One Northeast Jackson resident believes the JXN Water payment system needs improvements to make it more user-friendly.
“JXN Water is frustrated with people behind on their bills, but they don’t make it easy for people to pay,” said Kelley Williams Jr., an Eastover resident.
In October, Williams grew frustrated with the online payment system after firsthand experience.
The account for the sprinkler system at Williams’ home was two months delinquent, and the water supply to the system was shut off in October about the same time of the month that other residents in Northeast Jackson discovered the water supply to their homes was disconnected for nonpayment.
“We were two bills in arrears,” Williams said. “I felt like they were not accurate. It looked like they had picked a number out of air.”
Williams wanted to pay the sprinkler system bill online just like he does the bill for his household water usage, and he wanted to link the two accounts.
He tried to pay the entire amount owed for the sprinkler bill but found online does not allow a payment of more than $300.
“JXN Water’s solution is to exit the system, log back in and then pay that amount until you get your bill whole,” Williams said. “If your credit card company sees that, they put a hold on your account because they think that’s a fraudulent charge.”
He tried to pay the total amount owed with a personal check at the Kroger on I-55 payment center but an employee there told him only cash was accepted. The same thing happened at the Northtown Pharmacy payment center on Old Canton Road.
“That’s disconcerting to me,” he said. “A lot can go wrong with that. It doesn’t inspire confidence. That should not be the only way to pay. It creates a lot of room for mischief.”
Aisha Carson, a spokesperson for JXN Water, acknowledged $300 is the largest online payment accepted.
“We’re working on this,” she said “It’s a function of the vendor we use for automated payments. We’re working to identify solutions.”
Carson said most retail payment locations accept multiple forms of payment. “If you encounter a location that accepts cash only for JXN Water bill payments, please let us know so we can follow up directly,” she said.
Williams could have paid the bill with a personal check and sent it via the U.S. Postal Service, but he chose not to do
that because he had heard about checks being stolen from the LeFleur Post Office and altered. “Online payment is really the best option,” he said.
Williams tried several times starting in mid-October to link the two water accounts. but he finally gave up on that.
Each time he tried, he got an error message that read “Our service is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience” and it then gave a number to call.
Williams said he called the number six times and each time an employee responded with “I’ll enter the request” and he received a service number and was told he should be able to link the two accounts.
“They’re polite every time but can’t resolve the issue,” he said.
A businessman who works in investment management, Williams said it makes sense to link accounts when they belong to the same household.
“Otherwise, it will double the JXN Water accounts,” he said. “It’s just going to consume technical resources on their side.”
The ability to track and pay multiple accounts with one user log-in is preferable as it prevents a customer from having to use multiple email addresses and track two sets of credentials., he said. Entergy, another utility company, makes that possible for customers, he said.
Williams said he has lived at his current home for 17 years and before that at another home in Jackson for 10 years and never had problems with a water bill.
“I don’t recall any issues like what we’ve had within the last year that have become problematic,” he said.
JXN Water has opened an appointment center at the Jackson Medical Mall, Suite 499, to help customers handle problems, she said. The center is staffed by appointment; to make an appointment, go to www.jxnwater.com/staycurrent or call the JXN Water call center at 601-500-5200.
“Sometimes customers have niche issues that call center reps struggle to solve,” Carson said. “Our goal is to improve resolution on complex issues through escalation of in-person support when needed.”
JXN Water offers an account review process for customers who have questions or concerns about their bills, Carson said. To request an account review, go to www.jxnwater.com/staycurrent.
After water service is disconnected, a customer must first complete the reinstatement process before an account review can take place. “That is why it’s important for customers to resolve any suspected issues with their account before they are disconnected for non-payment,” Carson said.
Customers who are current on their water bills but experience a service interruption should know that outages can occur for a variety of reasons unrelated to billing, she said.
Any JXN Water customer current with his or her water bill whose water service is interrupted should call JXN Water at 601-500-5200 to report the issue, Carson said.
