Plenty of Water but no Water Bill

[snackdog]

We moved into a new residence in July. I had the local water company put service in my name which they did. I have an account number and online access to my account. I have never received a bill.

The account shows no usage and $0.00 due. I have called twice to point this out and ask them to please fix it. They can see usage when I phone them but it doesn't appear on my account. They claim to have put in tickets to fix the billing but it has been more than six months now and no charges.

In my view the ball is in their court and I expect them to eventually figure it out and bill me. If they try to add interest or finance charges I will set them straight. I have records of the calls.

Any other suggestions?

[livesoft]

Our water meter stopped recording water usage. I reported it by phone. When nothing happened, I reported it in person. They told me that water meters often break and they would repair it in good time. It took quite a while, something like a year before it was repaired. I had no moral nor ethical issues with getting free water.

You may be one of dozens or hundreds of customers who get free water.

[Kuna_Papa_Wengi]

Keep good records. Maybe put aside what you think the bill would be each month in case they try to bill you for all the past usage at once.

[Goal33]

That happened to my sister with her water bill and she was so upset when they finally billed her (no finance charges) and by that time she didn’t expect it, but duh. Could have seen that one coming from a mile away.

[dbr]

I would definitely ask if they are going to back calculate or back estimate a bill when they do get around to figuring out what is going on.

It could be worse. I have known people to get huge bills for water they are not using for some reason no one can figure out.

[adamthesmythe]

I had experience with billing issues and a municipal water system. I learned that the system was not run efficiently and that the employees were not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

(In my case...I bought a house and they could not give a final reading for the closing because...the water meter had been buried and they had been doing estimated readings for years.)

Maybe the bill for the previous homeowner had a huge credit that they are working off.

I would send a letter so there is a hardcopy record to show at a later date. Other than that...expect it to take a long time to work out.

[8foot7]

I'd put away your previous average water bill into savings just to make sure you can cover the eventual bill, although now that you've let them know a zillion times and this has been going on for months I would probably spend some time, if you receive a large bill, working out a settlement at 50-60%.

[student]

You have informed them. I think you have done your part. They will eventually catch up and you pay them at that time. One time I paid the utility company by check and they recorded it twice. The amount was only taken out from my bank once. I called them but the CS person insisted that they were correct. After several months, they billed me for it. What I found ridiculous is that when they added the charge to the regular bill, they was no letter to explain why.

[lexie2000]

We have plenty of water, but no water bill also.....we have a well.

[Abe]

Where I live there is a minimum charge each month, so even if the meter shows zero usage, you will be charged the minimum charge. Also there are other fees on the water bill like garbage pick up, etc.

[NewOldGuy]

We have a service charge of $19.66 even if we turned the main off for the month. Seems like you'd get a bill even without water charges.

[unclescrooge]

I have the opposite problem.

Water bill shows I use 90% less water than my neighbors, yet my monthly water bill is $120. The minimum service charge is $90, and then $30 for actual water and sewage disposal charges.

[Ged]

I have the opposite problem.

Water bill shows I use 90% less water than my neighbors, yet my monthly water bill is $120. The minimum service charge is $90, and then $30 for actual water and sewage disposal charges.

My father had this problem. He eventually got the town to change its rate structure so that the minimum charge was lower and the variable rate higher. When you think about it, it makes a lot of economic and environmental sense to do that.

Note: he was a very persistent and intelligent person. No guarantee you will be able to get the same changes into effect.

[alpenglow]

We have plenty of water, but no water bill also.....we have a well.

You definitely have a bill though - for electricity.

One month my Mom's well pump failed and was running all the time. She wasn't using the well at the time so she didn't notice. Not sure why the circuit was on. That was quite the bill.

[Turbo29]

Our water meter stopped recording water usage. I reported it by phone. When nothing happened, I reported it in person. They told me that water meters often break and they would repair it in good time. It took quite a while, something like a year before it was repaired. I had no moral nor ethical issues with getting free water.

You may be one of dozens or hundreds of customers who get free water.

Had that happen with my electric meter. I looked at it one day and noticed that the display (it has a digital readout) had gone dark. Called the utility and they said, "Oh yeah, we haven't been getting a signal from it for awhile, we will replace it." Took few months; during that time they estimated the bill. Bills seemed normal for the season to me so I just paid them and didn't argue the point.

[Jags4186]

Our water company sent us a letter saying we had 60 days to let someone in our basement M-F 9-5 (very convenient) to change our old meter or else our water was shut off and it would be a $1000 reconnection fee. Seems like you have the opposite problem.

Interesting to see the different rates people pay. We have private water and pay between $30-45/mo depending on whether we use 2 or 3 “units” a month. My mother lives about 10 miles away and has municipal water and pays about $50/quarter. $120/mo is insanity!

[snackdog]

I guess we will let it ride.

Had the same problem in the same town about a decade ago. Built a new house and they failed to recognize this fact on the tax records. Came time to sell and they still hadn't noticed. Title company sure noticed. Was a bit of a mess.

[unclescrooge]

I have the opposite problem.

Water bill shows I use 90% less water than my neighbors, yet my monthly water bill is $120. The minimum service charge is $90, and then $30 for actual water and sewage disposal charges.

My father had this problem. He eventually got the town to change its rate structure so that the minimum charge was lower and the variable rate higher. When you think about it, it makes a lot of economic and environmental sense to do that.

Note: he was a very persistent and intelligent person. No guarantee you will be able to get the same changes into effect.

Yeah, I might have to start attending town meetings

[toofache32]

I had something similar with my electric meter years ago. They realized it had not been reading correctly for a couple years. They sent someone to fix it. Then I got a letter saying I owed them about $3000 to make up for past electricity use. I called and asked them how they calculated that since my meter was broken. She said it was an estimate based on average use of homes in my neighborhood divided by square footage. I asked what if this is a summer vacation home where nothing is used 90% of the time? She said, well is it? I said "I don't know, but my point is that it could be." In the end, I still had to pay.

[mouses]

(In my case...I bought a house and they could not give a final reading for the closing because...the water meter had been buried and they had been doing estimated readings for years.)

Buried? Trying to imagine how a meter could get buried.

[onthecusp]

(In my case...I bought a house and they could not give a final reading for the closing because...the water meter had been buried and they had been doing estimated readings for years.)

Buried? Trying to imagine how a meter could get buried.

Our water meter is in a shallow pit with a cover, near the sidewalk. If it had been in a 'dip' it would be easy to bury.

[celia]

You have informed them. I think you have done your part. They will eventually catch up and you pay them at that time.

Just to protect yourself, why don't you write a letter summarizing your contacts with them and ask for an estimated repair date (not that you'll get a response). Be sure to keep a copy and send the letter with a return receipt.