Woman disputes $1,900 water bill over 3 months
Lexington Utilities and a woman are disputing the cause of a water bill that totaled $1,900 within a three-month span last year.
Darden resident Shonda Gilbert said she believes a faulty meter led to the abnormally high bills between the months of July and September and that the water service technicians who came to her house said there wasn't a leak causing the issue.
Lexington Utilities General Manager Michael Harper, however, said that Gilbert did not inform them about the issue until the third month after her water was cut off. A service technician reported seeing standing water on the ground the first time they went to her home, which is a sign of a leak, he said.
Gilbert, however, says she went to the utility company after receiving July's bill of $219 and again in August when it topped $300.
"I went back and complained again, and they sent somebody to check for leaks once more, but the guy that checked it said it's perfectly still, there's no leaks," Gilbert said. "I told the (company officials) there's something wrong with my meter, and they said they don't break ... if they mess up, they slow down, not speed up."
After another meter was installed at the end of September, her October bill was back to around $30.
Harper said leaks typically start out slowly and steadily increase over time, as in Gilbert's case. It is possible to leak 270,000 gallons in one month, as her August bill shows.
"She knew when we changed this meter, and what I firmly believe is she had a leak and fixed it (after the new meter was installed)," Harper said.
Harper said the first meter — which has a serial number that coincides with the technician's report — was calibrated and shown to not have any issues.
Gilbert, however, said she doubts the system sent off the right meter and that lawsuits have been filed over whether water meters provided inaccurate readings. The meter was only changed after she told the company's assistant manager she would bring the issue up at Lexington's Board of Aldermen meeting in October, she said.
Gilbert's water has been cut off several times since the bills came in as she's attempted to pay enough to keep it running. Gilbert says even if there were a leak, the bill would still not have reached $993 in one month's time, and if so, it would have flooded her home.
Billy Joe Hill, a service manager, for Tim Ferguson Plumbing Co. said it is possible to have more than 200,000 gallons of water leak in a month and that it likely would be evident with water on the ground.
Gilbert also said she feels she's been treated unfairly when another resident with a high water bill was able to get her amount owed reduced. Harper said that situation was also a leak, but the utility lowered that woman's bill because it did not send a service technician out to her home the first time she informed it about the bill.
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"If we would have messed up, we would have helped (Gilbert), and we're still willing to help her," Harper said. "My honest belief is she had a leak."
Darden resident Shonda Gilbert said she believes a faulty meter led to the abnormally high bills between the months of July and September and that the water service technicians who came to her house said there wasn't a leak causing the issue.
Lexington Utilities General Manager Michael Harper, however, said that Gilbert did not inform them about the issue until the third month after her water was cut off. A service technician reported seeing standing water on the ground the first time they went to her home, which is a sign of a leak, he said.
Gilbert, however, says she went to the utility company after receiving July's bill of $219 and again in August when it topped $300.
"I went back and complained again, and they sent somebody to check for leaks once more, but the guy that checked it said it's perfectly still, there's no leaks," Gilbert said. "I told the (company officials) there's something wrong with my meter, and they said they don't break ... if they mess up, they slow down, not speed up."
After another meter was installed at the end of September, her October bill was back to around $30.
Harper said leaks typically start out slowly and steadily increase over time, as in Gilbert's case. It is possible to leak 270,000 gallons in one month, as her August bill shows.
"She knew when we changed this meter, and what I firmly believe is she had a leak and fixed it (after the new meter was installed)," Harper said.
Harper said the first meter — which has a serial number that coincides with the technician's report — was calibrated and shown to not have any issues.
Gilbert, however, said she doubts the system sent off the right meter and that lawsuits have been filed over whether water meters provided inaccurate readings. The meter was only changed after she told the company's assistant manager she would bring the issue up at Lexington's Board of Aldermen meeting in October, she said.
Gilbert's water has been cut off several times since the bills came in as she's attempted to pay enough to keep it running. Gilbert says even if there were a leak, the bill would still not have reached $993 in one month's time, and if so, it would have flooded her home.
Billy Joe Hill, a service manager, for Tim Ferguson Plumbing Co. said it is possible to have more than 200,000 gallons of water leak in a month and that it likely would be evident with water on the ground.
Gilbert also said she feels she's been treated unfairly when another resident with a high water bill was able to get her amount owed reduced. Harper said that situation was also a leak, but the utility lowered that woman's bill because it did not send a service technician out to her home the first time she informed it about the bill.
nwmwatermeters: Water meter , Single Jet Water Meter , Multi Jet Water Meter , Piston (Volumetric) Water Meter , Woltman Water Meter , Heating Meter , Batch Control Meter , AWWA Standard Meter , Automatic Reading System , Test Bench , Water Meter Accessories , Woltman Water Meters , Multi Jet Dry type Water Meter , Single Jet Dry type Water Meter , Piston (Volumetric) Dry type Water Meter , Single Jet Hot Water Meter , Irrigation Water Meter , Multi Jet Hot Water Meter , Multi Jet Semi-Dry (liquid Filled) Water Meter , Single Jet Semi-Dry (Liquid Filled) Water Meter , Piston (Volumetric) Liquid Filled Water Meter , Compound Water Meter , Multi Jet Wet Type Water Meter , Piston (Volumetric) Hot Water Meter , Single Jet Wet Type Water Meter , Woltman Vertical Water Meter , Woltmann Hot Water Meter
"If we would have messed up, we would have helped (Gilbert), and we're still willing to help her," Harper said. "My honest belief is she had a leak."
hycastings - 19. Jan, 07:54
