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

One month and five days after the initial due date before unpaid accounts are subject to discontinuance under the published schedule.

Late charges

The reviewed account page warns of late fees and delinquency; exact current fee amount was not rendered in the accessible page. Delinquent accounts require all outstanding bills and reconnection fees before restoration.

Shut-off timeline

Unpaid accounts are subject to discontinuance one month and five days after the initial due date; the monthly statement provides the delinquent status and scheduled date.

Reconnection

Published schedule lists $35 regular reconnection and $175 after-hours reconnection; all delinquent/current bills must also be paid, and personal checks are not accepted for delinquent accounts.

Notice and timing

How delinquency is handled

Grace period after the due date

One month and five days after the initial due date before unpaid accounts are subject to discontinuance under the published schedule.

Late-fee calculation

Disconnection timeline

Unpaid accounts are subject to discontinuance one month and five days after the initial due date; the monthly statement provides the delinquent status and scheduled date.

Statutory warning protocol

What notice should you expect?

Written notice of delinquent status and the scheduled disconnection date appears on the monthly statement. The City also issued 2026 text, automated-call and email notices for billing-date changes.

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

Published schedule lists $35 regular reconnection and $175 after-hours reconnection; all delinquent/current bills must also be paid, and personal checks are not accepted for delinquent accounts.

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 Harrisonburg Public Utilities 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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