Lewiston Park Mutual Water District

Review: Our home has water supplied through Lewiston Park Mutual Water District. Our home became vacant as of September 30, 2013 and we submitted our last payment in September along with a request to have our account closed. The check was cashed, and we have since been receiving a monthly bill each and every month for water services. I have written the company twice (once with a delivery confirmation number through usps to show proof of delivery), I have left multiple messages requesting someone call me to discuss my account, and have never received a call back. This company is ignoring my requests to close my account and have since RAISED the monthly water charges and are adding on late fees every month in addition to continuing to bill me. In February 2014 I called yet again, and this time spoke with [redacted] whom I expained the situation to, and he assured me it would be handled. Today, March 31, 2014 I received yet another bill for services that are not being used on an account that was requested to be closed over 6 months ago.Desired Settlement: We have asked multiple times to have our account closed, as of September 30, 2013 and a final bill reflecting the proper final amount due to be forwarded to us so we may submit final payment.

Business

Response:

Due to the fact that we are a Mutual Water Company, all Shareholders (i.e. property owners) of the Mutual Water Company are to pay for water-sewer charges, regardless if they are currently living on the property. It is in our By-Laws that the Shareholders are to "pay a flat rate fee for service, the user shall be liable for the monthly charges set forth regardless of what quantity, if any, of water is actually used." Any Shareholder that fails to pay the monthly fee(s) will be "found delinquent and charged a late fee and after thirty days of non-payment, can have their service(s) disconnected" until the bill is paid in full. According to our By-Laws, the Shareholder is considered the "stock holder" for that property until such time they sell the property and the stock is transferred into the new owner's (Shareholder's) name. The bill must also be cleared of any and all charges before any account can be closed or transferred. The situation from the Water Company's side is this: In February [redacted], the Operations Manager for the Water Company, spoke with a relative who stated he was going to be staying in the house - the relative asked why the water was off. [redacted] told him that the water was off due to non-payment. The relative called his sister, Season (who we believe is [redacted]'s wife?) regarding the bill. [redacted] spoke with Season, who said that she would like to pay the bill through a certain date and amount so that her brother, who is staying in the house, could take over paying the bill. In good faith, [redacted] turned the water back on. No payment was received. The Water Company has not received a payment since September 26, 2012, at which time they still owed over $500 in overdue water bills. The customer states that we (the Water Company) are ignoring his requests to close his account. This is not the case. Unfortunately, since November of 2012, the Water Company has had all new staff hired, from office personnel to Operations Manager. We cannot find that the previous employees received or acted on any requests made by the complainant. The customer also states that we raised the monthly rates; which is true. As of December 31, 2013, the water-sewer charges went from $55/month to $75/month, which was voted in by our Board of Directors due to the increased cost of doing business since the last rate change in 2004. A letter was sent out to all Shareholders (i.e. property owners) in December of 2013. The complainant also states that they spoke with a [redacted] in February. The Water Company has never employed a [redacted] (who is a property manager in town). We can only assume he meant [redacted], the Operations Manager for the Water Company. At the time [redacted] was also in contact with the relative of the complainant who was supposed to be staying in the house and believed the situation was "under control" and would be taken care of, and told the complainant thus. At the time, this was believed to be the case. Since that time, the Water Company cannot find that anyone is living in the house, the house is still in [redacted]' name and no one has been paying the bill. Again, according to our By-Laws, the Shareholder (i.e. owner) of such property shall be liable for the monthly charges set forth regardless of what quantity, if any, of water is actually used and that any Shareholder that fails to pay the monthly fee(s) will be found delinquent and charged a late fee and after thirty days of non-payment, can have their service(s) disconnected until the bill is paid in full. Upon receiving the Revdex.com complaint, the Operations Manager emailed the complainant and stated the rules according to our By-Laws; that he had spoken with Season some weeks ago regarding payment of the bill; that the Water Company has all new staff since he vacated his house; offered the complainant the ability to bring his matter in front of the Board of Directors at the next Board Meeting in May; asked the complainant to contact us and gave a phone number and email address. The Water Company has yet to hear back from the complainant regarding this matter.