Mailing issues cause Quincy neighbors to get their utility bills late resulting in unwanted late fees
Nov 15, 2024
Quincy's mail is processed in Jacksonville causing a delay on delivery to neighbors. Quincy leaders are coming up with solutions to make sure neighbors turn in their bills on time. Watch the video to see what neighbors can do if they are getting late fees because of this issue.BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:Every month you and I pay bills never fun, but it is what it is.But what happens when the city can't get you your bill on time?That's happening here in Quincy.I've discovered mail delays are causing some neighbors to rack up late fees on their utility bills.I'm looking at what the city is doing about this issue and how it impacts their utility department's overall operation.It's a problem that's causing neighbors a bit of frustration.An issue with no real end in sight.People in Quincy not getting their utility bills on time."We are hoping it will fix itself eventually."Anessa Canidate is Quincy's Customer Service Supervisor."We use a third party which does the mailing for the city of Quincy when it regards to utility bills"Canidate says while the city gets a confirmation from the third-party, they use that the bills have been mailed -- Neighbors are not getting those utility bills until after their due date.It's causing some to rack up late payments and late fees."We're relying on the customer coming in and paying the amount saying, ' I was waiting on my bill' so we can take the late fees off."Richard Ash is Quincy's utilities director.He tells me the mail is not processed in Quincy --- it's shipped east hundreds of miles away to Jacksonville where it gets process and then shipped back to Quincy. Round trip --- that's close to 400 miles.These delays are also impacting the department's operations."We're seeing a lot more customers that are delinquent on their bills. We understand that there is a mailing issue, so what we're doing is we're taking the extra step and calling each one of the accounts and reminding them, so we don't make the mistake of cutting them off."So, what's a solution well, the city unfortunately can't fix the mail issue-- but they do have other ways neighbors can try to pay their bills on time."They are more than welcome to either call the customer service department, visit the property, or go online if they are registered to view their bills online."Neighbors can call customer service to get set up to start viewing their bills online.As for right now, the utility department is going to continue to make sure neighbors are aware of the issue and continue to credit and pay back neighbor's late fees if the fees were caused by this issue.