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Whiskey Business

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Went online to pay bills. Water was over 600.00! 10 times more than usual. Checked all over the house and found no leaks, running toilets, wet spots, nothing. No water around the main on my property. Water meter box was flooded. Called the county and said it was the meter. Told them I checked EVERTHING on my property. No leaks, think it is the meter.

County sent a tech that said it was my bad. 

So I paid for a licensed plumber. He spent a while looking at everything and did diagnostics. 

And he determined no leaks on property, it is a faulty meter. Sent plumbers paperwork to county.

County is taking me serious now. Maybe will not have to not pay huge water bill and will get reimbursed for plumber. We willl see. They were nicer to me after they saw plumber's report.

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You did good.  Hang in there.  Don’t be afraid to talk to the upper management.  TV / newspaper exposure and your state’s utility regulators can also work wonders if they are uncooperative.

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Got a huge bill once. Called a plumber he told me he was “pretty sure” the leak was under the batroom floor which would have meant a huge job. I called American Leak Detectors and they sent a guy with all kinds of high tech equipment. He made a chalk mark X on the floor of the screened porch and said, “If this was my house, that’s where I’d dig”. I called another plumber who jackhammered the floor up and found the leak right under the X.

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Don't feel too bad Pard.

Last year, around this time, I got a bill for $937.00 for 60 days and still lost all my lawn.

Dang cinch bugs.

 

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1 hour ago, Whiskey Business said:

Know all about upper management. Old stoppin ground. Anytime I call cust ser I immediately ask to speak to the supervisor. Then ask to speak to their supervisor. 

Will come out ahead on this cause I am right.

You should have hired a woman plumber and gave them her report! ;)

 

We sure miss seeing you on the range. 

 

Kajun

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I got a water bill for over $1,000,000 from the city for a commercial property that normally ran less than $300 a month back in the early 90's. When I complained the city sent their "expert water department workers" out who declared I had a massive leak under the asphalt parking lot. I told them I would have a contractor onsite in the morning to dig up the parking lot in the spot they had indicated and invited them to show up so they could sign for the bills when nothing was found. Certainly a million plus dollars worth of water would be gushing out of the ground somewhere, but the entire property was dry.  I told the city workers they could also hire a paving contractor to restore the parking lot. Within a few hours I got the call that there was a billing error and they asked me if I could cancel the contractor that was scheduled to arrive in the morning........

 

You are on the right trail Whiskey!

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29 minutes ago, Ethan Cord said:

I got a water bill for over $1,000,000 from the city for a commercial property that normally ran less than $300 a month back in the early 90's. When I complained the city sent their "expert water department workers" out who declared I had a massive leak under the asphalt parking lot. I told them I would have a contractor onsite in the morning to dig up the parking lot in the spot they had indicated and invited them to show up so they could sign for the bills when nothing was found. Certainly a million plus dollars worth of water would be gushing out of the ground somewhere, but the entire property was dry.  I told the city workers they could also hire a paving contractor to restore the parking lot. Within a few hours I got the call that there was a billing error and they asked me if I could cancel the contractor that was scheduled to arrive in the morning........

 

You are on the right trail Whiskey!

 

A licensed plumber will know and lay waste to silly excuses from idjits.

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Wells are nice, till you have to replace a 5hp motor. The entire 360' of shaft has to come up and every 20' of shaft has to be disconnected till you finally get to the motor. A long day's work for well company and they just smile all the way to the bank. But at least the water is free and very pure.

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A few years ago some jackass enterprising soul in our state legislature decided that the state needed to put meters on private domestic wells... after all, it was SO unfair that some could enjoy FREE WATER, while others have to pay for theirs.  The fact that a well can cost upwards of $25k, requires costly maintenance and repair and electricity to operate (all taxable!) is, of course, irrelevant.

 

So far it hasn't happened... so far.  

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Also-IF the water co. uses meter readers. Make dang sure they can read the meter correctly...........

I can't tell you how many times I've had incorrect readings that lead to a large bill.

The last one was during a drought we had that included a heavy penalty. Had a supervisor come out and read the meter. 

And he confirmed the error on the spot, and he confided that others in my area complained also.

OLG

 

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1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Also-IF the water co. uses meter readers. Make dang sure they can read the meter correctly...........

I can't tell you how many times I've had incorrect readings that lead to a large bill.

The last one was during a drought we had that included a heavy penalty. Had a supervisor come out and read the meter. 

And he confirmed the error on the spot, and he confided that others in my area complained also.

OLG

 

 

Agree the meter reader was not on top of it. He assumed it was my fault despite the red flags. Meter box flooded and high meter reading. But no! Could not possibly be their fault. Courtesy email would have avoided all this. 

Much time, money, and resources have been wasted. 58,000 gallons of water wasted. Yep. 58,000. 

I called as soon as I noticed and they did not listen. So now they have pay for the plumber. And all that lost water. And sending three techs (one a supervisor) to my house. 

Seems I know more than the meter readers.

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Last year my Mom got hit with a $900 water bill. She can be a bit forgetful so first thought was she left a hose on. They have an acre, with bushes and flowers everywhere. But after extensive checking of the main meter and the house there was no sign of excess watering and no leaks found any where.  Best we can figure is she was one of several houses hit by water thieves last summer. Police said they would drive around to find a house with a faucet out front, then run a hose to a tank trailer and make off with several hundred gallons at a time. They were stealing water for pot grow houses.

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On 10/25/2017 at 10:31 AM, Whiskey Business said:

The water co came by this morning. It was a leaky meter and they replaced it.

Now I'm waiting for my reimbursement and bill adjustment.

 

Whisky, . . . good to hear a happy ending . . . . . :)

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