Posted by
deliran
16 yrs ago
Can anyone help with advice on this?
We just received our last bill from the HK Water Authority and it is almost 10 times more than we usually pay and double what it was for our last bill.
Usually our water bills are way under $300, then last January our bill jumped up to $500 - so we decided to try to cut back on our water usage (not to small loads of laundry, etc) - but our last bill is now $1250!!! We are a just couple who also have a helper - no bathtup or swimming pool.
The landlord had a plumber come over last night to check if someone is stealing water from us somehow and to check for a leaky toilet, but he found nothing. We've contacted the Water Authority and they told us they could come to check the water meter if we paid them $460 more!
I do not want to pay this huge bill as I am certain we didn't use that much water - it seems impossible and I am quite angry that the Water Authority won't help at all in this.
Has anyone ever experienced this or have any suggestions on what to do next? I don't know what to do beyond what we've done and I cringe to think of the next bill.
Please support our advertisers:
Your bill is being guestimated. We had the same problem, however we could prove that he never checked out meter. I just stuck a small piece of string across the door hinge to the meter room, a couple of days before he was due to read it. String was still there and our bill still came with a "reading". We told them that the water meter was never read and we demanded a true reading. They did so, but still in the following periods, the guestimation returned.
We also went away for an extended period of time and our bill remained the same. Impossible was our cry as there was no one to use the water and there was nothing wrong with our water pipes leaking etc. Again we demanded a new reading.
The extra charge you refer to will only be refunded if they find something wrong with the meter. This of course, does not mean they will refund it if the meter is not being read. Do not pay for a meter check.
One good thing (but ever so small )is on your final day of your lease, demand that you are told when the meter is to be read and be present for it. If the reading is contrary to what they have guessed, you will be refunded for what is the difference.
Please support our advertisers:
So all I can do is pay whatever they tell me like a good girl and wait until we move out to see if they have misread the meter?!! Actually we're in the process of re-negotiating our lease...
Actually our helper said that the last time someone came to check the meter, he had to come to our door to ask where it was (it's in a public alley on the side of our house) - maybe this person read the wrong meter because he didn't know where it was?
I am in complete disbelief that a utitlity company can be so blatantly incompentent and there's nothing I can do about it but pay what they tell me?!
Please support our advertisers:
I have seen many village houses with the property number painted onto the meter or a small sign hung on the pipe that leads to your apartment. Maybe you could give that a try.
It should be easy for you to read your own meter if it is in the alley. Maybe check it against what they have guessed, if it is different - write to them. You could even contact the Gov ombudsman if you get no satisfaction after you contact the water authority.
Please support our advertisers:
If you know where your meter is you can read it yourself and compare with what the bill says. if there is a difference you have the right to ask the water authority to reissue with your reading or at thier cost have the reader come round to re-read the meter in your presence.
Your bill has on it a meter number and a reading - these should both agree with the meter belonging to your house.
We had a similar issue. I brought it to thier attention and miraculously, although nothing was done on our side (and they say on thier side either) our usage has gone down by almost 60% in the last 2 years - despite installing a washing machine.
Please support our advertisers:
I'll do this when I get home - just got the hard copy of the water bill from the landlord.
If the numbers match though - I still know we didn't use $1250 of water between the two of us.
Please support our advertisers:
Cara - what are you going to do? I am certain we didn't use this amount of water and am not going to resign myself to paying such a huge amount every bill. I will move if needed, though it's only been the last two bills that have all of a sudden jumped so much. Nothing new happened in our house to justify such an increase though.
I may well contact the Gov't ombudsman if the Water Authority won't do their job.
Please support our advertisers:
wow! Cara - something is not right - cant you take this up with them given the dramatic increase in water costs that you are experiencing.
I had something similar with CSL on a mobile phone, where I was able to prove that it was not physically possible to have dialled $12000 of calls (all to the same number) in the time they said it was done.
with water a similar calculation for the time you are talking about when compared with regular usage (and the fact that you havent drown neighbours) and possible usage with the water outlets you have should be able to prove to them that the bill is just not possible for you to rack up (without noticing).
it will take a bit of calculating, but well worth it to save you a couple of $000
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail