T

he Birmingham Water Works is looking out for you again.

So look out.

I mean ... LOOK OUT!

Because looking out for you at the BWWB means selling access to you. Looking out for you means selling you -- via a spot in your own water bills -- on a private company that has been challenged for questionable ad practices in several states, that was hit last month with a record-setting fine in the UK for, among other things, misleading and overcharging customers.

Thanks Birmingham Water Works!

If you have Birmingham water, you may have received notice of the arrangement in a recent bill. It was presented under this headline:

"Important Information for Birmingham Water Works Customers."

It explained how most homeowners don't know they are responsible for water line breaks between their home and the street, and went on to say:

Birmingham Water Works values its customers and takes our responsibility as your water service provider seriously. For this reason, we have partnered with HomeServe to provide

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for the service line on your property. HomeServe has developed Water Service Line Coverage to manage the cost and inconvenience of an exterior water service line emergency.

The message came out in the dead of winter – prime pipe-freezing time – and came complete with the BWWB logo.

But it didn't tell you everything. It did not tell you that HomeServe paid BWWB $300,000 just to kick off the partnership. And that – according to the contract signed by Water Works General Manager Mac Underwood in January – BWWB is to receive a series of commissions if enough customers sign up with HomeServe.

If 30,000 customers sign on for the $4.99 per month insurance (it is really a service agreement, the fine print says), the Water Works gets $50,000. If 50,000 customers sign up, BWWB gets another $100,000. In the end, if 150,000 customers sign up, the BWWB would get more than $4.3 million.

You are welcome, Birmingham Water Works!

The BWWB also agrees in its contract to "assist HomeServe in gaining new business arrangements with other utility partners in the States of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi."

Which is important, I suppose, because HomeServe has run into difficulties in each of those states for the way it has advertised its services, among other things.

A utilities director in Franklin, La., complained to the attorney general there in 2012 after homeowners received letters leading them to believe water line coverage was government-related and mandatory.

Better Business Bureaus in North Alabama and Mississippi have responded to calls about the company, questioning both the mailers and the fine print exceptions to the contracts, which in those areas included "acts of God" and "thawing of frozen pipes."



Those exceptions are not written into the Birmingham plans, which HomeServe spokesman Myles Meehan said are simplified "to better reflect what we actually do in practice – fix things for our customers."

You still won't be covered in the event of earthquake or flood, though. Or riot or war.

HomeServe in 2010 paid at least $100,000 to settle deceptive business practices charges in three states -- Kentucky, Ohio and Massachusetts. In Ohio, the AG argued that "residents were confused by the advertisements and believed that the service was affiliated with their city or utility supplier."

Meehan said much has changed since those days. And besides, all those cases involved specific problems with mailing, and "there were no findings or admission of wrongdoing and there was nothing in the agreements suggesting any concern with the reliability or quality of service."

He said HomeServe UK has straightened up its act too, and now operates in a far different manner than described by British officials this year. It operates with a different board of directors, he said.

HomeServe UK was fined £31 million – or $51 million American – on charges that included overcharging customers and encouraging staff to ignore complaints. The company failed to investigate complaints adequately, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority found, and its board was "insufficiently engaged with compliance matters."

It may be a different board across the pond, but it sure sounds a lot like the Birmingham Water Works Board itself.

So do what you think best. But look out.

John Archibald is a columnist for Alabama Media Group. Jarchibald@al.com