*New update post 70* Very high water bill but no leak??

[4HOLIDAYS]

All this is one more reason I want to stay on well water!

 

[usnuzuloose]

UPDATE!! The meter guy was just here. Not only did he replace our meter with a new digital meter (that we get to keep! This isn't temporary like the lady on the phone led me to believe), but he actually DOES think that our meter got stuck. He says sometimes it's one number that gets stuck when it rolls over, that he's seen it happen plenty of times, and HE is the one who will test our meter He took one look at our pool, our tiny little yard, and where our hoses are and said there is no way that it went through a hose or through a toilet. He was pretty confident that it was the meter. I don't know whether or not we will get a credit on that 32,000 gallon bill, but hopefully this new meter has solved the ongoing issue.

I'm glad I pursued it because the city wanted to write it off as us having used the water or having a leak when I knew that neither was the case. The lady on the phone even tried to say that we had a leak that we had fixed and that would explain it. UGH. Oh and this guy even said he's seen cases where 2 houses were tied together and one gets billed for the other's water useage! That's not the case for us I don't think, but seriously...crazy!

It pays to keep at it and not let them get by with it....I am glad it is solved.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I missed your Friday update. OF COURSE the old meter was perfect! Lol. I'm glad you have a new one.

Lol. My thoughts exactly.

Not surprising since your problem was intermittent. If they tried it again it may very well show different results

Yep. That's what I think. They probably did whatever quick test they normally do and pronounced the meter fine.

Glad to hear they switched out the meter. Since that other one could be getting stuck at times, it could just be they didn't run it enough to get to the digit that was getting stuck. Hopefully you are ok now, and they don't give that old meter to someone else!

The guy who came out here to change the meter told me that they wouldn't do that and that they scrap the old meters when they have to pull them. Since it tested out "perfect" I hope they don't decide to reuse it anyways though. UGH.

All this is one more reason I want to stay on well water!

Good call!!!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Bumping this up to update again. Well, we've had the new meter (digital) for over a month now. The first full bill having this new meter arrived. It was $90. No surprise there. We haven't changed our habits at all, and if anything we've been home MORE than we were when we reeceived the giant bills. $90 was our normal bill before we started getting the crazy bills.

Of course, they claim to have tested the old meter and nothing was wrong with it...right. Whatever. The new meter seems to have stopped the hemmorhaging, but there doesn't seem to be any recourse to recoup the money from those outrageous bills. I guess I should be glad it was just hundreds and not thousands. This was a really, really frustrating experience because there was just no way for us to prove that the meter was faulty. We had to rely on the people who were billing us to test it's accuracy, as if that's impartial.

 

[pampam]

I'm so pleased that you were able to get this resolved. It just goes to show that "You can fight city hall". So sorry that you had to have the stress and complications of it all, and it's too bad that you will not be reimbursed for their error.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I'm so pleased that you were able to get this resolved. It just goes to show that "You can fight city hall". So sorry that you had to have the stress and complications of it all, and it's too bad that you will not be reimbursed for their error.

I'm glad it's resolved, but it shouldn't have taken 3 billing statements. They should have replaced the meter the first time I called. Also, I'm beyond frustrated that there is no mechanism to fight the 3 really abnormally high bills. It was so very obviously the meter. I think I'm going to get a track record of a few more months of regular $90 bills and then try again. I'm sure I'm not the only one this has happened to and that makes me angry. An elderly person or a person with a very low income might not have the time or energy to call repeatedly to fight this. UGH.

 

[kymom99]

I'm glad it's resolved, but it shouldn't have taken 3 billing statements. They should have replaced the meter the first time I called. Also, I'm beyond frustrated that there is no mechanism to fight the 3 really abnormally high bills. It was so very obviously the meter. I think I'm going to get a track record of a few more months of regular $90 bills and then try again. I'm sure I'm not the only one this has happened to and that makes me angry. An elderly person or a person with a very low income might not have the time or energy to call repeatedly to fight this. UGH.

Do you have a local news reporter who takes cases like this? Not sure if any would take on a utility but you could try.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Do you have a local news reporter who takes cases like this? Not sure if any would take on a utility but you could try.

Pretty sure we do since I found a really similar topic locally when I did a google search. I think it was for the municipality north of us, but same county. People there were getting like $800 bills on residential houses, and they got the same response that they used the water somehow and the meters were fine. Maybe going to the paper would be the right thing to do...they'd need other people with the same issue to make a real story though I think.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Pretty sure we do since I found a really similar topic locally when I did a google search. I think it was for the municipality north of us, but same county. People there were getting like $800 bills on residential houses, and they got the same response that they used the water somehow and the meters were fine. Maybe going to the paper would be the right thing to do...they'd need other people with the same issue to make a real story though I think.

At least in my area we have Problem Solvers on one of our news stations. They seem to be able to get farther in getting answers and sometimes it's just the fact that a news station is poking around that gets the person/company in question to perk up and resolve the issue.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Yet another update. About a year on, we've had no outsized bills since the meter was replaced. A few days ago, the local paper ran a big story about people getting outrageous water bills when there was no leak and incurring huge plumbing bills only to find out that everything is fine. Once the meters were replaced (at a cost to the customer, just like in our situation), the bills reverted to normal. In all cases, the water dept. insisted that the consumers had used the water. Yeah, right. The paper stated that customers could apply for some credit due to unusual water useage, so I called the water department. They claim ignorance on both the newspaper article and the credit that we're supposed to be able to apply for. I'm not sure what to do right now. A year should be sufficient data to show that the meter was the issue as we've had no further problems. Again they claim that they tested our old meter and that it had no issues. My response was that we should have continued to have high bills after the meter replacement and we didn't. It makes me angry that they're doing this to people.

 

[MomToOne]

Yet another update. About a year on, we've had no outsized bills since the meter was replaced. A few days ago, the local paper ran a big story about people getting outrageous water bills when there was no leak and incurring huge plumbing bills only to find out that everything is fine. Once the meters were replaced (at a cost to the customer, just like in our situation), the bills reverted to normal. In all cases, the water dept. insisted that the consumers had used the water. Yeah, right. The paper stated that customers could apply for some credit due to unusual water useage, so I called the water department. They claim ignorance on both the newspaper article and the credit that we're supposed to be able to apply for. I'm not sure what to do right now. A year should be sufficient data to show that the meter was the issue as we've had no further problems. Again they claim that they tested our old meter and that it had no issues. My response was that we should have continued to have high bills after the meter replacement and we didn't. It makes me angry that they're doing this to people.

Contact your city council representative (or equivalent), and send them a copy of the newspaper article along with the details of your individual story. I once had a garbage collection issue that I got the run around on for months until I called my city council rep. Suddenly it was addressed overnight!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Contact your city council representative (or equivalent), and send them a copy of the newspaper article along with the details of your individual story. I once had a garbage collection issue that I got the run around on for months until I called my city council rep. Suddenly it was addressed overnight!

Ooooh, I LOVE this. My town contracts with the city for this service, so I think I'd still go to my own rep and then they would deal with the city? At the moment I'm supposed to write a letter to the supervisor at the water department describing what happened. Someone called me back today after I talked with the first person at the water dept. and she seemed to comprehend that if we'd had an issue with water useage (or if we had a leak or if we were filling our pool), it would have continued after the meter switch out. The fact is, once the meter was switched out the problem ceased. Unfortunately we are still up against the department that "tested" the meter and found nothing wrong with it. I straight-up told this woman that that's the equivalent of the fox guarding the henhouse. Of course they're going to say there is nothing wrong with it. I have no way to even prove that they tested it, nevermind insist on having an independent test done. It's ridiculous and I'm not about to drop this issue. They can't be doing this to people and getting away with it. If I get nowhere with the supervisor, I'm totally going to my town council member!!!! Fabulous idea!

 

[MomToOne]

Ooooh, I LOVE this. My town contracts with the city for this service, so I think I'd still go to my own rep and then they would deal with the city?

Definitely start with your town rep - you are their constituent, so they are the most likely to pick up the phone (or have their staff pick up the phone) and contact someone who can address the problem.

Good luck!

 

[Cadiewampus]

Ready through this thread I see your "normal bill" is $90. Yikes! . That's about what we spend for Four months combined on water and we have a teenager still at home.

 

[Albort]

i smell a class action lawsuit coming soon...

 

[jmsaj]

I feel your pain. I had 3 billings that said we used 3 times our normal. ($450 vs $116)I scratched the first 2 due to summertime and a drought thinking we had filled the pool more. After the 3rd I investigated a bit more. Our meter was defective and had a failure so water was just pissing out the valve. Old house dirt cellar...never knew. They however credited $650 with no issues thankfully.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Ready through this thread I see your "normal bill" is $90. Yikes! . That's about what we spend for Four months combined on water and we have a teenager still at home.

That includes sewer and recycling also...I should clarify that. It might just be that water is more expensive where I live (coastal FL)?

 

[Cadiewampus]

That includes sewer and recycling also...I should clarify that. It might just be that water is more expensive where I live (coastal FL)?[/QUOTE

Ok that explains it. We are not on sewer so that is one reason why ours is so low but if I include recycling its still only about $45 a month

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I checked ours and it includes water, sewer, garbage, recycling and city tax. Sewer is normally the biggest chunk, save for the months last year when we had the really random high water bills.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

After a week of thinking of what to write I finally wrote the letter this morning, and I cc'd our town manager. I am going to drop off a copy to the town today as well. Hopefully this gets it resolved. At this point, it's not just about the money. There are plenty of people who lack the wherewithall to fight city hall or who don't know how to prove that they are being billed unfairly...this issue needs to be brought to light and to be stopped. Enough is enough. I hope that my town insists that the water dept. come replace all the meters!