Quote:
Originally Posted by Hifred
We have lived in our home for years and our potable water usage is very stable. A little above or below 5,000 gallons a month. I got the shock of my life today when I looked at my water bill and it showed we used more than 52,000 gallons of potable water this month. I immediately checked all the faucets, spigots, toilets to see if they were running as well as hot water heater to see if it was leaking and looked under each sink. I called TV utility and they said they had checked the water meter twice and the reading was accurate. I don't know what else to do as I told the person from the utility company. I looked at the meter outside and it is not moving so I know there isn't a leak or it would keep moving despite all my faucets turned off. I don't have a pool. I haven't had any guests or any reason why the water bill would be so high. The bad thing is I have automatic payment set up and it pulled more than $500 out of my checking account. I asked the person if they could pull my typical payment until we could determine what the problem was but they don't do that.
Has anyone had this situation occur? Do I need to get a lawyer? I am at a loss. Maybe the meter malfunctioned? At this point the people who work at the utility company are done with me but I still have a huge bill and they have taken the money from my bank account..... HELP PLEASE.
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My two cents worth. Customer service, first of all there is a magic balance between being a push over and being politely forceful. Often in these situations the person on the other end of the phone does not have the power to help you. There is an art to finding a person with the power and the position to actually help you.
As far as an attorney, it will cost you more than the bill.
Phone? It is easy to dial a phone but you have no proof of the phone call. Old school perhaps. Return receipt letter cost is about $7.00. Confirming my conversation with xxxxx at xxxxxx on date.
Looked at the meter? Our home is roughly 9 years old. Our meter is under one of those plastic plates. The meter is read though the plate using a small hand held meter reader.
In terms of OLD SCHOOL we still pay with checks. It is truly amusing to find some zit faced kid claiming they have not been paid and my telling them to look for my check# endorced-CASHED-by xxxxxxxx