Tenants $8,000.00 Water Bill (plumber, homeowners, house, Michigan)

[Informed Info]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

500K gallons is a shower running continuously for 3 months.

Ya know?

And probably 30, very large in-ground pools getting filled up.

[Informed Info]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Weed growing?

Someone diverting your water to their use?

LOL! Thanks for the levity!

No weed. Been in all of the units...couldn't hide it.

There is no outside spigot that is operational. It's turned off from the inside of the property.

[suzy_q2010]

If you Google it, you will find numerous problems with over-billing due to smart meters. Have any of your neighbors had problems with spikes in usage after smart meters were installed?

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...473027503.html

Skyrocketing water bills mystify, anger residents - CNN.com

"generally high bill complaints are either due to new meter accuracy and/or a billing multiplier error"

[Mikala43]

I had a leak on my outdoor hot water heater. I saw it dripping and thought no big deal, $1700 later.....


Have you turned off ALL the water and checked the meter to see if it's running? If it does, you have a leak.

Otherwise have your meter tested. All of the above post haste!!!!

[Informed Info]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

What is your relationship like with the tenants? Do you think they could have deliberately tried to run up the bill knowing they don’t have to pay it?

The problem is that they do have to pay for water/sewer. As well as gas/electric.

They pay their own utilities but the water/sewer is in my name. The city doesn't allow otherwise.

I'm assuming what I'm dealing with is WHY the city doesn't allow otherwise. Can't get blood from a stone & the city is full of students, section 8s & illegals.

I honestly don't think that any of my tenants would do something like this on purpose, but you never know.

[ss20ts]

I'd start looking in the yard and outside to see if there's crack or break.

[Informed Info]

Originally Posted by suzy_q2010

If you Google it, you will find numerous problems with over-billing due to smart meters. Have any of your neighbors had problems with spikes in usage after smart meters were installed?

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...473027503.html

Skyrocketing water bills mystify, anger residents - CNN.com

"generally high bill complaints are either due to new meter accuracy and/or a billing multiplier error"

Yes.

This is why it took close to two weeks to get a human out to read the meter...from what I was told.

But the city isn't caving.

The meter will be sent to some "independent lab" in south NJ. Yeah, ok!

[Informed Info]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

I'd start looking in the yard and outside to see if there's crack or break.

My first thought, too...but the meter wouldn't register that.

Only what has come in to the building.

[Informed Info]

To whomever sent the rep comment and told me I was making it all up...here you go:

[philboyj]

I would just refuse to pay it. Out of the question. Pay the following months bill till they rectify this one bill. We had a similar situation in a building in NY - the water bill for the building was coming to 10,000 each month when it should normally have been 10,000 for the entire year.
We found it was a conversion issue - some software glitch converting from units to gallons and multiplying the charge etc. Surprisingly it only affected our building. The board decided not pay the bill but put the budgeted money ( 10k) for the water bill into escrow. It was resolved 4 years later and was in line with what had originally budgeted.

Check and double check the conversion.