San Gabriel County Water District - Rosemead, California

Hao P.

If I could give zero stars, I absolutely would.

We’ve been using autopay for years without any issues — until recently. On February 28th, we suddenly received a past due notice along with a $30 penalty fee, which made no sense. I checked my payment card, and there was no sign of a failed charge or even an attempt to charge it. Despite this, I paid the past due amount and the penalty immediately and confirmed that autopay was still enabled on my account.

I thought the matter was settled, but just a few days ago, I found a 10-day water shut-off notice taped to my door. I logged into my account (which I rarely do) and saw another past due balance — this time, no past due notice was ever sent! (I disabled the Paperless function, so I should receive bills and notices in the mail) When I called customer service, I was told I had disabled autopay myself on March 14th — which is absolutely false. Why would I, a long-time autopay user, log in (a process requiring me to dig out my forgotten login info) just to turn off the very service I rely on to avoid these situations? I hadn't even logged in since checking the status back in February.

I’ve since learned from others that this isn’t an isolated case. It seems like SGCWD’s system fails and conveniently blames the customer, while profiting off unfair penalty fees. This feels less like an honest mistake and more like a systematic way to squeeze extra money from customers. Shameful and unacceptable, especially for a basic utility like water.

enjoymydailylife

Worst lady supervisor ever, they charge you a late fee for $30 and shut off your water two weeks later, and they charge you $50 for shutting off your water. Total $80 fee in two weeks. The only reason we didn’t pay was because we never received the bill. Not sure if department of consumer affairs will allow that fee.

Kevin

So there is a fine print on the water bill, and having been a customer by default for over two decades, I did not notice it. One day I noticed there was a $10 penalty/fee on my statement. Initiated a phone call and spoke with their billing department. It turned out the $10 was because the fine print says payment must be received by 4:00 pm on due date. According to their billing worker, SGCWD received my bank payment on due date, but after 4:00 pm. So I asked for a break and have the fee waived, for this was my first time and it was really innocence mishaps. My call then went up to Carmen, who said she is the finance manager. Carmen was unfriendly and unhappy that she had to speak with me on the matter. She quickly declared that she can't waive the fee and suggested that I should get my bank to pay me the $10. For a finance manager of an organization to make this statement reveals major flaws in their level of professionalism, as well as lacking common sense and business sense, and dereliction of duty.

S M.

I have NEVER missed a payment, and even paid in advance most months. I cannot believe that they shut my water off without returning my call. Then, they were rude, and dismissive once I did get them on the phone. To add insult to injury, they had the nerve to hang a notice on my door in bright red letters. All this over a $20 bill. I REALLY wish I had another choice than to deal with these people.

Z Z.

They charge exorbitantly for upgrading my water line to 1 inch in diameter! I wish I had a job there to make big bucks!! Call it Transparent corruption!

Norm V.

Office is closed every other Friday. Check website calendar to see if it is open if you need to visit office. Payments are accepted at dropbox at any time.

Ju J.

Eugene R.