CHARLES COUNTY GOVERNMENT

July 15,Dear ***:
This letter is written in response to the Complaint you received from one of our Water/Sewer customers, requesting that your office conduct an investigationSpecifically, you offered an opportunity to explain our position and the actions we have taken in
an attempt to reach a settlement with our customer.In January 2014, a bill was sent to the customer based on the meter reading for usage for the period beginning October 1, and ending December 30,According to the water meter, the water usage for the premises was 104,gallonsThe bill reflected fees for usage of water ($804.60), sewer ($151.92),, account maintenance fees ($9.42) and the Bay Restoration fee ($per quarter).The County conducted a review and reread the meter to verify the reading prior to mailing the billThe review verified the usage and did not reflect leaks (i.eif something has been running excessively within a hour period, such as an unrepaired toilet flapper)When the customer contacted our office to inquire about the bill, he was provided some recommendations on how to check for possible sources of leaks To date, he has not informed the County of the outcome of the .recommendations, nor he has not reported the installation of any fixtures requiring additional water (i.e., therapeutic hot tubs/spas, etc.) The billing cycle for December 31,through March 31, reflected usage which appeared for the property based on the attached quarterly summary for usage dating from July 2010.Pursuant to County policy, when the sewer usage exceeds 24,we offer a one-time “leak adjustment” to a bill (to cover unknown faulty toilet flappers or other leaks)In the absence of an explanation for the excessive water fees and in the interest of customer service, the County applied the gallon maximum sewer usage to reduce his water usage to 24,gallons, which reduced the water portion of his bill to $309.92.After the adjustment, the County offered the customer a payment arrangement for the adjusted balance of $which gave him additional time to pay off the account in increments; in February 'the customer accepted the proposed payment arrangement.What remains unknown is whether the customer discovered and repaired a leak on the premises or if there were any other recently installed appliances or other activities to account for the usageThe County offers customers an opportunity to request having water meters removed and evaluated for testing if they believe the meter is faulty; if the meter is found to be faulty and the test reveals a flow less than the meter reads, the bill is adjusted to reflect average usage,To date, the customer has not made such a request.Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the customer’s complaintsI hope this response reflects our efforts to respond promptly and in accord with customer service expectationsIf you require additional information, please contact us at *** ** *** or ###-###-####.Sincerely,

Review: On my January 31/13-3/31/14 water and sewer bill I was billed for an outrageous amount of $1029.56. I contacted Charles County Government Water and Sewer department and was told that there could be possibly a leak. They sent out correspondence about how to check for links via email. After receiving the info I checked for leaks as suggested and found non. I then called to get another reading off the meter it was done and I was then told the meter was now operational. So if there weren't any leaks and the meter wasn't operational fully then why was I required to pay the full amount? After calling several times regarding the outrageous balance, I was told I had the amount because the water and sewer department billed separately and it appeared that the Sewer department was the issue not the water department. My acct#[redacted]. It appears that the Sewer Department is over billing residents, this is FRAUD. Please look into this matter asap because I received another outrageous bill, WHERE IS THE WATER GOING?Desired Settlement: I DESIRE AN INVESIGTION INTO THIS MATTER AND A RETURN FOR MY OVERAGE PAYMENT. IF I DIDN'T PAY THEY THREATEN WATER SHUT OFF, SO I HAD TO PAY.

Business

Response:

July 15,2014Dear **. [redacted]:This letter is written in response to the Complaint you received from one of our Water/Sewer customers, requesting that your office conduct an investigation. Specifically, you offered an opportunity to explain our position and the actions we have taken in an attempt to reach a settlement with our customer.In January 2014, a bill was sent to the customer based on the meter reading for usage for the period beginning October 1, 2013 and ending December 30,2013. According to the water meter, the water usage for the premises was 104,000 gallons. The bill reflected fees for usage of water ($804.60), sewer ($151.92),, account maintenance fees ($9.42) and the Bay Restoration fee ($15.00 per quarter).The County conducted a review and reread the meter to verify the reading prior to mailing the bill. The review verified the usage and did not reflect leaks (i.e.. if something has been running excessively within a 24 hour period, such as an unrepaired toilet flapper). When the customer contacted our office to inquire about the bill, he was provided some recommendations on how to check for possible sources of leaks To date, he has not informed the County of the outcome of the .recommendations, nor he has not reported the installation of any fixtures requiring additional water (i.e., therapeutic hot tubs/spas, etc.) The billing cycle for December 31,2013 through March 31, 2014 reflected usage which appeared normal for the property based on the attached quarterly summary for usage dating from July 2010.Pursuant to County policy, when the sewer usage exceeds 24,000 we offer a one-time “leak adjustment” to a bill (to cover unknown faulty toilet flappers or other leaks). In the absence of an explanation for the excessive water fees and in the interest of customer service, the County applied the 24.000 gallon maximum sewer usage to reduce his water usage to 24,000 gallons, which reduced the water portion of his bill to $309.92.After the adjustment, the County offered the customer a payment arrangement for the adjusted balance of $486.26 which gave him additional time to pay off the account in increments; in February '2014. the customer accepted the proposed payment arrangement.What remains unknown is whether the customer discovered and repaired a leak on the premises or if there were any other recently installed appliances or other activities to account for the usage. The County offers customers an opportunity to request having water meters removed and evaluated for testing if they believe the meter is faulty; if the meter is found to be faulty and the test reveals a flow less than the meter reads, the bill is adjusted to reflect average usage,. To date, the customer has not made such a request.Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the customer’s complaints. I hope this response reflects our efforts to respond promptly and in accord with customer service expectations. If you require additional information, please contact us at [redacted] or ###-###-####.Sincerely,