- Report: #960294
Complaint Review: American Utility Management - Oak Brook Illinois
Reported By:
Annoyed Consumer -
Panama City Beach, Florida, USA
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
American Utility Management
Several P. O. Boxes Oak Brook, Illinois, United States of America
Phone:
Web:
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
American Utility Management AUM, A. U. M. American Utility Management of Oak Brook, Ill. and Concord Management Ltd of Maitland, Fla Oak Brook, Illinois
Report Attachments
If you are familiar with this blog site http://aumsucks.blogspot.com// or even if you bother to read about our adventures with AUM at our Nautilus Cove Condo in Panama City Beach, Fla, you will know or find out that AUM was fired as our utility billing firm 4 years ago this December.
This was due to complaints over bogus billings. So they were fired and there was Joy in Mudville. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago when this blog author was looking into something else at the condo and requested the water/sewer billings from the City of Panama City Beach.
The 12 pages (2008 to 2012) arrived and an odd thing was immediately noticed the address for billing was an AUM P O Box in Oak Brook, Illinois. Obviously an error right? A call to the City verified that the bills were going to that POB.
Initial emails to the BOD didnt get through so a Certified Letter was sent and in a partial reply the info came to light that we were still using AUM.
AUM pays the City bills every two months, then in turn bill the 3rd rate management firm Concord Mis-Management, Ltd. So assurances by Concord in 2008 and from the BOD of that time were lies.
Concord never fired AUM! The only change was that we went from individual unit billing where AUM simply made up amounts for the bills to increasing the condo dues to $675 quarterly, now everyone pays the same rate no matter how much water their unit uses. My inquiry to the BOD also asked how much we pay for this service of them paying the bill then billing the management firm who in turn bills us. I am waiting for this info and will update the site a.s.a.p.
Perhaps I should have worded it a bit differently and asked how much AUM was screwing owners out of for each billing.
So what does this tell Owners here about Concord Management and American Utility Management? It tells us that they are all lying SOBs. The Concord 3 yr contract is up next year and Concord is going to be our former management firm. Owners here have no use for Liars and Theives, Concord and AUM are going to be history next year.
-----------------------------------------------------
Saturday, October 20, 2012
AUM Message board
What has been missing from the AUM issue is a message board so that both annoyed customers and former employees can find out what others think of this 3rd rate utility billing firm.
AUM CEO is Michael Miller
A new message board is now up, be the first to post at: http://aumsucks.freeforums.net//
-------------------------------------------------
Monday, October 15, 2012
Even emplolyees don't like AUM and sue them.
The legal reporting site PACER shows a case out of the Northern District of Illinois where a top executive for AUM sued them for violations of the Federal Medical Leave Act and asked 600K. This went for a year and 8 months before it was 'settled'.
The 4 page complaint is available at the end of this blog site: http://aumsucks.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post.html
See PACER for the entire case: Russ v. American Utility Management, Inc CASE #: 1:11-cv-00943 filed 2/10/11
===========================================
(This is what the CAM of the time put in writing about the matter, she also told me several times in person that AUM was 'out' as our billing service)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected] (email address is no longer in service)
Sent: 11/17/2008 11:04:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: RE: AUM Incorrect Bill of 11/13/08
We are making some changes with the water billing system. As a result AUM zeroed out all balances. The property is now receiving/collecting the water/sewer payments. I have made note of the credit. In the future we plan to not have AUM as a billing system. Information will be going out to all Owners about this transition in the near future
Kay Dobbins
Community Director
Nautilus Cove Director
Nautilus Cove Resort
13700 Panama City Beach Pky
Panama City Beach, Fl., 32407
Phone 850-235-1009
Fax 850-235-1282
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Harris, #708, is the blog author
==============================================
See also blog site at: http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/ or use message board at: http://nautiluscove.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general
This was due to complaints over bogus billings. So they were fired and there was Joy in Mudville. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago when this blog author was looking into something else at the condo and requested the water/sewer billings from the City of Panama City Beach.
The 12 pages (2008 to 2012) arrived and an odd thing was immediately noticed the address for billing was an AUM P O Box in Oak Brook, Illinois. Obviously an error right? A call to the City verified that the bills were going to that POB.
Initial emails to the BOD didnt get through so a Certified Letter was sent and in a partial reply the info came to light that we were still using AUM.
AUM pays the City bills every two months, then in turn bill the 3rd rate management firm Concord Mis-Management, Ltd. So assurances by Concord in 2008 and from the BOD of that time were lies.
Concord never fired AUM! The only change was that we went from individual unit billing where AUM simply made up amounts for the bills to increasing the condo dues to $675 quarterly, now everyone pays the same rate no matter how much water their unit uses. My inquiry to the BOD also asked how much we pay for this service of them paying the bill then billing the management firm who in turn bills us. I am waiting for this info and will update the site a.s.a.p.
Perhaps I should have worded it a bit differently and asked how much AUM was screwing owners out of for each billing.
So what does this tell Owners here about Concord Management and American Utility Management? It tells us that they are all lying SOBs. The Concord 3 yr contract is up next year and Concord is going to be our former management firm. Owners here have no use for Liars and Theives, Concord and AUM are going to be history next year.
-----------------------------------------------------
Saturday, October 20, 2012
AUM Message board
What has been missing from the AUM issue is a message board so that both annoyed customers and former employees can find out what others think of this 3rd rate utility billing firm.
AUM CEO is Michael Miller
A new message board is now up, be the first to post at: http://aumsucks.freeforums.net//
-------------------------------------------------
Monday, October 15, 2012
Even emplolyees don't like AUM and sue them.
The legal reporting site PACER shows a case out of the Northern District of Illinois where a top executive for AUM sued them for violations of the Federal Medical Leave Act and asked 600K. This went for a year and 8 months before it was 'settled'.
The 4 page complaint is available at the end of this blog site: http://aumsucks.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post.html
See PACER for the entire case: Russ v. American Utility Management, Inc CASE #: 1:11-cv-00943 filed 2/10/11
===========================================
(This is what the CAM of the time put in writing about the matter, she also told me several times in person that AUM was 'out' as our billing service)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected] (email address is no longer in service)
Sent: 11/17/2008 11:04:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: RE: AUM Incorrect Bill of 11/13/08
We are making some changes with the water billing system. As a result AUM zeroed out all balances. The property is now receiving/collecting the water/sewer payments. I have made note of the credit. In the future we plan to not have AUM as a billing system. Information will be going out to all Owners about this transition in the near future
Kay Dobbins
Community Director
Nautilus Cove Director
Nautilus Cove Resort
13700 Panama City Beach Pky
Panama City Beach, Fl., 32407
Phone 850-235-1009
Fax 850-235-1282
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Harris, #708, is the blog author
==============================================
See also blog site at: http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/ or use message board at: http://nautiluscove.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general
Report Attachments
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Annoyed consumer
Marietta,Georgia,
USA
City Cracks Down on AUM and Concord Management
#2Author of original report
Thu, November 01, 2012
PCB closes loophole on water charges
Article at: http://tinyurl.com/9okjm69
By Valerie Garman / The News Herald
Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 19:34 PM.
PANAMA CITY BEACH The Panama City Beach Council has closed a loophole on an
ordinance that allowed apartment complexes to overcharge residents for city
utility services.
A city investigation into individual meter readings at Stone Harbor Apartments on Alf Coleman Road showed some residents were billed $9 to $10 per 1,000 gallons of water used, nearly three
times the city rate.
The ordinance, which prevents the resale of city water and sewer services by any third party, was amended at the Oct. 11 council meeting, adding language to prohibit landlords from taking utility cost from vacant units or the common areas and distributing it among tenants.
They werent breaking the law, but they werent following what we intended the ordinance to do, Utilities Director Al Shortt said of the complex, which outsources billing to American Utility Management (AUM). Residents were essentially paying for stuff that should have been absorbed by
the community.
Shortt said the complex, a Concord Management property, was allowing residents to pick up the bills for
vacant units and also for the irrigation water in common areas.
The amended ordinance prohibits landlords from charging any more than the city would
have charged the tenant, with the exception of an administrative charge not to
exceed $3.
Having the other tenants pay what is the landlords obligation, the landlord is making money, said City Attorney Doug Sale, who provided clarification at the council meeting.
The amendment to the ordinance was prompted after Councilwoman Josie Strange received complaints from residents at Stone Harbor regarding utility bills.
Although the complex runs off one master meter, AUM sets up individual meters at each unit, allowing
city officials to determine that many residents were being overcharged for their usage amount.
The city sent a notice of violation and cease-and-desist order to the complex in August, requesting
documentation of the actual cost of operating the utility and also information from the third-party bill processor.
Shortt said Stone Harbor residents should see a reduction in their utility bills during the next billing
cycle.
Theyre well aware of what they need to do, Shortt said of AUM. Now that the ordinance is in place, it should take care of those issues.
Posted by Concerned at 10/31/2012 01:07:00 AM http://aumsucks.blogspot.com/
=============================================
Sunday, October 28, 2012
City tells Stone Harbor to 'Cease and Desist'
That's right Stone Harbor residents, in Panama City Beach, Florida, benefitted from a City of PCBs Notice of Violation and a demand for Stone Harbor Apartments to "Cease and Desist" usurious water billings.
A resident complained to a City Councilman about the high rates for water by American Utility Management. The Councilman then brought the bogus charges to the Cities attention and after
looking into it the City Attorney sent the below letter to Stone Harbor Partners Ltd, which is just Concord Management under another corporate shell.
Note the line that says they must stop: "charging usurious rates which are far out of line with the City's rates set forth in . . . the City's Code".
