Service Disconnections for Non-Payment
A. Purpose:
To outline the process of disconnection and/or termination of service for non-payment.
B. Policy/Procedure:
1. Customer bills are generated monthly. Bills are mailed at the end of each month and are due on the 15th of each month, unless this date falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case the bill shall be due on the next business day.
2. Should payment not be received by the due date, a 10% penalty shall be applied to the account.
3. The Town Staff uses the customer cut-off report to process hang tags. The hang tag will be placed on the door at least a week before the disconnection date. The disconnection date is to be 45 days after the due date of each month unless the Town Manager determines that this date is not practical in any given month.
4. Disconnects for residential customers shall not occur when the forecasted temperature is at or above 92 degrees Fahrenheit within the 24 hours following disconnection.
5. Disconnects for nonpayment shall not occur on Fridays, weekends, State/Town holidays, or the day immediately preceding a State/Town holiday.
6. The Town website shall contain a copy of this disconnect policy for viewing by customers. (www.townofappalachiava.us)
7. The Town website shall contain a list of available agencies/charities which customers can contact for bill payment assistance.
8. Customers paying between the due date and the disconnect date must pay the balance including penalty to avoid disconnect, unless:
A. The Town Manager has determined that extreme mitigating circumstances warrant deferring the disconnect date, or;
B. The customer has a documented serious medical condition that causes them to fall under the provisions of 20VAC5-330.
9. At the close of business on the day before the disconnect date, Town Staff prints an updated list of past due accounts. DOXO payments will only be credited to customers account when received not initiated. DOXO payments take 2 to 7 days to process.
10. Once the list is finalized after close of business on the day before disconnects, the nonpayment/reconnect fee is applied to each delinquent account.
11. Once the disconnect fee is added, the customer must pay the balance, penalty, and reconnect fee to have service restored. Service is restored within 48 hours of payment on the account.
12. On the day of disconnects, the Town Crew is provided a current list of delinquent accounts for disconnection.
13. Once dispatched, the Town Crew must turn the water off. NO EXCEPTIONS.
14. NO PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED IN THE FIELD UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
15. After a customer pays the amount required to have service restored, the Town Staff notify the Town Crew to reconnect the service, which must occur within 48 hours of payment.
16. Should the account balance not be paid on a disconnected account within 10 days of disconnect, the account is ended, and any meter deposit is applied to the remaining balance. Should the customer desire to restore service after this time, a new User Agreement and meter deposit is required, along with any remaining balances owed.
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