Meadowbrook Water Company

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 9, 2015/07/17) */ Dear [redacted] , With regard to the above case, please rest assured that I acknowledge that our customer is unhappy with us, that they are long-time customers, they pay their bills on time and in general have had a good relationship with Meadowbrook Water in the pastIt's unfortunate that the rules we have to follow do make them responsible for the equipment on their property Meadowbrook falls under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities CommissionUnder Rule 16, Service Connections, Meters, and Customer's Facilities, item A.5.b., "The customer will be held responsible for damage to utility's meters and other property resulting from the use or operation of appliances and facilities on customer's premises, including, but not limited to damage caused by steam hot water, or chemicals." I am enclosing the referenced page for your reviewIt isn't his responsibility because it's a hassle to replace it; it's his responsibility because the CPUC makes it so Every water connection has a valve, whether or not it has a meter, although in Mr [redacted] 's case he also has had a meter since Without a valve in place there would be no way to turn water off to the property should there arise a need to do soIt is not up to us to prove that anyone in particular broke a valve, and of course we have no way of knowing how it happenedThat's why even though it costs us in excess of $534, we only charge the homeowner $We also offer to let them make payments on these charges as we know it can be a hardship for customers to come up with it all at once As I tried to convey to Mr [redacted] and his daughter, he isn't the only one who this has happened toWe are following the rules howeverWe sent a notice out to all of our customers this month to apprise them of this situation in the hope that future misunderstanding will be averted I hope this answers the points made in the inquiryIf you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me Regards, [redacted] Operations Manager

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/07/17) */
Dear [redacted],
With regard to the above case, please rest assured that I acknowledge that our customer is unhappy with us, that they are long-time customers, they pay their bills on time and in general have had a good relationship with...

Meadowbrook Water in the past. It's unfortunate that the rules we have to follow do make them responsible for the equipment on their property.
Meadowbrook falls under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. Under Rule 16, Service Connections, Meters, and Customer's Facilities, item A.5.b., "The customer will be held responsible for damage to utility's meters and other property resulting from the use or operation of appliances and facilities on customer's premises, including, but not limited to damage caused by steam hot water, or chemicals." I am enclosing the referenced page for your review. It isn't his responsibility because it's a hassle to replace it; it's his responsibility because the CPUC makes it so.
Every water connection has a valve, whether or not it has a meter, although in Mr. [redacted]'s case he also has had a meter since 2004. Without a valve in place there would be no way to turn water off to the property should there arise a need to do so. It is not up to us to prove that anyone in particular broke a valve, and of course we have no way of knowing how it happened. That's why even though it costs us in excess of $534, we only charge the homeowner $300. We also offer to let them make payments on these charges as we know it can be a hardship for customers to come up with it all at once.
As I tried to convey to Mr. [redacted] and his daughter, he isn't the only one who this has happened to. We are following the rules however. We sent a notice out to all of our customers this month to apprise them of this situation in the hope that future misunderstanding will be averted.
I hope this answers the points made in the inquiry. If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
[redacted]
Operations Manager