Doylestown-area water and sewer customers are seeing bills jump $100 or more after the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) switched to a new online billing platform.

The Doylestown Township-based authority, which serves more than 100,000 residences and businesses across southeastern Pennsylvania, acknowledged the billing confusion in a Facebook post the week of Sept. 8, the Bucks County Herald reported. Some customers said they were told they owe for multiple months at once. Others said they received two bills in the same month.

The authority said no one is being overbilled. It blamed a lag between receiving meter readings from municipalities and recording that usage on monthly bills. During May and June, some customers were charged only the base rate, a flat fee for being connected to the system, rather than their actual water usage. The authority has not explained why only the base rate was charged for those two months.

BCWSA said it notified customers on May 12 that a new billing service was starting, with the full switch taking effect in July. Actual May and June usage would appear on their July bill alongside July charges. The transition created a one-month lag: May's bill went out in June, June's in July, and July's in August. August's bill also went out in August, producing two bills in one month.

Some customers reported spikes of $100 or more on a single statement, with usage figures ranging from zero to 5,000 units and charges that appeared to repeat across months.

Customers reported long hold times and unanswered calls. Doylestown Borough resident Wendy Margolis called it "an incredible mess" on Facebook, adding that the authority does not answer its phone or hangs up on callers who get through. Another customer, Audrey Funt McPeak, wrote on Facebook that she waited on hold for 36 minutes before being disconnected.

BCWSA said its customer service lines "are constantly staffed" and that it expanded its call center to offer evening hours. As of Sept. 11, about 35,000 customers had created accounts on the new payment portal, though some users reported the portal did not work properly. The authority said it was unaware of auto-pay problems once an account is set up.

Doylestown Borough Manager John Davis said his office is fielding calls because residents have struggled to reach BCWSA directly. "We also understand it can be very difficult to speak directly to anyone at BCWSA so we are trying to fill that void," Davis told the Herald.

BCWSA said customers have until Nov. 30 to pay their bills with no penalties or interest. A FAQ is posted on the authority's website. Residents with questions can also contact Doylestown Borough offices.