Collection service accused of tech issues, charging late fees for bills not received by customers

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A local man claims he racked up late fees for sewage bills he never received, on account of a technical issue he was never made aware of.

Mike Frank, of Ross Township, has for years opted to receive paperless bills from the township’s sewage bill collector, Jordan Tax Service, Inc.

He received them via email each month, and paid them regularly, up until last Summer. After making his payment for June 2020, the bills stopped coming.

That same month, Frank welcomed a baby, and between that and life’s typical distractions, he went months without realizing that he wasn’t receiving the bills, and was therefore missing the manual online payments.

Then, this month, while paying his water bill via another service, it dawned on him.

“A lightning bolt hit me all of a sudden, and I realized I didn’t pay my sewage bill.”

He logged onto the payment website and noticed he had racked up a number of late fees and charges.

“I’ve never paid a bill late in my life before this, simply because you trust the notification process, and the notification process just failed in this instance.”

Frank promptly paid the balance but realized he didn’t receive an emailed confirmation, and thus chose to call Jordan Tax Service.

According to Frank, a supervisor was immediately aware of the problem, and claimed that customers with @xfinity, @me or @icloud email addresses, have not been consistently receiving their paperless bills since last Summer. Frank, indeed, has one of those email domains.

“So I said, ‘okay, what are you guys doing about that?’ He said, ‘well, we’re handling it on a case by case basis. As people call in, I get their emails and send it over to the third party and then the third party unblacklists them and then the customer is dealt with.’”

Channel 11 searched the Jordan Tax Service website and did not see any note serving to inform customers of any technical issues.

We sent emails and phoned the company, and eventually received a response, via email, attributed to JTS Customer Service.

The response claimed “the email delivery failure is the result of a limited number of email addresses being blacklisted.  There are no complete domains that have been blocked from receiving these notifications.”

The same response goes on to say the technical problem is the “result of processes put in place by our customers’ ISPs to avoid email spamming.”

The company claims “a small percentage of our customers are affected by this problem and we are continuing to work to resolve these issues.” It notes that customers always have the option to login, view and pay their bills on the online portal, and “there may be some circumstances where waiver of late fees is deemed appropriate.”

Frank said that the supervisor he spoke with refused to refund him his late fees. He shared his story on reddit, to inform other neighbors. He particularly wanted to get the word out considering the state’s moratorium on utility shut offs for unpaid bills lifts March 31st.

Moving forward, Frank wishes he had the option to pay his sewer bill through a different company.

“These companies have the contract with the township, so consumers don’t get any choice in the matter. You’re stuck with using them.”

Channel 11 reached out to the Ross Township commissioners for comment.

Commissioner President, Daniel DeMarco, told Channel 11 that he is “extremely dissatisfied” with Jordan Tax, and is considering alternatives.

DeMarco said he had not previously heard of the issue Frank faced, but rather receives numerous complaints from residents who opt to receive paper bills via the mail.

DeMarco said residents report the mailed paper bills are frequently late. When the township seeks a response from Jordan Tax, the company points the finger at the post office, he said.

But, DeMarco isn’t buying that excuse.

“They just cannot handle the collection in an efficient, timely manner,” DeMarco said.

According to the Jordan Tax Service site, Ross Township is among more than 85 clients, to include “boroughs, townships and authorities and 30 school districts, as well as Allegheny County and the City and School District of Pittsburgh.”

Their listed collection services include real estate tax, delinquent real estate tax, municipal claims, garbage fees, amusement tax, mercantile tax, per capita tax, admissions tax, mercantile tax and more.

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