Reader asks Is there any legal recourse unusually large water bill?
Ridgewood Water Customers in Wyckoff.
I just got my water bill for the quarter ending in Dec. 2014 and the bill is $800. That is 4-5 times my normal bill. It comes following our meter being upgraded.
How is it that a company can “recreate” history from 8 years ago. How is it that a company can say “oops”, we under billed you?
I can’t do that in my business.
Is there any legal recourse??
From my own experience, I see one of two likely explanations.
1. You probably have either a pool or a sprinkler system, and you have a leak in the pipes. Most people don’t know they have such a leak until the next water bill comes, and it’s the size of a mortgage payment. It happened to us. After getting mad with the Water dept., we eventually discovered that we had a leak. The easiest thing to do is turn off all the noise in your house and shut off the valve (usually in the basement) that controls water to your sprinklers or pool. You may have already shut this off for winter. Open it again, and listen for flowing water. There really shouldn’t be if the sprinklers aren’t supposed to run. If the water runs for more than a few seconds, you more than likely have a leak.
The problem is yours and you owe for the leaked water.
2. You were somehow getting billed for estimated water usage, and following your new meter, your billing reflected what you had actually used.
The problem is yours and you owe for the water you used.
Even a toilet that has a leaking flush valve can waste a lot of water and you may not even realize it
Based upon what the article-writer has stated, I tend to think it is due to the new meter, and it’s just a case of actual usage catching up with previously estimated usage. While this does sting, the reality is he owes for what he has used. I bet if it was the other way around, and he discovered he had been over paying, he would happily grab the refund. He seems to know full well what happened, and just doesn’t like that this reconciliation has gone the wrong way. If he somehow thinks it’s unfair, then what he’s basically suggesting is that the rest of the Village’s residents need to absorb his “loss”.
Have no problems since plumber repair.
You live in Ridgewood and $800 is going to break you?
The big shocker was my PSE&Co bill today — it was huge and meters were read internally by the reader and I watched him do it — Any one else have a high reading on your January bill ?