Water utility loses office in White Hall
Liberty Utilities Co., the water company that serves about 1,800 White Hall customers, will soon find itself on the streets.
White Hall Mayor Noel Foster evicted the company June 25 from the office space it rents inside White Hall City Hall, 101 Parkway Drive, and the company has about 180 days to vacate the property.
The company pays about $1,000 each month for the space, Foster said.
For Liberty Utilities users, the customer service office window inside White Hall City Hall has remained curtained and closed, long after the statewide covid-19 shutdown ended, he said.
It’s still difficult for customers to access Liberty’s office when attempting to pay a bill in person or lodge a complaint, Foster said.
“When they’re not helping their customers in White Hall, now that’s a problem,” Foster said.
In response to the situation, along with personally fielding a slew of billing and service complaints that aren’t being resolved in a timely manner, Foster reached the decision.
Although ousted from City Hall, the utility company will
continue to operate within the city, Foster said.
Additionally, Foster said because Liberty Utilities office personnel are unavailable, it leaves the city hall staff having to deal with often upset and angry customers.
“Their water quality is good … their customer service is poor,” Foster said, citing the major reason for his action, but he added, “It’s not the local employees, but it seems to be upper management.”
Liberty Utilities had not responded to an email for comment by press time Tuesday on their removal from city hall.
For Trey Johnson of White Hall, a broken water meter became a source of contention and two large bills in 2020 totaling nearly $1,500.
He said he informed Liberty Utilities that his water meter was showing zero water consumption but he knew that wasn’t right. Normally, his monthly water usage bill was between $80 and $100 per month.
Johnson suspected a broken meter, but he said he was told that “‘it’s not their (the meter reader’s) job to report a broken meter.’”
He added, “They gave me the run-around for a while.”
As well, his bill for sewer and trash pickup was a constant $75 for about six months, although he said this amount generally “fluctuated.”
He has automatic withdrawal from his bank account to cover his monthly bill, and he said, without advance notice, they removed about $694 from his account, followed by a second withdrawal about a week later for about $800.
Although he repeatedly contacted the company by phone, Johnson said, “It was a nightmare.” Through a longtime acquaintance who worked for the company he was able to get the situation straightened out.
“Their water quality is good … their customer service is poor. It’s not the local employees, but it seems to be upper management.”
— White Hall Mayor Noel Foster
PAST PROBLEMS
The company was plagued by water pressure problems due to leaks in its supply lines in February after the area’s winter storm. It also supplies water to Hardin Public Water Authority whose approximately 1,800 White Hall customers were asked to conserve water because of low water pressure at that time.