City Water International

I’d choose «O» Stars if that were an option. Worst vender, worst company ever to deal with. Pretty much a scam operation from the get-​go. Avoid at all cost.

If I could rate them 0 I would.
General maintenance is ok but as we have been a long term small business client of theirs our water dispenser was ancient by the time we canceled our contract.
We called a year ago to cancel and told we were too late and were auto locked into another year. Fine so I asked that the terms of cancellation be made VERY clear — this in itself was like pulling teeth to get out of them. I wanted to know how much it would cost to cancel, the timeline, and to make sure no outstanding charges and surprises were put before us upon removal of product. I was assured that the charge would be $ 0 if I cancelled according to their protocol. We went on and used the product for the year, giving them 6 months written notice, then reminding them 30 days prior that we wanted the unit removed upon completion of contract. I contacted them twice with no response. Finally another 2 calls later someone came to pick up. Dispenser sat unused in the corner of our office for an additional 2 months while we waited for someone to come.
Fast forward to present I receive a bill more than one month after the stated due date. This gives you some indication of how organized they are and how they conduct business. The bill was for $ 450+ for a «Removal and refurbishment fee» — something I very specifically asked about last year. The dispenser itself is so old that it’s not even worth anything close to that! I would also highly doubt that they would even refurbish and give it to someone else. On top of that it is maintained on a regular basis by their company as this is the service we are paying for. If there was anything wrong with it, it would be entirely their fault for not fixing it while in use by us.
I called their office to resolve the matter and to let them know that this must be a mistake because I had a conversation with their customer service staff in order to avoid this situation in the first place. I spoke to «M» who was very short and rude with me. I explained the situation to her and all she had to say was «either you pay it or we’re taking you to court». Wow. after years with this company this is how we are treated. She further went on to tell me that nothing was in my file about having a conversation with regards to cancellation fees or closing fees. I was adamant that the conversation was had because in the end that is how we agreed to working with them for another year, knowing that at the end of the year the cost to us would be $ 0. Whether their agent made a mistake in telling me this in the first place is on them, not us. I suppose they can also write whatever they choose in their official file. As I saw there was no getting through to her, I asked that she make a note of the due date of the bill and the date we actually received it so that we are not charged finance charges for their incompetency.
I also left a voicemail with her VP in order to facilitate this matter. Hopefully it will be resolved in an amicable way.
This experience has left a very bad taste… Everything is fine and well when you’re with them but the moment you want to leave they threaten you with court. I never even expressed that I would not pay the bill, my intention was to enquire about the situation and come to an agreement.
After my phone call I decided to read up reviews on this company. As our company had a change of hands and City Water was chosen by the former owners many years ago, I wanted to see what this company was about. On the better business bureau there are several complaints all for the same type of situation. Being told one policy, then being told later that it wasn’t written in their file, charging people arbitrary amounts for the removal and refurbishment fee, etc…
At the end using their water dispenser has cost us approx $ 800 for 1 year… I might as well have bought a huge stock of fancy bottled water and called it a day. This is an insane amount to have to pay for something that you could technically drink for free… We now have a very fancy water dispenser that I bought out right elsewhere. Comes with all the bells and whistles that theirs did not. It actually dispenses hot water instead of lukewarm «hot water». It cost me $ 450 after tax plus I will need to maintain quarterly on my own but no more annual fee of $ 300+ and then another $ 480 when I want to cancel.
They really like to shoot themselves in the foot because had they just been a little more courteous and client conscious, there would have been a very good chance that we would use them in the future if our current self-​maintained dispenser method didn’t work out. Or that we would recommend it to the many other businesses and clients that we work with. Instead now I find us in the position to not only not recommend them when people ask, we will also be making sure that anyone who does ask for a suggestion, we’re telling to steer clear of this company. Google them. Many feel the same way.

Worst water company to do business with, lock you in long term contract. Had 6 months left and company associate informed no problem to not renew just fax cancellation email. Cooler is now gone and collection department looking for last payment and phone weekly. Lots of other competitive company’s that give far better rates and service. 2 years ago cooler leaked and flooded room, had to leave a voice mail and never had a return call till following day,… Ouch!