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Latest Reviews and Complaints
Billing practices
Good afternoon,
I am a resident of the 34 Crestmont Apartment homes in Columbia, SC and have been a resident for the last seven years. It is currently under the management of Sunbelt Multifamily Properties.
I am contacting you with an issue that I do not feel is being treated in an expedited manner and it is affecting all of the tenants in this apartment complex.
I am one person living in an apartment. Our water bills, which include sewage etc., are billed with our rent that is due the first of the month with the latest payment the 5th of the month. My water bills normally run $55.00 or under and have done so for the last seven years. I always receive an email with my water bill prior to rent becoming due. They use a third party service to do the billing - submeter.
Recently, through email, I received a much higher than normal water bill - $165.86 for April 1st. Upon inquiry with my neighbors, other tenants - singles and families of four - were also receving bills of this much or highter - much higher than they normally pay. A family of four below me, who had lived on the property for the last three years, said their highest water bill was $60.00.
I reached out immediately to National Exemption Service - submeter, (The water billing company of this property) Sunbelt managers on the property, their corporate office, and also the city of Columbia. Management stated, through email to the residents, that they believed the higher cost was due to the new meters and an 8% uptick in water costs through the city.
That said, I called and spoke to a manager at the city of Columbia water department. I was informed that the meters were installed in October of 2020 and that the 8% increase was for the month of July 2021 - and that was the last rate increase. Therefore, the high cost of the water bills CANNOT be due to those two issues.
There is a billing error.
I have been in communication with management regarding all that I have stated here and also the city of Columbia.
I am contacting you as I am concerned not only for myself but the other residents who live in this property. We all have expenses that are increasing on a daily basis as well as other things to worry about - I'm a teacher and my husband is active duty military - and we do not have time to have constant issues with this situation.
If you would like other contact information here it is below:
Sunbelt Multifamily Properties 34 Crestmont Management Office - [protected]. Katie Torres is the head manager.
The numbers to Submeter - [protected] or [protected].
The number I called for the Columbia city water - [protected]
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Williams
Desired outcome: Have National Exemption Service rectify our water bills today to our normal costs ($55.00 and below) before our rent is due on April 5th.
7 National Exemption Service [NES] Complaints
National Exemption Service [NES]’s earns a 2.2-star rating from 0 reviews and 7 complaints, showing that the majority of property managers and residents are somewhat dissatisfied with utility billing and submetering services.
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water usage/ sewer
When (National Exemption Service LLC ) took over at Springfield Meadows in Springfield, Ohio 45502 Our water bill was 3 times the price and claims we used the max 5000 gallons. We then got the Man who takes care of things in the Park to check our meter, in which he said there was no leaks because meter would be running numbers. Mom & I live together in a...
Read full complaintpayment is being claimed as "non received".
I purchased a Money Order for the full amount of the water/sewer bill & I was just informed that there is a "non-received" claim by this company.
I purchased the Western Union Money Order on 05Jul2017 & went about a 1/2 mile down the road to the united States Post Office to mail the item in a large manila envelope.
The only (2) mistakes that I have made in a very long time is *1 I moved into this apartment complex AND *2 I stayed there more than a year. They decided to go into cahoots with an out-of-state corporation for billing of the water & sewer utilities that were to be included in the rent.
I called N.E.S. this morning & they claim that there is no other office in Tampa, Fla which is where my correspondence & negotiable was mailed. I offered to fax copies of all paperwork that I have but was refused a fax number -
I am sure I found this 400 N Tampa St., Tampa, Fla address to mail the remittance.
If there is anything that can be done; someone please assist.
Any other phone number that I have tried will not connect.
These phone numbers being :
[protected] 999 9660 -----
Billing and consumption (Water/sewer)
I was out of country from Nov 01 2015 till Dec 04 2015. But i received a bill with charges of $49.81 during the period i was away. This is way too much. Even the base charges for JEA is $12 and $14 for water and sewer respectively. Also the Oates Energy Inc even has lower changes when compared to NES. This was a big rip off. Also my previous bill for 7 day...
Read full complaintIs National Exemption Service [NES] Legit?
National Exemption Service [NES] earns a trustworthiness rating of 94%
Highly recommended, but caution will not hurt.
We found clear and detailed contact information for National Exemption Service [NES]. The company provides a physical address, 2 phone numbers, and 2 emails, as well as social media account. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.
A long registered date for submeter.com can be seen as a positive aspect for National Exemption Service [NES] as it indicates a commitment to maintaining the website and its domain name for a long period of time. It also suggests that the company is organized and has taken steps to secure its online presence.
The age of National Exemption Service [NES]'s domain suggests that they have had sufficient time to establish a reputation as a reliable source of information and services. This can provide reassurance to potential customers seeking quality products or services.
Submeter.com has been deemed safe to visit, as it is protected by a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to help protect networks from online threats.
However ComplaintsBoard has detected that:
- Despite a high level of trust, our investigation found issues with National Exemption Service [NES]'s service, including poor customer service, lack of accountability, and responsibility to resolve complaints. Customers may face long wait times for responses, receive generic or unhelpful answers or no response at all. Only 28% of 0 complaints were resolved.
- Submeter.com has relatively low traffic compared to other websites, it could be due to a niche focus, but could also indicate a potential lack of traffic and popularity. The submeter.com may offer a niche product or service that is only of interest to a smaller audience.
- We detected that submeter.com is missing an SSL certificate, which is a cause for concern. Without an SSL certificate, the website may not be taking adequate steps to protect users' sensitive information. This can increase the risk of intercepted data being used for malicious purposes.
- National Exemption Service [NES] protects their ownership data, a common and legal practice. However, from our perspective, this lack of transparency can impede trust and accountability, which are essential for establishing a credible and respected business entity.
Billing
I moved into my apartment complex last August. Up until yesterday every bill I have ever received has been at least $200! This is without late fees. I have complained about the high water bill seeing as how I do not have a washer or dryer, or dishwasher. I am a single female that works two jobs, so my water usage is very minimal. Last month my apartment complex came through the apartments to "change the battery in the water meter to ensure they were working properly" and what would you know my next bill was $17.74. I am livid. I have paid over $1, 200 to this company they have reported negatively against my credit and have caused major tension in my finances. Is there any action I can take? Because this is highway robbery!
Breach of contract
Our company entered into and signed a contract with national exemption service (Nes) to provide meter-reading and billing services to our property in ohio. Nes notified our tenants that they (Nes) would be reading their meters and that tenants would be receiving their bills for water and sewer service from nes.
A nes rep visited the property (We thought to read meters) and several weeks later, no resident had received a bill. After multiple contacts with nes and getting the run-around I received an e-mail from teresa smetzer of nes telling me… & ldquo;upon review of the walk through, and the proximity of your community to the other accounts that we have, we find it is not feasible for us to provide the reading and billing service you need and deserve. & rdquo;
Apparently nes has never heard of google maps. The time to make the decision not to do business is before you enter into a contract to provide the service.
It seems nes has totally forgotten their contractual obligation to provide the service. I e-mailed ms. Smetzer to ask if nes had notified my tenants that they would not be reading meters now. No response. Not even a & ldquo;sorry we could not do what we said we would do”.
Any community contemplating nes for submetering should consider another vendor.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Water bill
The services is give at olivine @ the township witch when I star to live here as a owner of the property was describe
As a condo conversion complex, now we became a rental community again an this company is been charging us the water service they said every month but really we recive bills every other month with late charges por unpaid bills, at the first place we tough the mail got lost but still we have to be calling asking for bills to pay on time, the claim was send over the mail, but the late charges are almost the same amount of the bill ex ample; previous utility charges $ 13.85
Water (New) charges $ 8.02
Sewer charges $ 4.79
(Whitch departmen audi homuch they assessed for late charges) ? - late charges $ 12.50
____________
Total charges and payment due $39.16
![National Exemption Service [NES] - Water bill - Photo 1](/images/complaint/full/183238/3-28-2009+1%3B26%3B47+AM.jpg "National Exemption Service [NES] - Water bill - Photo 1")
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I am amazed to read every thing I have gone through is not isolated. I recently paid a bill for the first time. I had a 4.00 bill and I never got a warning that I would be charged almost 4.00 to process it on line. Then apparently I entered the wrong account number and was charged an additional 33.50 as a "returned fee" even though it never passed through my bank. The account number did not look anything like my account so I don't know where that would have come from. They refused to return that fee and were very rude. I live in Chapel Hill, NC and I am forced to use this company. Since they know we do not have a choice in service providers they are so rude. Why would they provide customer service to captive clients. I wish we all could do something about this horrible company.
Contact your Attorney General. This is fraud and theft
I live in ks. the apt complex also uses nes. I am being over charged every month by this company. plus every time I complain they lied even more about my usage. I am now keeping records of my usage plus I am taking photos of my meter through the day everyday. their meter number does not match any of the numbers on my meter. they have even lied about where I can find the meter number. there must be some law about them stealing from people. I will not give up until this is resolved. they also increase my bill every time I complain.
I lived in a condo in clearwater, fl where our board decided to change from Oates service to NES, solely so they could collect the late fees, Since NES has taken over the sub metering of the association, there has been nothing but problems, you receive the bill on the 5th of the month and it is due on the 5th. I recently have had issues with the fact that they are reading the meter as a 7 digit number instead of 6. they have taken where the decimal point is and removed it, with this they are now charging 10, 000 gallons of water for every 1000 you use. Multiple emails and phone calls go unresponded to. I have now sold the unit and looked at the final bill, again they are charging 12000 gallons of water instead of 1200. Phoned to speak to someone and was told that it would be sent over and reviewed by the person that handles it, i asked if there was someone else higher i could speak to since this person is not responding to me, been waiting over a month for the last response with nothing, told that the only person higher doesn;t take phone calls. So glad to be out of there, but i want the bill resolved before i pay the last bill.
Hello, tampa fly guy. do you fly for allegiant? if so we may have mutual friends. i'm writing to ask what condo association you were with. I would like to contact them about oates. our association has nes and isn't happy but we're not sure who else will do a good job. please let me know. thanks.
This is a shell corporation, a sham company that makes money from scamming people and housing developers. Minimal research will produce, for anyone looking, scores of terrible stories, lawsuits, claims of fraud and immoral and illegal behavior from NES. They have abysmal customer service and responded to my BBB complaint so poorly that it is laughable- couldn't even get the name of my apartment complex correct; and cited percentages that don't even match my bill. This company is absolutely fake and should be dismantled immediately due to their extremely poor and criminal behavior.
I live in Tennessee at The Grove at Kendal apartments. The rent is income based which really was a blessing for me and my son. However the sewer charge that NES charges is beyond ridiculous. For example, this month they are charging me $51.93 to put my $16.63 worth of water into the sewer. All and all my bills usually average between $60 and $70 a month. Add that to rent and it becomes not such a benefit anymore. I have lived at several locations in Tennessee in my almost 50 years of life and have never paid such a high water bill. I also don't have a washing machine in my apartment. I really don't know what my course of action should be, but I know something is definitely fishy about this company. I have also been charged the late fees at first because I don't get prompt billing (Just wasn't used to a water bill because water was provided in my last apartment.) I will continue to watch this site and try to see if I can do anything about this situation.
This company is by far one of the most unethical I have ever encountered. There billing practices are intentionally unclear, and if the consumer is not aware late charges are on the bill all the better because they will refuse to refund them. Such a cavalier attitude towards consumers that do not have the ability to choose not to do business with them is truly reprehensible. I hope they face the appropriate consequences for their actions.
I live in Tennessee and when I moved into my apartment NES sent my bills with not enough time to get my payment on time and charged me a late fee other people in the complex complained of the same, I called NES and complained I was told the company would wave the late fee, they didn't, I called for the 3rd time, they have been charging me a late fee every month for close to 2 years to the sum of $256.08 yet my payments have not been late, they send me threating letters saying Iam in violation of my lease . seeing all the complants a class action suit should be filed, maybe this company would take these complants serious.
Im guessing this complaint board goes unnoticed by NES just like the credibility of the customer service managers they hire. Miguel Ramirez claims to be the highest ranked manager at NES because when I asked to speak to his supervisor he claimed he was the highest in command and made all of the decisions. One very important decision he faied to make was the right one in refunding the $33.50 fee he claimed was legit from a returned check fee. My check wasnt retrned nor was I charged a fee from my bank. What happened was a simple accidental typo while using the online payment system vial electronic check. Miguel claimed that I typed 1 number wrong when entering my routing number and that warranted a VERY non-refundable fee. I had penty of money in my account and he claimed there was nothing he could do. It was the most unbeievable story I have ever heard. So please beware! If an elderly person or anyone for that matter accidentaly types 1 wrong number you will be charged a non-refundable, non-negotiable $33.50 fee by NES and Miguel Ramirez the highest ranking customer service manager who signs his own checks apparently because he has no supervisor will not be able to help you. This is the most horrible customer service experience I have seriously ever had. Miguel also will not do anything to notify the correct department to fix the website or put a warning on the website that clearly states "BE VERY CAREFUL TYPING BECAUSE 1 WRONG NUMBER WILL COST YOU $33.50" I would have liked the warning. NES and Miguel Ramirez, YOU ARE VERY WRONG FOR LYING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS AND TREATING THEM TERRIBLY, VERY WRONG! pardon the brevity and misspellings
NES has terrible customer service and the worst billing service I've ever encountered. I live in The Village at Sandhills in Columbia, SC and I never seem to get the bill until it's already past due! I get charged for last month's water on each bill (ex: In April, I'm paying for Feb-Mar billing cycle instead of Mar-Apr). The website is virtually nonexistant. Unless you are enrolling in auto-pay or paying your water bill by credit card, none of the links work. Home, services, contact us, etc... the webpage shows links for these pages, but every single page link is broken. Even the page link in the emails are broken links! How did I finally get an email, you may wonder. It's because despite the fact that I've used the on-line credit system to pay my bill for the last three billing cycles, NES continues to charge me late fees and claims I haven't paid them. Not that I can ever get anybody on the phone to confirm this is why they tack on an additional $15 late fee every month (while adding the previous couple of months of paid utilities fees, as well). The taxes and fees for running the service are $24.95 a month. I use less than 300 gallons of water a month, so my actual water consumption bill is only a few dollars. So I'm paying the $25 worth of taxes/service fees plus $15 in "late" fees every month, but spending only $3 to $6 a month in water. This is ridiculous. I just took another screenshot and copied my payment confirmation number for the THIRD month in a row to prove that I've paid well over $150 extra. I doubt I'll get reimbursed unless I take this to court.
They are a total ripoff. I send in my check which they claim to have received 9 days after it was mailed out. They waited for 3 days after the due date to deposit it and charged me a late fee. They do not allow online payment or require that we pay 3.50 each time we use automated or online payment. It looks like they want to be able to force people to pay by mail and then tack on $ 15 by claiming that they were late.
Overview of National Exemption Service [NES] complaint handling
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