EBS Conservation

Background: EBS bills state that a late fee of $7.50 will be assessed on the 10th of the month when the bill is due.

Timeline of my attempts to pay one bill:

1) June 9th: When I logged in to pay my bill, the EBS system displayed a balance of $0 (see attachments). I tried to pay the bill anyway, but their system did not allow what it saw as an attempt at overpayment (see attachments).

2) June 11th: When I logged in for a second time to pay my bill, the EBS system displayed my balance but without a $7.50 late fee.

I paid the displayed balance (plus a $5 service fee). I did not attempt to add on a $7.50 late fee because their system disallowed my attempt at overpayment on the 9th.

3) June 13th: When I logged in for a third time to pay the late fee (as directed by customer service - see below), the EBS system displayed the $7.50 late fee. I paid the late fee and a second $5 service fee for a total of $12.50.

Timeline of my email communications with an EBS customer service representative (see attachments):

1) June 11th (me to EBS): I told customer service that "I attempted to pay my bill online on 6/9 around 11pm" but "[their system] said I owed no balance."

2) June 11th (EBS to me): Customer service told me that they were "not sure why you were unable to see [the balance] on the 9th" and that you "left the 7.50 [late fee] amount on your bill." They also said that, "Because you left the 7.50 amount on your bill, you will get another late fee." They also said (highlighted and in all caps), "Please go in and pay the $7.50 balance."

3) June 13th (me to EBS): I explained to customer service that "I did not pay the $7.50 because it was not displayed in the system as part of the amount owed. It seems there is a system issue where it first displayed a balance of nothing, then displayed a balance of just the bill amount, and now is displaying the late fee." I also indicated that I would like a refund for the second $5 service fee.

4) June 16th (EBS to me): Customer service told me that, "You paid the bill minus the late fee, I guess you assumed it would come off of this bill."

5) June 17th (me to EBS): I explained to customer service that, "When I tried to pay more than my full displayed balance of $0 on the 9th, I got a system message preventing me from doing so (see attached screenshot).

When I was finally able to pay the bill, there was no '7.50 amount on [my] bill' that I left off; I paid the full displayed balance. I assumed I could not pay more than the full displayed balance (which I would have had to do to pay the late fee) because the system prevented me from doing so on the 9th."

6) June 17th (EBS to me): Customer service told me that, "There was no issue with the system. The computer automatically adds the late fee on the 10th of the month." Customer service also said, "I am not able to take off the $5 service fee, that is an internet charge." Finally, customer service said, "I have done the paperwork for the credit of the late fee."

I have attached a screenshot showing what the EBS system displayed shortly after midnight on August 11th. As you can see, no late fee is displayed despite an unpaid balance.

I also paid shortly after midnight on March 11th and clearly recall being surprised that no late fee had been added. I am also sure that no late fee had been added when I paid shortly after midnight on June 11th. (When I paid around 10pm on April 11th, the late fee had been added. This suggests late fees are added some time on the 11th.

I suspect the reason for the delay is to allow time for credit card transactions that are pending as of 10am on the 10th to be processed, so that late fees can be added for bills where the pending transaction is declined.) I was telling the truth when I explained to customer service (twice) that I did not pay the late fee because it had not yet been added. It was upsetting and frustrating for what I saw with my own eyes to be treated as untruthful.

Businesses where customers have the ability to switch providers (restaurants, grocery stores etc.) often use the mantra "the customer is always right." Of course, the customer is not always right. However, these businesses understand there may be times when it seems what a customer says is untruthful when in fact there are complexities in the situation unknown to customer service. They also know that treating what a customer saw with their own eyes as untruthful can be upsetting and frustrating for the customer and may lose them the customer.

In this particular case, customer service did not even need to acknowledge that I was telling the truth. According to customer service they were not able to take off the $5 service fee because it is an internet charge. If they are unable to credit the service fee regardless of the circumstances, then customer service could have simply said as much and left it at that. Customer services decision to treat what I saw with my own eyes as untruthful was gratuitous.

EBS presumably knows its bill payers lack the ability to switch providers unless they move to a new apartment complex. Thus, EBS lacks the normal incentives to provide quality customer service.

This negative review is not just due to one customer service representative.

Rather, it is the result of a series of actions/omissions of EBS.

1) If EBS had a consistently reliable billing system which displayed the correct amount on June 9th, there never would have been this customer service interaction.

2) If EBSs system added the late fee on the 10th (as its customer service representative asserted and as its bills imply), this customer service interaction would have ended differently.

3) If EBS understood (and trained its customer service) that its system does not add the late fee on the 10th, customer service would not have treated what I saw with my own eyes as untruthful.

4) If EBS trained its customer service to direct the customer to wait until the next bill displays (which was June 16th), I could have avoided having to pay an extra $5 service fee by paying the late fee and the next bill in one transaction. Instead, customer service told me that "you will get another late fee" (which to my knowledge never happened for that bill) and told me (highlighted and in all caps) to go in and pay the late fee.

5) If EBS permitted its customer service to credit the $5 service fee when appropriate (which the representative said they were unable to do), the customer service interaction could have ended differently.

6) If EBS trained its customer service to avoid a customer is wrong approach (not treating what I saw with my own eyes as untruthful if they're unable to credit the fee regardless), the customer service interaction could have ended differently.

7) If EBS had provided me an opportunity to rate and review my interactions with customer service (a common practice among businesses with the normal incentives to provide quality service), I would have left a negative rating internally and given them an opportunity to reach out and resolve the issue before posting a negative review publicly.

8) If EBS had responded to the Better Business Bureau review I posted on June 17th, this review could have been avoided.

At the bottom of each EBS bill I have received is printed the phrase "Together, We Control Cost." Cost control should not happen at the expense of the customer or at the expense of quality customer service.

If you're an apartment manager, choose a utility billing service that: 1) allows its customers to set up automatic payment online, 2) has a consistently reliable billing system, 3) understands the mechanics of its own billing system, 4) promptly refunds unjust fees, and 5) cares about customer experience.