I finally called the water company after 3 months of a $180 bill, and the lady on the phone said something that made me feel so dumb | Biggest Life Fails - nhfree.com
I finally called the water company after 3 months of a $180 bill, and the lady on the phone said something that made me feel so dumb
So back in January I moved into this little duplex in Tucson and my first water bill was around $60, which seemed normal. Then February hit and it jumped to $180, and March was the same, and I just kept paying it because I figured maybe the pipes were old or my roommate was taking crazy long showers. I finally called the water company last week and got this super nice lady named Denise on the phone who pulled up my account and went quiet for a second. She said, "Honey, you're being billed for the whole building, not just your unit" and I literally sat down on my kitchen floor. Turns out the previous tenant never had the meter split when the duplex got divided into two rentals, so I was paying for both sides of the house. Denise helped me file a dispute and said I should get about $400 back over the next two cycles. The whole time I was just too nervous to call because I didn't want to sound clueless. Has anyone else had a utility company bill them for something that wasn't even theirs, and how long did the refund take?
Why would you keep paying a bill that tripled out of nowhere for three whole months without calling? I get being nervous about sounding clueless, but $180 versus $60 is a huge jump and that money was coming out of your pocket every single month. The water company lady was nice about it, but honestly the system failed you here because nobody should have to call and beg to not pay for someone else's water. This is partly why I always tell people to bug their landlord and the utility the second something looks off, even if it feels awkward, because waiting just makes the hole deeper. I'm not trying to pile on you, but being scared to make a phone call cost you real cash for a quarter of a year. Did you ever check if your roommate was getting their own bill this whole time, or were they just letting you cover the whole duplex too?