FAQ

Please review your monthly Studebaker invoice remittance section before making a payment. There are some communities that we handle the billing for, but not the collections. Your monthly invoice remittance section might direct you to pay the property management directly.  If you belong to a community that Studebaker does not collect payments for, you will not be able to use our website or automated phone message to make a payment.

Studebaker Submetering has various payment options available.

• Call 1-800-987-9877 to make a payment over the phone using our automated payment line, Option 2. You will need your account number to obtain your balance and/or make a payment.  Don’t want to listen to all the options next time and just want to use our automated payment line?  Call 1-800-462-8386 (English) or 1-800-851-7461 (Spanish).  Our automated payment line is open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

• You can log into your residential portal and click the blue Pay Online button.  Convenience fees may apply.  We accept payments made by checking or savings account or Visa and Master Card.  Sign up for paperless billing and auto-pay with your checking account so that free monthly payments can be auto-debited on the due date, with no convenience fee charged.

• Mail a check or money order to our lockbox address below. Please allow 7-10 business days for your payment to arrive.  Be sure to reference your account number on your payment.

SSI

PO Box 511217

Livonia MI  48151

• You can also set us up as a vender or payee through your financial institution’s bill payment service. Please note, a paper check will be sent to Studebaker’s lockbox on your behalf, as EFT/ACH payments are only accepted through our website.  Studebaker Submetering does not accept EFT/ACH payments made by third party billing institutions.

IMPORTANT: DOXO is an online third-party bill payment service.  Studebaker Submetering is not affiliated with DOXO.  We do not recommend paying Studebaker Submetering using a third-party billing service.  To pay Studebaker directly, log in to our website which is www.studebakersubmetering.com .

Studebaker Submetering, Inc. (SSI) is a third party billing company. We are hired by the management company to read the meters, provide the monthly bills to the residents and/or collect the monthly payments on behalf of the community. SSI is not a utility company and is not providing the utility (water, gas or electricity) that appears on our statements.

The apartment management office is responsible for notifying Studebaker Submetering of the move-in and move-out date.  Your account will be opened  and/or closed effective the date provided by your property management.

A settlement document showing your unit has gone to settlement is necessary for Studebaker to move you in or out of a unit you have either purchased or recently sold.  If you are purchasing or selling a unit, please email the Closing Disclosure received at closing to customerservice@studebakersubmetering.com .  Studebaker will only need to see the top portion of this document showing Buyer Name, Seller Name, Service Address and Settlement Date.

In some cases, Studebaker is not able to open or close an account without notification from the property management directly, in which case we will direct you to them for further instructions.

A renter cannot add or remove their name from an account where they are renting or sub-leasing from an owner of a unit.  Renter changes can only be authorized by the owner of the unit and in some cases, by property management.  The owner of the unit must notify Studebaker Submetering directly with each renter change.  The first and last name of their renter and the effective date of their move-in or move-out must be provided by the owner directly to Studebaker Submetering.  If the move-in or move-out occurs within the billing cycle, Studebaker will be more than happy to provide prorated charges to the owner directly.

Your lease end date is provided to us by your property management directly.  Accounts are closed by Studebaker once the move-out notification from your property management is received and processed by our staff.

Your billing will discontinue in accordance with the terms of your lease with no additional fees charged, less the charges of the final bill.   Please be aware that because you received a bill after you moved out that it still may apply to the terms of your lease or it may be from a period in which you occupied that unit.  On the invoice received, please reference  “Previous” and “Current” on the invoice for the periods of service you are being charged. You should only be receiving charges through the time frame in which you occupied that unit.

If you receive an invoice for usage billed to you past your move-out date please contact us so that we can confirm the  move-out date with your property management.

The bill generation date is the date your bill was generated, it is not the date of your move-out. Please reference the billing period on the invoice, as that is the period of time for which you are being invoiced.

If applicable, any charges billed to you past your move out date will be adjusted accordingly. If this is a lease transfer, please contact the property to ensure names have been changed effective after the lease transfer date.

SSI utilizes the most advanced AMR (automated meter reading) technology available in the market. Each meter has a transmitter attached to accurately read and communicate metered consumption.  We are able to collect all of the data from the property’s base station through ethernet and cloud based technology in order to generate bills to the residents.  The ability to accurately and efficiently read these submetered devices is one of the most important aspects of our Utility Billing and Collection services.

Sometimes the plumbing or electrical wiring configuration does not allow for the installation of submeters. Residents can still equitably share in the cost of the utility expense through a commonly practiced allocation program called RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing Service). Our RUBS program is an ideal solution for meterless Billing and Collection services.

Yes, you will find Conservation Tips here on our website and on the back of your monthly invoices to learn simple ways to reduce your utility costs.

Once Studebaker has processed the move-in request, your account will be opened and your first invoice will be sent to the service address we have on file.

If you have non-utility related charges on your bill, such as; rent, parking, trash, pet, etc. You are receiving what is referred to as a Convergent Bill. Your community manager has decided to present you with one statement, including all of your monthly charges. This is an effort to make paying for the monthly expenses associated with living in your community more convenient.

You may  Contact Us  to reach a customer service representative via phone or email.  Our normal business hours are Monday – Friday, between the hours of 8:30AM EST and 5:30PM EST.

Payments made using our online payment portal, by calling our customer service department or by using our automated payment line will incur a Convenience Fee at the time the payment is made.  This fee is added to the total amount that you will see on your statement.

The Convenience Fee to make one-time payment using your Credit/Debit card is $2.95.

The Convenience Fee to make a one-time payment using your EFT/ACH account is $1.00.

(Convenience Fees subject to change without notice)

You can avoid this convenience fee by signing up for paperless billing and registering for automatic payments using your checking account.  Payments will be automatically drafted on the due date each month, FREE OF CHARGE.  Paperless billing and auto-pay with your checking account must remain active at all times to receive this benefit.

All eligible customers who reside at a property that Studebaker Submetering, Inc. collects payment for, can sign in to their resident portal to register for paperless billing and automatic payments.

RUBS stands for Ratio Utility Billing Services.  RUBS is a cost effective, alternative method to submetering.  RUBS is used when individual submeters are not an option.   The process is essentially dividing the utility charges amongst all the residents of the community.  There are several types of formulas used for distributing the charges, but the most popular methods are using head count, square footage, number of bedrooms or a combination of those.

A late fee is charged when the balance in full is not paid by the due date. To avoid this late fee in the future, your balance must be paid in full by the due date.  Our bill generation date will change monthly, this will also impact the billing due date, so we do recommend signing up for paperless billing so that you receive an email with a link to view your invoice the date the invoice is generated.

Signing up for paperless billing is one way to ensure you are paying your invoice on time.  Paperless billing is easy and it is FREE.  It can all be done on our website from your resident portal.  Additionally, when you sign up for paperless billing and auto-pay with your checking account as your primary form of payment, FREE monthly auto-payments are applied to your account each month on the due date.  There are no convenience fees charged when you are registered for paperless billing,  and auto-pay with your checking account is linked as your primary payment method.  Please note, paperless and auto-pay must always be active, and your checking account must be your primary form of payment to avoid any additional fees.

Water usage increase is either due to a maintenance or plumbing related issue or changes in personal day-to-day habits.  The most common cause for a high water bill is running water from a toilet.  A running toilet can use up to 200-300 gallons of water a day.  Toilet issues such as worn out flappers or fill-valves should be inspected and/or replaced when needed.   If your water usage has increased and you are renting an apartment, it is recommended that you have your unit inspected by your property maintenance department to ensure that all toilets, faucets, and fixtures are working properly.

If you are renting a condo from an owner/landlord, as the renter, you must let the owner know of the high usage and recommend they inspect their unit or hire a plumber to inspect for leaks, running toilets or any other maintenance or plumbing related issue.