Late Payment Fee for Utilities Water Bills

The late payment fee is a charge to a customer’s account when a payment has not been posted by the “Delinquent After” (due) date shown on the billing statement.

As approved May 19, 1987, Resolution #87-198, Section 7.2.A established that “Bills are due when rendered and become delinquent twenty-one (21) days after billing.”

It is charged after the “Delinquent After” (due) date passes and a payment has not been received and posted to your account. This will typically occur on the 22nd day after billing.

The following schedule is an example of when an account is past due and the payment due date is July 2, 2018.

• 2 days after due date: A courtesy call is made if a phone number is on file.
• 3 days after due date: A delinquent bill is mailed to the mailing address on file and a late fee is added to your account.
• 8 days after due date: A pre-termination notice is mailed to the mailing address and the service address on file. A fee of $18 is also charged to your account.
• 15 days after due date: The account is disconnected with a $21 fee.
• Once you make the payment to restore service: A reconnection fee of $32 for same-day service or $19 for next-day service is charged to your account.

The late payment fee for balances greater than $5 is 10% of charges with a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $500.

There never was a grace period. Your payment must be received and posted by the “Delinquent After” (due) date.

Yes. If you are paying on the “Delinquent After” (due) date, you need to deliver the payment to staff at the Clearwater Office Payment Processing Center at 14 S. Fort Harrison Avenue. Your payment must be posted to your account in order to avoid the late payment fee. 

The best method is to register for the Automatic Bank Payment plan. Another option available is to pay online with Visa or MasterCard. You can also continue to pay by mail, use our drop boxes or walk-in payment center. It is important that the method you use will ensure the payment is received no later than the due date.

Applying a late payment fee is common practice in the utility industry. Pinellas County Utilities is a latecomer in adopting this practice. Most public and private utilities have charged a late payment fee for years.

By the time this fee is charged, Pinellas County Utilities has carried the cost of providing utility services you for almost three months.

The late payment fee is not charged to generate revenue, so there is no expected amount. The fee is merely a tool to ensure customers pay on time.

Pinellas County Utilities will use the revenue to recover the costs of maintaining each delinquent account including billing, collections and field service work.

Every customer is impacted by those who pay late. All customers share in the costs of delinquent accounts.

If your account previously required a deposit, a second deposit will not be charged. However, delinquent accounts may be charged a deposit if there is not one currently on the account. Accounts which continue a delinquent pattern may be subject to an increased deposit.