Beginning November 11, the City of Cleveland is changing its billing method for Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District customers served by the Cleveland Division of Water: The combined bill is being divided into separate bills in separate envelopes.
RELATED: Cleveland Water to split bills from NEORSD, hopes to clear confusion (The Plain Dealer, November 13, 2013)
Cleveland Water has been communicating this change to its customers and ours since before the last billing cycle. As a recap, here's what our customers can expect starting the week of November 11:
- No longer one combined bill. Instead of receiving one combined bill for water, wastewater, and local charges, Cleveland Water customers served by the Sewer District will now receive a separate NEORSD bill for wastewater charges.
- Two separate envelopes on separate days. Since Cleveland Water and NEORSD bills will now be separated, they will be mailed at separate times. Your sewer bill will be mailed about three days after your water bill and they will need to be paid separately.
- Two separate account numbers. NEORSD customers served by Cleveland Water formerly had all services referenced under a single account number. Starting with this separation, you will have a new NEORSD account number when making payments. You will also need this new number to sign up for eBilling (if you so choose) after you receive your first NEORSD bill under the new system.
As Cleveland Water states on its website, "These bills are designed to help eliminate confusion about who to call in an emergency, to provide a better understanding of the services and charges on your bills, and to empower you with additional tools to manage your utility related costs."
Cleveland Water has been informing its Sewer District customers of the change with emails and bill inserts.
Sewer District customers served by Cleveland Water will begin seeing the separate bill after the week of November 11. Here's what it will look like:
Charges for water service, and any charges from the local community, remain on the Cleveland Water bill.
For more information about the bill separate project, visit Cleveland Water's FAQ or call (216) 664-3130.
To pay your NEORSD bill, you can find your payment options at neorsd.org/pay
at one time the bills used to be separate the you combined them. Now you are going back to separate bills again. Do you people down there really know what you are doing? You are the ones who are confusing the public with going back and forth from an all in one bill to two separate bills again and making another account with NEORSD. instead of keeping just one account with the city of Cleveland Divsion of Water and just paying one bill like we have been. The bill is not hard to read or understand. and if you had only one phone number with option one for water and option two for sewer that would make it even easy for the public thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and your patience. We understand your concern. The bills were combined back in 2009 and Cleveland Water has chosen to separate them for various reasons as mentioned in the links above. Cleveland Water is our billing agent, and we are working with them during this transition. If you have questions, you can reach us at http://neorsd.org/ask_us.php.
DeleteHOW IS THE SEWER BILL CALCULATED? DOES IT DEPEND ON HOW MUCH WATER IS USED??
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question and your patience. Customers are charged a base fee of about $6 per bill, and then charged for actual consumption measured per 1000 cubic feet of water used. The rates are found at neorsd.org/rates
DeleteThis was the worse idea ever. Where do we find the mythical NEORSD account number? I don't even care how much your charging. Why would the Cleveland water department not combine the chargers. Was that too good of an idea of Cleveland?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question. Your NEORSD account number is printed on the upper right corner of your NEORSD bill under "Account information." Cleveland Water offered an explanation for separating the bills on their website. If you have questions about your NEORSD bill, you can email us at AskUs at neorsd.org.
DeleteI received my water bill, still no sign of the sewer bill. I can't sign up for an online account without an account number. So I guess I'll just sit here and hope the sewer bill shows up in the mail eventually.... This is ridiculous
ReplyDeleteThanks for your message. If you would like to share your water account number or property address, we can look up your NEORSD account number so you can get your eBilling account established. Visit our AskUs page to provide your account details.
DeleteI had the same problem as above, however I didn't know about the split to even try logging in to pay the other bill. I only found out because my water was shut off.
DeleteNow I never received a sewer bill, nor any of the correspondence to tell me I was behind.
Now I get to wait 48 hours to have my water turned back on because of this terribly executed change.
When reported the customer service person dismissed it that they sent notices (They are recorded as sent in the system) therefore it wasn't their fault. However nothing ever made it to me, therefore there must be some major issues in the system. Take responsibility for the poor service and make sure you don't disconnect service because of your own poor execution.
When you make a change, you cannot put the burden of following up on your customers. You have broken the trust your customers put in you with your process by changing it without notice, and you have to be 100% sure your notice is making it to your customer before you cut service.
For shame.
Same issue here and I like how everyone else receuved a courtesy response from the sewer distrct.
DeleteThank you both for taking time to comment. Since this change last year, Cleveland Water (our billing agent responsible for the bill separation and NEORSD billing for Cleveland customers) and our Customer Service departments—we are different agencies with different Customer Service reps and call centers—have worked with a number of customers on similar issues. If you had a negative experience with NEORSD's Customer Service department, please let me know via email community@neorsd.org and include your property address or account number. We can check our call record and we'll be happy to get back to you.
DeleteWater bill arrived weeks ago...still no NEORSD bill. I hope they don't expect me to pay any penalties when the account is overdue.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. We've had several customers contact us directly and we've been able to provide an account number to enable an online payment. If you'd like, email us at AskUs at neorsd dot org with your name, water account number, or property address and we can get that information to you.
DeletePlease provide a direct link to the payment login screen from your home page. After an account and login has been established the only way to easily get back to it is through the ocbscure my.clevelandwater.com Cleveland Water website. The only links on your page go to auto pay or one time payment and have one set up account all over again. The search function does also does not provide the link.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. We are planning several modifications to our Billing page to make it more user friendly. Your suggestion is one of them. ~John
Deleteis the bill stll every three months? or is it once a month?
ReplyDeleteYes, bills are still quarterly.
DeleteI'm a renter. So my landlord did not bother to inform me of the change in billing. I also pay on line. No warning that this is now just my water bill. I found out when my water was turned off. What happened to the notice on your door telling you they were ready to turn it off. I forgot this is a company ran by the city of Cleveland they don't have to notify anybody about anything. Also years ago the bills were two different colors that drew your attention that they were different.
ReplyDeleteI just paid the outstanding balance on our NEORSD bill online with a CC. How long before our water is turned back on? (I am typing my question because there was an HOUR AND A HALF wait on the customer service line.) Thank you
ReplyDeleteSorry you had not gotten through to one of Cleveland Water's reps. As our billing agent, Cleveland Water is responsible for getting your service back online. But if you can email your account number or property address to community@neorsd.org I will forward it to our NEORSD Customer Service and one of our reps may be able to determine if a date has been scheduled.
DeleteMy brother's water got shut off because the first time he heard about this separate billing nonsense was after his water got shut off. No door hanger warning or anything until water went out. He has a disabled wife and an infant son. You guys should be ashamed of your bureaucratic bungling of this situation. Why am I not surprised to see that you guys failed to send other people their bills too
ReplyDeleteThank you for your message, and I'm sorry to hear about your brother's situation. The bill separation took place last November and Cleveland Water took steps to contact its customers by mail as well as in their quarterly bills in advance. I'm not sure if he has had success contacting Cleveland Water, but if you email me at community@neorsd.org I'll see if we can check the status of his account.
DeleteJohn
As a renter my landlord didn't pay his bill, can I have water restored in my name with the lease and leaving a deposit?
ReplyDeleteIf you can email us your account information, I will ask one of our reps to contact you. Quite often, landlords arrangements can pose a problem but it might be best to speak with you to determine if you have options. Email us your name, address, and account number to community (at) neorsd dot org.
ReplyDeletei just found out my landlord has a outstanding balance and water is currently i will like to know as a tenant can i put the water in my name until im able to move
ReplyDeleteGood question, you'll need to discuss this issue with one of our Customer Service reps directly. You can call us at (216) 881-8247 or send us an email with your property address and account number online.
DeleteIs there a grace period for payment before a late fee or service interruption occurs?
ReplyDeleteCleveland Water sends customers a shut-off notice in advance of any action being taken. There is usually a first notice and a final notice.
DeleteWhy am I receiving this bill for waste water when I do not have city water or storm sewers where I live?
ReplyDeleteIf you have not received an NEORSD bill before, it is likely a regional Stormwater management program fee. How is the charge described on your bill?
Delete