City of San José, Capital of Silicon Valley, 10th Largest U.S. city  
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Thursday, July 24, 2008

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Customer Service

 

City of San José Customer Service

By Phone
Customer Contact Center (408) 535-3500
Monday through Friday 8 a.m.to 5 p.m.
City of San José Phone Directory

In Person
Customer Service Center
San José City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara St., 1st Floor
San José, CA 95113
Monday through Friday 8 a.m.to 5 p.m.
Map, Driving Directions, Public Transportation

Customer Service Online

Customer Service Online

Access to City services and your utility account is available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This web-based customer service system allows online users to request services or report issues of concern to the City and track their status or make changes to the previously submitted requests or inquiries. The search feature enables customers to enter key words to look for information on City services or programs. The website also enables utility customers to obtain current billing information about their account as well as service history, such as transaction types, service dates and charges. Additionally, customers can read FAQs, change their online user profile, and update personal information such as address and phone numbers.

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Account Activities

Contact Customer Service in person, by phone at (408) 535-3500 or go to Customer Service Online to:

  • Change user profile
  • Open or close account
  • Update personal information
  • View account history
  • View account information
  • Request services, report a problem or search for information

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Automatic Payment Service

Automatic Payment Service (APS) is available to both residential and commercial customers who have either Recycle Plus, San Jose Municipal Water System, or both utility services. Pay your San José utility bills automatically with APS.
Sign Up Form for Automatic Payment Service (PDF, 273 KB)
Cancellation Form for Automatic Payment Service (PDF, 336 KB)

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Bill Payment

You may pay your garbage bill using the following options:

BY MAIL

City of San José
P.O. Box 11002
San José, CA 95103-1002

IN PERSON

  1. San José City Hall at 200 East Santa Clara Street, Customer Service Center, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (excluding holidays). Pay by cash, check, money order, credit card or debit card.
  2. San José Municipal Water System at 3025 Tuers Road, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (excluding holidays). Pay by cash, check, money order, credit card or debit card.
  3. The Alviso Library at 5050 North First Street, Monday 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday – Wednesday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pay by cash, check or money order.

VIA DROP BOX

  1. San José City Hall at 200 East Santa Clara Street, 6th and Santa Clara Street entrance or
  2. San Jose Municipal Water System at 3025 Tuers Road

Payments with money orders, personal checks, or cashier's checks can be deposited in the Drop Box. Place your bill stub along with your payment in a sealed envelope. Never place cash in the Drop Box. For all cash payments, see "In person" payment options above. Payments are collected daily during regular business hours.

ONLINE

Registered utility bill customers may make recurring e-payments. Have your account number ready and log on at www.sanjoseca.gov/customerservice to sign up. For one-time online payments, go to www.sanjoseca.gov/customerservice, and follow the link to one-time payments.

WITH AUTOMATIC PAYMENT

Automatic Payment Service (APS) automatically withdraws your payment from your bank account. To arrange for automatic payments, download, print, and complete the APS application form or call the Customer Contact Center at (408) 535-3500 to request the application form be sent to you by mail.

BY PHONE

Pay your bill by phone using a credit card, debit card, or bank account. Call (408) 535-3500, select the option for “garbage and recycling,” then choose the option “make a payment” and follow the instructions.

View a sample bill in English (PDF, 842 KB), en Espaņol (PDF, 1.2 MB) or (PDF, 1.2 MB).

Photo of a young girl readingHealthy Neighborhood Venture Fund
Residents can make a voluntary contribution to support health, education and senior services in San Josê by rounding up the payment on their garbage or Municipal Water utility bill. For ongoing contributions, please complete the donation authorization form. Donations are tax-deductible.

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Carts (Order, Replace, Change Size)

Contact Customer Service in person, by phone at (408) 535-3500 or go to Customer Service Online to:

  • Order a new cart
  • Repair or replace a broken, damaged or stolen cart
  • Change the size of your cart

Garbage carts are available in 20-, 32-, 64-, and 96-gallon sizes. Your monthly garbage rate is based on the size of your garbage cart.

If occasionally you have extra garbage, place it on the curb near the garbage cart in a 32-gallon plastic garbage bag labeled with an extra garbage sticker. You may buy extra garbage stickers at all San José libraries and Safeway stores in San José.

If you frequently have more garbage than fits into your garbage cart, call Customer Service at (408) 535-3500 to order a larger garbage cart.

There is no additional fee for your recycling cart- it is included as part of your garbage collection service. Recycling carts are available in 32-, 64-, and 96-gallon sizes. If the capacity of your recycling cart is often a problem, you may wish to order a larger size. If you don't fill your recycling cart, you can wait until the next collection day to place it at the curb. Remember, your fee for garbage service is based on the size of your garbage cart. Whatever size recycling cart you choose does not affect your monthly garbage service fee.

If you currently have loose-in-the-street yard trimmings collection and would prefer to place your yard trimmings in a cart, the cost of yard trimmings cart service is $4.00 more per month (regardless of cart size). Yard trimmings carts are available in 32-, 64-, and 96-gallon sizes.

Carts are delivered within the next two collection cycles. If you are exchanging your cart, leave it at the curb until 6 p.m. on your collection day.

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Late Payments

A late fee of $6.00 or 5%, whichever is greater, is applied when the payment is received after the due date on the bill statement. Payments are processed upon receipt (not post mark). Payments may take up to 5 days to be received, to avoid late fees mail your payment at least 3 to 5 days prior to the due date. Mail may be delayed by holidays.

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Missed Pickup

Collection times are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on your collection day. If your garbage, recycling or yard trimmings aren’t picked up by 6 p.m., contact your hauler directly. If you don’t know who your hauler is, check the service area map. You may also call the Customer Contact Center at (408) 535-3500. Have your account number ready and follow phone prompts to be transferred directly to your hauler.

If you put your garbage and recycling out on the wrong day or after collection has occurred, put your carts out on your next collection day one week later. Put any extra garbage in a 32-gallon plastic garbage bag (with an "Extra Garbage" sticker attached) and place it on the curb near the garbage cart. You may buy Extra Garbage stickers at all San José libraries and Safeway grocery stores in San José. Extra recyclables should be put in brown paper bags and placed on the curb next to your recycling cart for collection.

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Open or Close Account

Contact Customer Service in person, by phone at (408) 535-3500 to open or close an account.

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Order Collection Schedule Magnet

Each year, the City of San José mails a refrigerator magnet to residents with a calendar showing garbage and recycling collection and street sweeping days. To request a magnet, or to find out your collection days, contact Customer Service in person or by phone at (408) 535-3500.

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Recycling Guide

The free City of San José Recycling Guide includes a poster of what's recyclable, proper setout instructions, complete details of program services, and important phone numbers. Available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, you may place an order online or call Customer Service at (408) 535-3500 to request a copy to be mailed to you.

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Services for Apartments & Condos

illustration of an apartment building

Residents of apartments & condos should contact property managers about the following:

  • Large item collection appointments for items such as sofas, mattresses, televisions and computers
  • Illegal dumping on premises
  • Missed collection
  • Overflowing dumpsters, bins and carts
  • Broken dumpsters, bins and carts
  • Graffiti

 

 

Contacts

 

 

Last Modified Date: 7/3/2008

 
 

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