GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Some Grand Rapids city water customers are frustrated over problems when trying to pay their water bills online.
The city admits it was an error on their end.
Kathleen Eggers, a Grand Rapids resident, said the problem with paying her quarterly bill started on Thursday, Nov.4.
"My bill was supposed to come out autopay on Oct. 26 so on Nov. 3rd, I got a late notice and called the city and got referred to GR Payit who said they had a problem and they would fix it," Eggers said.
Eggers paid her bill manually and the system seemed like it took the right payment, yet she got another email Wednesday morning saying she owed the late bill and it's an ongoing charge. To date, she said the city still hasn't corrected the problem.
"I can't seem to get it through to them that the system isn't working right."
John Globensky, the city treasurer said that back on Oct. 5, they launched a new monthly installment option and they became aware of a hiccup on Nov. 3.
"When that function was turned on, there were some coding in the background of the application that ended up turning off autopay for customers," Globensky said.
1,700 customers out of roughly 52,000 were affected.
Globensky said late fees are being reversed, duplicate payments returned, and they've reached out to customers, but Eggers continues to be frustrated.
"My balance should be zero," Eggers said.
13 ON YOUR SIDE did reach back out to the city to see if they can help Eggers with her specific issue. Globensky said he will follow up with his team.
If you need help with your bill, the PayIt Support team can be reached at 855-929-4839 or support@payitgov.com.
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