Delinquency and service protection

Understand the shut-off process before it reaches your door

The safest time to ask about a past-due balance, payment arrangement, or hardship protection is before the final notice. This page translates the provider’s published rules into a practical checklist.

Customer protection notice

Review the delinquency rules before your service is interrupted

A past-due balance can trigger fees or a shut-off process. Contact the provider promptly if a notice is incorrect, a payment is pending, or a household needs assistance.

Grace period

At least 15 days from the date the bill is mailed. The bill is due on receipt, but KUB’s water service procedures define the past-due date as no less than 15 days after mailing; a closed-office past-due date moves to the next business day.

Late charges

Payments after the net payment period receive a late fee set by KUB’s current water or wastewater schedule. The water procedures cap the late fee at no more than 5% of the portion of the bill paid after the net period; the exact current line-item amount may differ by service classification and is added to the next bill.

Shut-off timeline

Day 0 is bill receipt or mailing, and the account becomes past due no earlier than day 15 after mailing. KUB may terminate water or wastewater service after the past-due date if the balance remains unpaid; the reviewed public materials do not publish one universal calendar day for the physical shutoff because final-notice status, service type, and account circumstances affect the sequence.

Reconnection

Residential water/wastewater reconnection is $40 during business hours, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, and $80 after 5:00 p.m. or on weekends. Starting service is $35 next business day or $60 same-day/after-hours; a returned payment is $25. Commercial reconnect charges are $50 business hours and $90 after hours.

Notice and timing

How delinquency is handled

Grace period after the due date

Late-fee calculation

Disconnection timeline

Statutory warning protocol

What notice should you expect?

KUB identifies the past-due date on the bill and uses a final notice on the bill plus a pink door hanger before service termination. KUB warns that it does not call or text customers demanding payment by prepaid cards; customers should use the official IVR or portal to verify a final notice and request a due-date extension when available.

If a notice seems wrong

Document the account balance, payment confirmation, notice date, and any household medical or accessibility concern. Then call the provider using the contact information on its official bill or profile before the stated deadline.

Restoring service

Reconnection costs and timing

Need a payment arrangement?

Ask before the shut-off date

Tell the customer-service representative that you are responding to a delinquency notice and ask specifically about installment plans, hardship protection, charity referrals, and the amount required to stop the disconnection order.

Customer protection guide

What to do when a bill becomes urgent

A delinquency notice from Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) should be treated as a time-sensitive account document. Read the exact due date, amount required, notice method, and contact instructions on the notice, then compare them with the provider details in this guide.

If you have already paid, gather the confirmation number and posting date. If you cannot pay the full amount, call before the stated shut-off date and ask about arrangements, hardship protections, agency referrals, and the minimum amount needed to pause action.

Keep the conversation specific: ask what will stop the order, when the payment must post, whether a reconnection fee applies, and whether the utility requires a separate request for medical, accessibility, or household-protection status.

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