We have had a plumber out to inspect our home, our water outside was turned off for the winter, and yet the water company claims we have used over 200,000 gallons of water in 1 billing cycle. (Our typical is around 8900 a month.) Our bill is over $1000. It is simply not possible, yet despite our proof that there are no leaks in our home, the water company continues to deny that it is even feasible that they have made a mistake and are trying to make us pay the bill. We are taking them to small claims court.

Our recent monthly water bills have reflected a 103% increase over the previous year-while my family's water usage habits have not changed. I have called the City of San Diego, who indicated that my meter did not reflect a leak on the property. I am cannot image how a family of four could incur a $400+ monthly water bill. Has anyone else experienced erroneous billing by the Water Dept? I am not sure how to proceed.

My water bill doubled in one month in 2004. It was because the water meter was not read. Our water bill again has doubled, then dropped to an “estimated average” and stayed in that billing range for several months. Recently, our water statement tripled, then dropped to an “estimated average” now quad tripled. I contacted the City of San Diego Water Department and was told our current usage was 2078 HCF to 2184 HCF. The last statement left off at 2058 HCF. I went & read the meter 9/28/07 at the address the Water Department informed me where my meter is, to read and there is no such address. However, at the end of our block, on a property’s lot, is where my meter is and I read it. That reading was 2132 HCF. Noticeably, the meter has not been read in quite sometime. To read the meter, I was required to scrub off the built up grim & layers of dust and remove the cobwebs. I re-contacted the Water Dept., with my findings and a with the much different reading than what our statement reflects. I was told the City of San Diego Water Department does not adjust prior statements for credit due to it customers due to errors of overcharging by the Water Department.
I recall a newscast not long ago, where Jerry Sanders stated the homeowners of San Diego are to receive credits of reimbursements for the tumultuous amounts of wrongful billings by the City of San Diego Water Department, that goes into millions of dollars. The Water Department has been sited and continues to wrongfully bill their customers. The bottom line is, the Water Department does not check meters.

R.A. Snyder Properties, Inc. manages more than 200 properties in San Diego County... which means we pay about the same number of City of San Diego Water Department bills every few months.

Since late May, many of our payments have not been posted by the City of SD... and we are getting "Late Payment" notices on a regular basis. We have two options: Issue a stop-payment on the first check and reissue a replacement check, or, send a new check without putting a stop-payment on the first check.

Some of our properties do not have sufficient cash to simply write another check and wait to see if both checks clear... and both checks do indeed eventually clear. If we dare to issue a stop-payment on the first check when the City tells us that check did not arrive, lo and behold the check is submitted for payment 2-3 weeks later... and our bank returns it, unpaid, per the stop-payment order. The City of SD assesses us a $25 NSF fee, despite the fact that we had already communicated to them of our predicament. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it hurts.

I am the V.P. of our Accounting Department, and when I called today I attempting to convey the above message... but the person taking my call would only address one account at a time... which we have already done, one at a time, as each late-payment notice arrived. I asked to speak with a supervisor at the City of SD Water Department, and I was not permitted to. I had clearly explained my request, as I wrote above to you, and I gave them my name and title... yet I was not allowed into voice mail, nor was I connected to a live person. A message was taken by "Elvira" with a promise that "Elena" would call me back. "Elvira" called back after 20 minutes. According to Elena, there is no internal problem with their AR department. (To her credit, if I had an internal problem in my office I wouldn't share that information - so I don't know how reliable that statement is.)

I asked Elena if there was a solution. She gave me two options:
Hand-deliver our payments. (With more than 200 properties in San Diego County, this is not an option.)
Mail our payments to their downtown payment center. (I will certainly give this a shot.)

I am convinced that there is a problem somewhere at the City of SD Water Department... because each and every check that they claim they never got, they eventually "find"... so my question is: Where the bleep are the checks sitting all this time? By the way, we have ruled out the possibility that it is a USPS problem, as the City of SD Water Department is the only vendor who is not receiving prompt payment.

I would love for UCAN to discuss this with Jerry Sanders, the Water Department, and whoever else might clean up the problem.

Problems at my company come through me - and I solve them. Somebody at the Water Department surely can solve this one...

Thank you!

Reminder to dispute charges you feel are unfair: Fill out the complaint form (located on home page) in most complete fashion possible. Please fax bills you want reviewed to answer questions &/or to dispute charges to 619-696-7477, scan and email bills or mail copies to 3100 5th Ave., Ste B San Diego, CA 92103. Please note that we are unable to review and dispute bills in states other than CA. However, we will provide a resource for you if you live in another state, if possible.

SAM

Maybe I'm deluded but it doesn't seem right that water customers should be charged sewer fees when they don't use the sewer. I have argued with the water dept over this issue time and again and its a waste of time.

For example: This month I got my bill after spending almost all of last month on a trip. My water usage last month was 1 HCF according to my bill - but all my other fees are the same as every other bill water base fee $15.87, sewer base fee 11.32, sewer srvc charg 11.36, drain fee $.95. Total bill is 41.23 when I only consumed $1.73 of water.

I travel a lot and many times I don't consume any water that month and am still charged for sewer fees/charges.

Also, when I am home, to save water I also converted part of my house to grey water use and water all the yard with used shower water that obviously never goes into the sewer. Doesn't matter to the water company I still get charged the same old fees every month.

How is it justified to charge consumers for services not proportional to their use?
Doesn't anyone else notice the same problem with their bill?

It seems there is no incentive to save water I may as well just turn all the taps on and waste waste waste because most months my water bill is very high no matter what I do to save.

my water bill was for $1,0050. for a 3 month period. i proved it was not leaky toilets as theym contended.
they replaced old meters with ones that are on computers. when they replaced my meter it showed i supposeedly used 144,000 gal of water for 3 minths and then mysteriously dropped to 40 gal. of water. nothing was done to repair anything at that time and i am puzzled by the erratic nature of the old meter. they did not bench test it because they said they didn't havre it!
many people in my area paid exhorbitant bills because their outside meter numbers didnt match with the meters in their homes. how could that be?
Eileen