned the water off. After a little inspection we found that the Irrigation meter connection to the irrigation system was no longer intact. I was able to turn off just the water at the irrigation meter,thereby allowing us to have water service to our house. I called TN American next day and reported the leak. I replied NO to a questiopn as to whether it was an emergency. I was told someone would be here in about a week. Eventually I got an email saying they had been here. I turned the valve on and found the leak was still wide open. I called again a was told the TN AM reps had read the meter and found it to be working well. Wow!!! I reiterated that I have a major leak and my grass needs water badly. Today ,after waiting another couple of weeks I find that the Rep who took my information and actually told me she had put a rush on the timing,must have lied. If not the nice Lady , ****** , has told me she found no record of an order to do anything. ****** now says she spoke with management and someone will be here tomorrow. As a side note ****** said her manager told her if the leak is on TN Americand side they will fix it. If on my side I will have to fix it. WOW V!!!! again . After all this time I now might have to pay to repair the connection tha TN American installed!!!

  Business response

  10/02/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  Mr. ********* meter was installed on January 18, 2022. On September 21, 2023, our Field Service Representative (FSR) checked and verified that the meter is operating properly after the customer reported the leak and turned off a valve to stop the flow of water.  On September 26, 2023, our FSR checked the meter and verified again it is operating correctly. While onsite the FSR spoke with Mr. ******* informing him the irrigation meter was on and the irrigation meter was not damaged nor leaking. The valve that Mr. ******* turned off is the valve on the irrigation system itself.  The leak is on the customer’s side which means that they are responsible for the repair.
  
  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On June 28 TN American water company sent a contractor out to investigate a “water leak” and gave them the wrong address (mine). I walked outside to see my front and side yard as well as sidewalk spray painted with fluorescent orange and green arrows everywhere. I asked the man what he was doing and he said “ nothing, wrong address” I said “you spray painted my yard!” He just rudely said “it’s water based paint” and walked away. It was NOT water based paint and a month later is still there. I have tried multiple times to wash it off and even hired a pressure washer who tried and could not remove it from the grass or sidewalk. When I called the water company’s customer service to ask for a refund on the water I had to use to remove the paint due to their mistake, they filed a report and a man did call back but said he had to email “distribution” to see who sent the contractor out to my property by mistake. He said they would call me but never did. I’ve spoken to him a few times and he said he emailed them again but they still haven’t contacted me a month later. I work really hard on my yard and had spent the entire weekend prior to the spray painting incident getting my yard ready for a party and it looked awful because of their mistake. Luckily my neighbor questioned them and stopped them before they started digging up my yard!

  Business response

  08/10/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  Our field operations supervisor reached out to the customer and explained the circumstances of the situation that occurred at her house. An employee from the City of Chattanooga had contacted Tennessee American Water about lowering a service for a storm water maintenance project. The address that was provided was **** ********* *** Our field operations supervisor called in an emergency locate ticket for that address with *****. However, the City of Chattanooga employee had mistakenly provided an incorrect address, and their project was across the street on ****** Rd. Therefore, when the contract companies that mark locates for utilities painted the ground to identify the various utilities’ underground assets, they marked the area in front of Ms. ********’s home and not the area where the City was performing the work on ****** Road.
  
  This information was conveyed to Ms. ********, who understood the mix-up. We are providing an adjustment to her account for the water she used trying to remove the spray paint on and around her property.
  
  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********
  Field Operations Specialist  

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've been using Tennessee American Water for several years and I had to move from the home that I was in ask them to cut my water off and apparently they had been overcharging me for quite a while because after they shut everything down they owed me a refund even though they had been telling me until that point through Mel correspondence that I had a bill due once they discovered how much they owed me I had tried multiple times to get them to send me my refund it has been well over a month and a half and I still have not received it even though they've told me it's in the mail multiple times I have been in contact with this company for quite some time and within a month and a half they are still telling me that it has not mailed out yet in my opinion this is very poor business practice there is no reason that this should have went any further than their 15-day time frame that they normally use but as I said my biggest problem is is that apparently they are not reading the meters properly like they're supposed to and they are overcharging myself and more than likely any other people in the area because I have never seen anyone in the area reading the meters I have never seen the Caps to the meters Disturbed at all and I do not believe they're reading the meters I believe what they're doing is just averaging what they think people are using something needs to be done about this practice they hire meter readers for a reason and if they're not doing their job then people are getting overcharged or undercharged and not getting the correct bill that they're supposed to receive for the amount of service they're using and apparently they can get away with this because nobody is stopping them

  Business response

  06/14/2023

  A payment was provided to the customer’s account through a Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) pledge.  We cannot refund pledged payment from LIHWAP, which is a federally funded program, directly to the customer.  A credit is allowed to be applied to the account for future invoices.  If the account is closed, then the monies would be returned to LIHWAP. 
  
  I have spoken to the customer and provided the information above.

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In January of 2023 I moved into an apartment serviced by TN AM Water. I used to have an unpaid account with them for a home I moved out of back in 2020. I paid off this bill in full as of Jan 2023 and went to set up new service to my new apartment. It would not let me do this online as it was an apartment complex. I called the water company and told the gentlemen to set up my new apartment. He made a mistake and set it up to the old address that I hadn't lived in since 2020. When I received my first bill in February 2023, I realized it was the incorrect address. When I called to have it fixed, they ended the service and turned it on to the correct address. I have been on the phone every other week from February-April to get this bill corrected. I owe them 0 dollars and the bill is still showing $169 owed for the incorrect address. Between April and May I have called almost twice every week to get this fixed, I am constantly told a supervisor will call me back within 24 hours. I have yet to get a call from a supervisor. The only time I received a call from a supervisor was back in March stating the issue should be fixed within 30 days. The issue is still not fixed, and I am going into month 5 of trying to get this situation rectified. This is also effecting the amount being charged on my sewer bill. I need this problem fixed ASAP.

  Business response

  06/07/2023

  To Whom It May Concern: 
  
  After researching and reviewing the account, I contacted Ms. ****** on June 6, 2023, to inform her that her outstanding balance of $169.12 has been resolved and her balance is $0.00.  
  
  Ms. ****** was thankful and very appreciative of the phone call and the measures we took to look into her issue.  
  
  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  ******* ********  ***** ********** **********

  Customer response

  06/07/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

*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. ↩