ComplaintsforSi Environmental, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I've been on autopay for 2 years, but I switched banks and had problems changing the bank in their system and the bill wasn't paid for 2 months, incurring 2 late charges and a delinquent letter fee. They removed one late charge, bringing my balance down from $198.55 to $192.55. Also, the billing company, THEMSELVES, set up my autopay and I figured I'd let it do it automatically on the next due date. Meanwhile, that delinquent letter was for some reason returned undeliverable, so the billing company put a pink delinquent notice on my door and added another $20 to my balance! Obviously, the left hand and right hand don't know what the other is doing and even INTERNALLY, neither knows what coworkers are doing. Funny thing is that everything is documented on their system...all my calls...all the problems...all the fixes...yet they still treat me like I'm hiding from them and unwilling to pay. I'M NEVER LATE ON ANYTHING. I HAVEN'T PAID INTEREST SINCE MY LAST MORTGAGE and I HAVEN'T PAID LATE FEES SINCE A ***** BANK ERROR THAT ***** REIMBURSED.

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  There is an understanding that there was an issue with changing the autopay information, however there was no contact made to Si Environmental's Customer Care department, nor First Billing Services for assistance, until after the delinquent letter was received by the customer. The autopay ended in December 2023 and the first call received at our customer care department was on February 20, 2024. Per First Billing, this is also the first call that they received regarding the issue. Without communication from the customer, we were not aware that they want to continue being on autopay. 
  
  Brazoria County MUD 53 follows a delinquent process for all customers within the district. Any account showing a past due balance during the district's delinquent cycle will automatically generate a delinquent letter. This process can't be prevented unless notified by the customer or another entity of a situation that allows for the account to be manually protected. 
  
  The customer made contact with Si Environmental on February 20, 2024, regarding late penalty and delinquent letter fees. He was advised the reason why the fees were applied. During this call the agent did have the late penalty waived of $6.31 as a courtesy.
  
  The postal service did return his mail back to us as undeliverable, for reasons unknown. However, due to the return mail notated on the account, we were able to waive more fees for this customer. The delinquent letter fee, door tag fee, and additional late penalty of $5.56 was to be waived as well. 
  
  As for the door tag being issued, after the customer setup auto pay again. This falls along the line with the delinquent letter process. If the customer would have made contact with us after setting auto pay back up, we could have protected his account from further delinquent activity. Although autopay was set up, the payment is not scheduled to be drafted until March 11, 2024 (The payment has manually been made on March 5, 2024). Meaning, the account was still showing delinquent when Brazoria County MUD 53 started the door tag process, and this is why it was issued for this account. 
  
  Si Environmental, LLC, Brazoria County MUD 53, and First Billing Services are three different entities.

  Customer response

  03/11/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I've received the credits, paid the outstanding amount and now have credit balance for that last reversal.

  However, I will note that all of my frustration was unnecessary.  If a business wants to save money by going "paperless" on the consumer's end, why don't they play by the same rules?  Instead of slapping on fees and THEN sending out a POSTAL letter and, later, a pink door hanger, why don't they send a simple EMAIL that would alert the customer IMMEDIATELY after a missed payment?  Instead, the computer cranks out a letter (perhaps with the wrong address) and charges $10 for it.  Then, they hang a notice and charge $20 for THAT.

  As it is, they charge a $1 "convenience fee" for automatic bank drafts and even more than that for paying by credit card.  I'd consider going back to the 1990s and mailing them a check each month, but I'm sure they charge an extra processing fee for THAT, too.  Next, they'll have a line for tipping...  "Please choose 20%, 22%, 24% or a different amount to tip the computer."

  
  
  
   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This water company doesn’t display an accurate reading of my water usage. My meter reads differently than what they are reporting. I believe my meter is being misread.

  Business response

  11/15/2023

  Every residential property in the Fort Bend Municipal Utility District 158 has a water meter installed to quantify the total water usage consumed. These meters contain individual serial numbers assigned for each property, total amount of gallons used by that meter in that property (measured by thousands of gallons used). The meter is read once per month within a 30 or 31 day billing cycle (depending on the month). Based on the meter reads consumption is billed each month. All meter reads are consistently moving forward which indicates the meter reads are accurate. The Municipal Utility District has found no water leaks on the equipment at this residence. A professional Field Operator checked this equipment in August 2023 and confirmed the meter ID number and there were no water leaks which could have caused higher usage. The property owner has the responsibility/ option of having a professional check the plumbing at the residence for any possible leaks.
  Attached are recent months usage and meter reads:
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My water bill via Memorial MUD is twice as much as last year and we have the same usage. I have contacted them for past 4 months and their investigation led to their meter not working properly. I have requested adjustments for past 5 months several times and NO LUCK yet. When I call get answers that they are looking into it

  Business response

  10/13/2023

  Memorial Municipal Utility District is responsible for equipment from the water meter to the street. Property owners are responsible for equipment from the water meter up to and throughout the home. The customer called to report elevated usage back in August 2023. We issued a work order for an operator to go check the district’s side of the equipment for any leaks or issues. While the operator found no leaks, we submitted for a bill adjustment per the customer’s request.
  As a courtesy, the Account Manager of the Municipal Utility District approved an adjustment for the high usage months and the details are below. The customer has been contacted and advised of the adjustment.
  ADJUSTED USAGE FROM JUL (17.7) & AUG (21.9) DOWN TO 11.0 IN ALL CATEGORIES (SEWER IS FLAT RATE):
  
  ADJUSTMENTS:
  
  JULY 2023
  WATER: $9.05-
  SEWER: N/A
  RWA: $25.46-
  
  AUGUST 2023
  WATER: $15.35-
  SEWER: N/A
  RWA: $41.42-
  
  TOTAL ADJUSTMENT: $93.28-

  Customer response

  10/13/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
  
  I Thank them for looking into this matter via the BBB. The adjustment amount does not seem to be correct. I have been overcharged of water bills by almost twice for 4 consecutive months. I will follow up and check the bills and based the average they used , I will confirm the adjustment amount and inform them

  Regards,
  
  
   

  
  

  Business response

  10/16/2023

  This customer's rejection is being Escalated to his District for further adjustment consideration. The customer is currently in touch with us via phone and we will follow up with him once we have a response.

• Initial Complaint

  04/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This water company continues to charge consumers monthly (30, 31 days) base fees, but does not allow each service period to equal at least 30 days. We (the consumers) are basically being charged for a service we are not receiving. Upon opening my account with this company, I immediately noticed the issue. I’ve emailed multiple people within this company dating back to October 2022, but no one has been able to answer any questions regarding the way they are changing consumers. Not even the president of the company himself could answer why a person’s reading period does align with the service period. As soon as I mentioned getting a lawyer, he immediately asked that I didn’t which further lets me know this company can’t be trusted. I’ve finally obtained a lawyer of my own and have every intention on taking it to court if need be, but this is my last attempt to allow them to rectify the situation dating back to October and in the future. I’ve attached two photos as proof. One photo consists of an email with Jeff Haley and the other is a screenshot of the most recent bill (which is one of many) clearly showing my service period is less than 29 days.

  Business response

  04/21/2023

  Every residential property in Harris County Municipal Utility District 536 has a water meter installed to quantify the total water usage consumed. The meter is read once per month within a 30 or 31 day billing cycle (depending on how many days are in the month). Based on the meter reads, consumption is billed each month. Harris County Municipal Utility District 536’s bills are mailed 20 to 21 days before the actual due date of the fifteenth of each month.
  This customer’s account was opened on September 30, 2022 and displayed a meter read date of September 29, 2022. Harris County Municipal Utility District 536 charged the base rates of $50.00 for water and $35.61 for sewer. This customer was charged a prorated amount of $41.67 for water and $29.67 for sewer due to the billing cycle of the district.
   On November 11, 2022 the customer escalated her case to the Account Manager of her district. After reviewing this account and discussions with the customer, it was determined to adjust her first invoice RWA fee down to zero due to confusion related to the read dates and billing process.  Her account was adjusted and the account manager advised customer of their new balance at that time.

  Customer response

  04/25/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. As I’ve expressed my concerns via previous emails, the way in which this company continues to bill me along with others is unjustified and this company has yet again failed to answer why. I’ve attached 2 bills which clearly shows the confusion and how I’m being over charged. I opened my account on September 30, 2022, but received a bill with a read date of September 29th. How? After multiple emails, they tried saying that instead of the 29th my read date should have read 10/15/22. Again…how? How am I being charged base monthly fees when that timeframe was only 16 days. They have my service period of that same bill starting from 9/23/22 to 10/24/22. How? My next bill’s reading date is 11/15/22, but they have my service period starting from 10/25 - 11/22 which is only 29 days. A read date should be the last day within a billing cycle. This company continues to lie about base fees and how they are calculated…I still have the emails as proof. These lies allow them to print however many days within a service period they want, which ultimately affects the consumers and how we’re charged. Ross ***** confessed that they initially just threw whatever numbers they saw fit on my first bill. That reason alone was why they reduced the RWA amount. 
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  
   
  

  Business response

  05/12/2023

  The billing process and explanation of charges has been explained to the customer numerous times. While she does not agree with the billing process, her main confusion is with her first and second bill since her account has been opened. An Account Manager heard the customer’s complaint and due to her confusion, he approved to provide the customer with an adjustment which was applied to her account thereafter. The customer has been advised of the difference between the meter read dates and billing cycles. 

  Customer response

  06/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

  Hello, this issue has not been resolved and is still ongoing. Although Ross ***** acknowledged he charged me for days I did NOT receive service, he still chose not to rectify the wrong. Because of how they billed me on my 1st bill, it affected my 1st and 2nd bill which has now affected every after due to fees being added. The District Attorney reached out to me, we discussed the issue, and I’m currently waiting to address the board. I was asked not to take it to court yet, but there has NOT been a resolution yet. 

  
  
  

  
  
   
  
   

  
  

  Business response

  06/30/2023

  The customer has officially escalated above our authority, control, and/ or power. Harris County Municipal Utility District #536 hired us, here at Si Environmental, LLC, to manage their District and they have the ultimate authority over Si Environmental, LLC. This customer’s issues are now in the hands of the Attorney for the District. As the customer stated, she is addressing her issues with the Attorney and the district Board. If they approve anything further for this customer, they will notify us, and we will comply. While our replies may be unsatisfactory, the customer needs to understand her issues are now completely out of our control.

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company as turned in to a nuisance since I purchased my new home, Unfortunately they were giving monopoly a right they now abuse. Even before I moved in to my house they were already charging over $200 for water bill with no one living there. Last December I paid them $500 for 3months water usage in a house I am currently the only occupant and I don't even cook. They claimed the checked and there was no leakage that I should probably reduce my sprinkler which was rarely even in use- I'm not a big gardening person. I actually turned my sprinkler off completely instead and till date it's not been in use. Ofcourse almost all the flowers died. I have been away for the most part this year , having left my house on a job duty since mid feb. I came for a quick visit home only to see know water and their agent demanding I pay almost $500 again to have water restored or even for them to review the bill. Which by the way I never got! This company has the details including phone and email address but made no reasonable effort to contact me before disconnecting an essential service such as water!! was still they could give no reasonable explanation for their bloated bill. For example I had a higher bill in Feb that I had left home since like the 10th of the month than jan and many previous month. Also my bill in March that I have not even spent a day in my house was same with Jan that I was home. These company is extremely fraudulent and I've introduced clause to shield themselves from utility commission regulation. They will not disclose the appropriate regulatory body to file a complain to but simply ask me to meet with a board in person when I'm mostly out of town. They sad new for them is I will be back in town soon will explore every legal option to get them out of our mud district.

  Business response

  04/05/2023

  Every residential property in the Sienna Municipal Utility District 6 has a water meter installed to quantify the total water usage consumed. These meters contain individual serial numbers assigned for each property, total amount of gallons used by that meter in that property (measured by thousands of gallons used). The meter is read once per month within a 30 or 31 day billing cycle (depending on the month). Based on the meter reads consumption is billed each month. Sienna Municipal Utility District 6’s bills are mailed 20 to 21 days before the actual due date of the twenty-third of each month. Sienna Municipal Utility District 6 will charge a late penalty for any payments posted after the bills due date. This customer’s utility account was opened when they called in to setup services back on June 8, 2022. While this account has gone through 10 billing cycles (10 months of bills), our records only display a total of two payments on the account. The first payment posted to this account was on August 8, 2022 and this payment was made toward a delinquent balance. The only other payment made on this account was on December 23, 2022, also made toward a delinquent balance.
  Sienna Municipal Utility District 6 is responsible for equipment from the water meter to the street. Property owners are responsible for equipment from the water meter up to and throughout the home. In this case, we issued a work order for an operator to go check the district’s side of the equipment when the customer complained of high water usage. A professional operator found no leaks at the residence.
  Currently the customer’s account is active but again, due to non-payment, water service has been interrupted. The customer will continue to be billed monthly base rates and needs to bring the account to a current balance in order to have service restored at the property.

  Customer response

  04/10/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  

  How do I get a water bill that is higher when I'm away and with all my sprinkler turned off!! I have told them several times I'm not usually around, how come they never send me any form of email notification or even made any attempt at reaching me before disconnecting an essential service like water from my home. In this age of technology they deliberately stay away from electronic notification claiming it was not set up that way , meanwhile I have been communicating with their reps via email. I am very hesitant to set up auto payment with them because of their suspicious practice. No time has water bill been a concern before now. 

  I insist their billing is outrageous and not within the average cost of water in Texas as well as their inflated reading. If they have nothing to hide why have they till now not furnish me with the details of the appropriate state regulatory authorities they report to? Or are they meant to enjoy perpetual monopoly without accountability.

  
  Regards,
  
  
    Fola

  
  

  Business response

  04/21/2023

  The water meter is read each month and is not based on determining if someone is at the residence or not. It is impossible for Sienna Municipal Utility District 6 to track any customer’s usage when at home or otherwise. We previously checked the customer’s meter and no leaks were found. Each resident is responsible for paying their monthly water bill and failure will lead to delinquent activities. All customer’s could set up paperless billing via their online customer portal, however this does not apply to delinquent letters. Several delinquent letters were mailed to this customer’s residence notifying of the need for a payment to be made. We have verified that all meter reads in this case are accurate and this customer has been billed accurately. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  An employee of SI environmental became aggressive with me as I was discussing the excavation of my front yard with a different employee of SI environmental, who I perceived, as being in charge. The employee threaten me with bodily harm, and hurled insults and expletives at me as I was trying to remedy the situation with the other employee. I asked him to leave and trespassed him from my property which he did not fully do and continued to hurl insults at me because I was not being agreeable enough for his tastes. I was told that he can dig up my front yard anytime he wants to get to his line and there’s not a fucking thing I can do about it. He claimed personal ownership for the cities property and stood on my property in my face, provoking a fist fight. The other employee who I assumed was in charge, I think his name was Abel, eventually told him to leave the property and go stand by the truck where he continued to hurl obscenities at me. I tried on two occasions to resolve this with the company both times them promising a supervisor would contact me which has never happened. At this point my front yard is a disaster of mud and destruction and I have no idea if or when it will be remedied. Warmly, Scott *******

  Business response

  11/08/2022

  While investigating this issue two members of the Operations team has provided statements of this occurrence. Operators Abel and Trevor both stated no threats or insults were ever made from either of them. They both stated the customer was very upset at the issue at his property which they originally were sent out to remedy. The Director of both employees has stated that he has spoken to the customer, and all seems to be fine. It has been determined the employee did not behave in the manner described in the complaint. 

  Customer response

  11/08/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  
    The two employees are lying and covering their own butts. I guess they forgot about the other neighbor that was a witness. The company also left my pristine manicured lawn and turned it into a mud pit. There is mud, uneven sod and holes in the front lawn. The front lawn was graded for proper drainage before but it’s totally destroyed. It won’t drain properly as it’s been left.  
  

  Business response

  11/16/2022

  The Director of Operations has taken the applicable actions with the two employees mentioned. The Director is also looking into the Maintenance job of the customer's yard condition and drainage. I will follow up with the customer (by phone) once I have heard back from the Director regarding any further work to improve the customer's yard.

  Business response

  11/29/2022

  I have spoken to the customer regarding repairs made to his property. He has agreed to allow some time to pass for the new grass and maintenance work to settle. I provided the customer with my direct line should he have any further needs.

  Monte ******

  Customer response

  11/29/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a company who is willing to pay my water bill and has been trying since June to do so, but Si Environmental (Mud district 218) refuses to sign up for the program. Their agent actually admitted to me that I wasn't the only person that is suffering sure to this. I have 3 different types of cancer and had Covid, therefore I lost my job. I do not have the income to pay this bill and my water is about to be disconnected. If I'm having this problem, I can only imagine how many other people are suffering because of this.

  Business response

  09/19/2022

  Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District 218 bills are due on the eleventh of every month. If the current billed amount is not paid by the due date (displayed on each monthly statement) a delinquent letter will be mailed shortly thereafter. In this case there has been only two payments posted to the account in 2022 yet the district has not interrupted water service. Due to non-payment, the account currently has a balance of $755.17. Furthermore, a payment for $755.17 has been received but the check payment was returned as Non-Sufficient Funds. We wish the customer a speedy recovery from her health issues however, the district requires payment for the $755.17 be posted to the account by September 21, 2022 in order to avoid service interruption.
  Si Environmental, LLC is not familiar with, nor do we have a business relationship with Texas Utility Help. We have advised the customer that we will accept a pledge for payment from any resource willing to help her. Our process is the church, company, or organization will first send us the pledge letter on their company letterhead. Then we would protect the customer’s account while the resource mails us a check towards her account. It is not our process to signup nor provide any financial information to any outside agencies.
  All details have been explained to the customer via numerous phone calls.

*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. ↩