Common use of Customer Billing Clause in Contracts

Customer Billing. The Company’s tariffs provide the rates for sewer and water serv ice. Sewer custo mers pay a flat fee of $33.53 per quarter . Water customers pay a flat fee of $29.24 per quarter. There is also a water tariff provision for an availabilit y charge of $8.16 per q uarter. The availability charge is applicable to property owners when a water main is located adjacent to a lot or lots and no service line is connected to the property. Peaceful Valley uses th e Continental Utility Billing System software for accounting , billing, and to maintain customer records. Comp any personnel indicated th at the quarterly bills are usually prepared during the la st week of the month in a quarter and m ailed on the first of the month or the closest business da y. Information on the bills comm unicates that bills are due on the 31st of the m onth and that a $5. 00 late fee w ill be assessed on accounts when paym ents are not received by the 31 st. The post card bills used by the Company also in clude a small space to include short messages to customers. Customer payment options include cash, check, money order, or cashier’s check. Most payments are received in the m ail although, most days, one or two custom ers pay in person or use a mail slot in the door of the business office. Company personnel indicate that one-fourth to one-third of all mailed payments are initiated online through customer bill pay options at banks. Company personnel assert that bill paym ents are processed and recorded on the day they are received. Bank deposits are usually m ade on days payments are received. Account receipts are locked in a safe when deposits are not made. Customers requesting sewer or water serv ice are not req uired to co mplete a written application, and a security deposit is not required as a condition for providing serv ice. Peaceful Valley personnel assert that re turned checks have not been a problem. There have been two returned checks since Janua ry 2012. The Com pany’s tariff provides for a $25.00 returned check fee. The Company has an established procedur e for handling delinquent accounts. The following illustration shows the actions that would be taken on an account that rem ains unpaid if the bill were mailed on January 1: