I purchased a house in late October and had the electricity and gas turned on. I specifically left off the water bill due to the winter. I winterized the kitchen and baths as usual.
The house has sat vacant for 7 months while I rezoned commercial. Last month, I received a notice on the door saying the water was turned off due to no application beng made.
I called the water department to inform them that the house was vacate and that the water was never turned on and no service had been requested.
They informed me that 54,000 gallons of water has been used ($570.12)
Apparently, they have been reading the meter for 6 months before they installed a new meter in April. At which time, they cut off the water. Since they replaced the meter, there is no way for me to verify or request a meter reading. Am I supposed to take their word for it? If you have ever wondered why your water bill is the same every month, you would know what I mean. Half the time they don’t even read the meters.
The service was tranfered out of the previous owners name the week we closed.
I would go in person to the water department and ask to speak to a supervisor. Have the bill erased; the supervisor should have discretionary power.
I would also take the cover off the water meter and see if the little needle is going around and around even though all the water faucets are off. If the needle is moving water is leaking out somewhere.
Here if the water is leaking out from the street to the meter the water dept. will fix it for free and not charge for it. If the leak is from the meter to house the owner has to pay.
Probably the rules and customs differ a lot. Here if I get a high bill and I have had a plumber fix the leak I can take the bill to the water dept. and they will discount the high water bill since I fixed the leak.
Good luck and let us know how this turns out.
FurnishedOwner
the real question is what does it mean to have the water “turn on”. If the valve was open then it is highly possible you have a leak.
I would go to the water department in person and be very professional. In the end, ask lot of questions, push hard and try to set if possible. It sounds like you have bigger plans for this property so throw a couple of hundred bucks on the table if you need to in order keep the project moving forward.
Do you mean you turned off the water at the house, or that you canceled the service?
Either way, yes, I’d go to the Water dept and ask to talk to a supervisor, then ask to talk to their supervisor (no need to talk to the supervisor of clerks)… Tell them you’ve had the water turned off (or canceled, if that’s the case) and haven’t occupied the property.
Also, I’d do as mentioned and go see what the meter is doing. If it’s spinning due to a leak, you’re actually liable…
In most cases, you’re probably liable, but you may be able to talk them out of it.