L.A.'s DWP stops issuing shut-off notices amid billing problem
Source: LA Times
The head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Wednesday that his agency has stopped issuing shut-off notices as it tackles problems associated with as many as 70,000 late or inaccurate customer bills.
Faced with questions from City Council members upset over the billing debacle, DWP General Manager Ron Nichols said his agency also will not initiate new collections on unpaid bills through the end of the year.
Since the DWP switched to new customer software three months ago, ratepayers have experienced delayed charges, bills that are dramatically higher than they should be and long hold times when they call demanding answers. Nichols told council members that corrections are underway, with reimbursement checks already being received by some customers.
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The DWP said converting to a new customer system is expected to cost $162 million once staff time is included. Weeks after that process began, ratepayers started coming forward with horror stories about massively inflated bills.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-dwp-council-20131128,0,6543030.story#axzz2lyWk545M
If you were to hear Republicans, problems with the roll out of custom software rarely encounter problems. However, the truth is that even a city level integrated software solution can be costly and lead to massive problems.
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