They don't accept debit/credit cards when you pay your bill at their office. They only accept checks. Or cash. Why? I have no clue. I had to drive back home to get my checkbook one time. At this day and age, I just assumed this UTILITY company would be more 'in' with the times. Sigh. Bank bill pay is the way to go to avoid coming to this office. read more

Extremely shady, like something is weird about this place. Why do you not have an online payment system? Why do you not take debit/credit cards? And why am I getting a $10 late fee for your mistake?!? Like this gives off, heavily overcharging and keeping payments under the table so you don't have to pay what you owe to the government. Most likely going to be submit a fraud complaint to government cause things aren't adding up sometimes. read more

I was helped by two ladies during my visit. The first one--unfortunately, I didn't get her name--was very polite and courteous, and I truly appreciated her professionalism. However, the second lady was quite the opposite--rude and clearly having a bad day. It really affected the overall experience. It's disappointing when one person's attitude overshadows otherwise good service. I was just there to pay my bill. I wasn't asking for anything. read more

The women at the front desk are always kind and helpful whenever I have questions, which I appreciate. Additionally, whenever I call about issues with service, they respond in a timely manner. I do wish that they would accept cards though. Overall, I have been a loyal customer of Alco for several years and do not understand the bad reviews for this company. read more

I have been a customer for many years and this family company really cares about helping customers. I have had a lot of questions about my bills, especially when they are high, and I always get a great explanation and one of the ladies in the front always makes sure I understand. I have never experienced any type of racism or unfair treatment. It's a pleasure having a small town water business to call when I have a question or concern. I value the customer service and professionalism. read more

So I pull up to my home after a 18 hr shift. My neighbors water meter near sidewalk is leaking water all over curb . " Keep in mind my neighbor is out of the U.S. . " I turn off meter so water is not lleaking over to drain. I call ALCO to report issue. I mentioned water is off , due to me turning off the shut off valve. Also keep in mind representative from ALCO ask me a question and as I'm answering question just cuts me off with either another question or telling me what I shouldn't have done. REP: you should not be touching the meter , if something breaks you are responsible! " ME: my neighbor is out of town plus who knows how long it has been leaking. ALL THIS AFTER I FIND OUT THAT ALCO CAME AND DID WORK IN THIS ADDRESS EARLIER! Maybe stay and watch everything is working fine, before you want to start looking at your screw up and try to blame the person doing the right thing ! read more

Worst of the worst. We should shut this place down, they are a crime against the population. I sent in my payment on time, they cashed my check, and STILL send me the previous month's bill again with a $10 late fee. They are stuck in the stone age with their payments, I'm surprised they don't accept sacks of wheat or barter for slaves. I wish a swift bankruptcy of this foul establishment, and I resent having give this place even a penny of my hard earned income. I'm coming in person for you to fix this. I'm coming with a GoPro. If you screw me again, I'm coming with a lawsuit. read more

Wow blatantly racist company. Work has shut off water from early hours of the day late afternoon. Notice are given with almost no notice or not at all. When call for more info on when water will be turned off they are combative and reluctant to help. Why? Why would I need to know when I can use water? This has been happening from the beginning of this month o. The east side of salinas and they don't care becuase its a Mexican community. read more

I have had an account with Alco Water for 29 years. Their billing has improved since they used to have young people leave your invoice at the door. If it blew away & you paid late, too bad. Now at least they mail the bills. When not paying by mail, I often go to the drive up window to pay. Never had an issue, the cashier will give you a receipt right away. I always pay by check. For those griping about no credit cards being accepted, that would mean an extra fee to the water company so just get a cash advance from your Visa then pay cash. With so many people moving in & out of east Salinas seasonally, I'm sure this little one horse private firm has its hands full processing account changes. My only reason for deducting stars is the water quality. The chlorine they add every month to keep down bacterial counts irritates my skin & makes my inner ears itch. The doctor has indicated he has had other patients with the same skin problem. Thankfully the state public utility commission didn't let Alco expand several years ago because of testimonials given at the Sherwood Hall back when Rancho Cielo wanted to expand & use that water. Due to a court order, Alco had been forbidden to continue serving a number of wells in the area because of being underfunded & not having qualified personnel among other reasons. The water was technically safe; I had mine analyzed by another lab some years ago. However, it is run thru a filter system before drinking or cooking. Our household uses it only for bathing & laundry. read more

Customer service is horrible. Overpriced and shady business practices. They'll issue a $10 late fee even if you've dropped off the payment before the due date. If you try to get it corrected they'll just stand by their assessment. When you get the bill, you have 10 days to get the payment in with no grace period and they'll assess a late fee even if there's a delay in mail service. If I could choose a fifteenth water company I'd do it in a heartbeat. I've never despised a utility quite a much as I do them. The government should shut them down for operating a monopoly. read more

Would give them 0 stars if I could. I own a business and have just received a bill that is 105% of my normal bill. When questioned, Tom Adcock, President of ALCO said that the drought REQUIRED he charge the surcharge of 5.75 per CCF and that my business which is a heavy water user would not be treated any differently than any other business even though I'm a Laundromat. As a Laundromat my usage for water is always in the 500CCF+- range With the drought many households are choosing to use a Laundromat over their home washers. A Laundromat typically uses 28 to 50% less water than a home washer, making it the better choice for water savings. By using a Laundromat the community would save thousands of gallons of water. ALCO doesn't care if we can save the community water, their all about money and how much they can collect from the people. We have another businesses and my house which are surcharged at 2013 levels, less 25% for required reduction amounts and we have no problems reaching this goal because of water efficient machines that we've invested in. ALCO has requested that the PUC allow them to go to a 3 tier status on drought allowing them to charge these rates and not consider the 2013 rates. The other water Company, Cal Water and the county water company, Pajaro Sunny Mesa are only at tier 2. Adcock wants more money from the poorest population of our city making it more difficult for the poorest people to get by. Because they are Spanish speaking field workers he knows that they will not ban together to fight ALCO. ALCO is a monopoly buy a monopoly that is allowed. When a water company is as dishonest as this one is it's scary. Its time for the City or the State to take this water company away from these dishonest cheats and give it to a company that has a solid reputation. read more

Alco is the most rinky-dink utility company I have ever encountered. They don't even have a website. Imagine. The year is 2020 and they don't even have a website for customers to access their accounts. Even adding my wife's name to our Alco account took two trips into the office and an hour standing there as the lady tried to figure out what to do. Sad! And what do we get? Water laden with nitrates and other contaminants that they have to mix with other water just to make it legally potable. read more

As previous reviewers have said, they only accept checks or cash, and only in person or through the mail. And if you send them a check it can take them weeks before they bother to deposit it, which can screw you if you live, as most people in the Alisal area do, from paycheck to paycheck and if you aren't super careful to make sure to leave enough in your account to cover a month-old check that they've been sitting on. Their office is some old fast food place, hence the drive-up payment window that others have mentioned. Super sketchy, and they deserve less than the one-star-minimum review. read more

They steal people's money. They have the worst customer service. Won't listen to anyone and be rude AF. got a late fee after they cashed The check and wouldnt reimburse it. They don't have a customer service line. The only way is to go to the office and deal with these arrogant monsters read more

We just moved to Salinas and this is by far the worst place ive been too! Worst customer service ever. They dont even accept other payment method other than check or cash. It's 2018 for goodness sake! I wish there are more water providers in the area, this place is a plain joke. read more

Bad customer service and tried to RIP off customers for late charge, there system done even have online or phone payments. Bad service!

I went into the office regarding privacy concerns and to make a payment. The women behind the counter, were extremely rude. The apparent owner, Tom, told me that I either had to deal with my privacy concerns, or they could shut off my water. It was basically a threat. He was very arrogant. I left with no issue resolution. I filed a complaint with the California public utilities commission. I strongly urge any and all customers that have concerns about this company to contact them as well. Their 800 number will advise you to write to them but their website will let you file a complaint immediately. The site is listed below. http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc/. read more

Why can't you give zero or negative stars. This has to be the worst customer service EVER!!!!! They do not accept any type of debit/credit card and the office staff ALL OF THEM are so very rude, they hang up on you if they don't like what you are saying. There is one lady who is a supervisor and she is thug life she can get ghetto like the best of them. read more

I highly recommend that everyone read "Andrew B's" post and file a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This place is a joke and they should be able to service their customers a little better by accepting different methods of payments besides cash or check. Between the privacy breach's, over charging customers and terrible customer service that's provided when ever you want to voice your concern, it's no wonder why this place hasn't been shut down. It's unfortunate that it's the only company servicing this particular area code and I really think they are taking advantage of that but hopefully with enough complaints, something can be done. https://appsssl.cpuc.ca.gov/cpucapplication/ read more

It makes no sense how this is the only water company that one can use in the 93905 zip code of Salinas. I am an active duty service member and I feel as though this company feels as though they can take advantage of you by providing poor customer service and get away with it. There are no other competitors that service my area and it is a shame. read more

I own a rental unit. My property management started service and cancelled when it was no longer needed as unit was vacant. Water company detected fraudulent water usage so they removed the water meter. I later rented my unit. Tenant could not start water services because there was a balance due. I called the water company and inquired about the balance and they stated that it was due to fraudulent usage and that the laws state that I am responsible for vandalism and fraudulent uses of utilities. I then asked... if you detected fraudulent water use why didn't you contact me. They stated they have thousands of customers and their protocol was simply to remove the meter. I then asked if I am responsible for the charges why did you not send me a bill. They stated they cannot send me a bill because I did not request water services. I then asked how then am I supposed to pay for charges I don't know exist? She stated that the conversation was going in circles and threatened to hang up. After much arguing back and forth I at least was able to get the amount of the charges and have them send me a bill. Isn't there a legal requirement for companies that have balances on their books to contact their customers and provide them with itemized bills? My personal opinion of this company is ridiculous negative. I sent them them a check without a bill just on telephone information but that is going to take about a week because I work 30 miles away and I am at work during the time they are opened and I can take off work on a whim. Yes the previous reviewer was right they only take cash or your personal check. Other companies allow you alternate methods of payment but this company is stuck in the 1970's. I have not used checks since 1999 and I carry very little cash. I believe most everyone now is paperless and most everyone uses debit or credit cards or use the bill pay utilities of their bank. However I may be atypical. Perhaps most people still save their money under their mattress, pay cash and some few use checks. Again my experience has been ridiculously negative. read more

Just want to make a comment. When a company is the only game in town (called a monopoly but not the game tho it could be a game--to them) they feel they can "lord it over" on the customer. There is a cost for a business to use credit cards. Can't blame them for not wanting to go that route. Aside from convenience, why bother with plastic any way? The County has had numerous problems with Alco Water Service on their water systems. It is a matter of public record. Am wondering about the water quality of the customers in the Alisal area. The question is: what has the County of Monterey done for the water users? read more

They don't accept ATM or credit card and one must also mail or personally deliver the payment. It's annoying. Customers can't even pay over the phone or online. Really? They really need to get with the 21st century! read more

I don't understand why this company is allowed to raise their prices so often by the city. I was told by their representative they are charging 8 dollars and some change per unit of water. She said a notice went out last month, I didn't get one. But even if I did, what does it matter, we don't have a saying or a choice to go with a different water company. People pls. If you buy a home in salinas, make sure it's not serviced by this people. I am so disappointed by out city counsel and this company. read more

As others have said, this place is a monopoly and run a horrible business. I want to move away from Salinas just because of the terrible experience I have had with this company. I had to go into the office three times and called multiple times all over the same issue with a pipe and my bill. The workers tell me that the only person who can help me is Tom the president of the company. He finally calls me while I'm working and I miss his call. I call him back the same day and he's already out of the office I call back every day for the next three business days and he's not in the office each time. Either the workers are lying or he's trying to avoid me because I am being overcharged. Again this company is a monopoly and they are taking advantage of people because they are the only game in town. read more

This is the worst company ever and the employees that work there are just as bad as the company. No need to explain all the bad and negative things I could say about them, the reviews speak for themselves. Very dissatisfied customer here. I would give them a minus zero. read more

The ladies there were kind and professional and the coin exchange is great for my Grandaughter piggy bank

I would also give them 0 stars if it was a choice. They only accept checks, their prices are higher, they do not offer the incentive the other company has offered for changing your garden and their prices are higher. I wish you could change to the other local company but I am stuck with them read more