Norman man forced to pay $400 water bill after city says he used over 46,000 gallons in February

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) – A Norman man was pressured to pay a $400 water invoice in February after town informed him his water meter studying was right and he had used 46,000 gallons that month. 

James Piasecki stated he feels there’s no means he used that a lot water in a single month. 

“I used to be shocked. It was absurdly excessive,” Piasecki stated. “I used to be prepared to maneuver out after I noticed that.” 

It was a sinking feeling for him when he’s used to paying round $90 for his water invoice. As a substitute, he obtained the $400 invoice on the finish of February and Oklahoma’s winter freeze. 

“That’s virtually 4 occasions, that’s quite a bit,” he stated. 

In line with Piasecki, he and his spouse are the one two those that reside in his Norman dwelling. They solely dripped their taps for 2 nights and turned them off within the morning. Nevertheless, Norman utilities stated the meter studying appeared right. 

“They stated it’s larger than my regular utilization,” Piasecki stated. 

So, town utilities launched an investigation.  

“They stated the meters right,” he stated. “So there must be a leak or one thing like that and I ought to name a plumber.”

Piasecki stated he known as a plumber to come back out. They didn’t discover a leak both. KFOR obtained the assertion beneath from town of Norman concerning the state of affairs. 

“The Metropolis of Norman Utilities Division is conscious of Mr. Piasecki’s complaints concerning his February water invoice and our customer support has been working with him on the problem. 

In March, Metropolis Line Upkeep Crews carried out a line verify at his residence and located no water line leaks. Below regular procedures, if Metropolis crews discover no water line leak, the shopper is inspired to have an impartial plumbing inspection carried out inside their dwelling to make sure there aren’t any main equipment leaks. If proof of a leak is discovered and reported to the Metropolis, Utility Buyer Service will make changes to the invoice or present a credit score again to the account if the invoice has already been paid. Nevertheless, with out additional proof of a leak, as is the case right here, the shopper will likely be charged for the complete quantity of the meter studying. 

Below the coverage for unpaid accounts, a late fee discover is distributed 10 days after the invoice due date, then the account is charged 10% of the excellent invoice, and after 75 days from the due date, the service is topic to termination for non-payment. 

The Metropolis’s Utility Buyer Service is dedicated to working with its clients and will make prolonged fee preparations for qualifying clients. 

We’re open to continued discussions with Mr. Piasecki and can work with him by means of truthful procedures already in place if an underlying difficulty is discovered to have been at trigger.”

Metropolis of Norman

“I used to be like nicely, I’m not paying that,” Piasecki stated. 

In line with Piasecki, he was nonetheless beneath the idea that they have been nonetheless investigating the state of affairs, however he wasn’t getting any solutions.  

“I really feel like I’m at a useless finish with them,” he stated. “I’d should name them again and so they’d go oh, we don’t know.” 

Finally, town got here to close off his water. 

“The truth that they straight up minimize off my water as a response to their investigation,” he stated. “That made me form of upset about it. I believe I’m screwed so far as this invoice goes.” 

Piasecki ended up paying the invoice alongside together with his present invoice due which pushed it as much as round $500. He stated his different highest month was October. In that month, he used round 25,000 gallons watering his garden and filling up a kiddie pool for his canines each week. He stated from there he scaled again.

Proper now, he stated he hopes they will refund or put it towards his future water payments, nonetheless, he doesn’t really feel that’s going to occur.