TROUBLED WATERS

A fifth National Water Commission (NWC) customer who received a “questionable” bill of close to $3 million has distressingly turned to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) after efforts to resolve the matter with the utility company broke down.

Moesha Lecky, a resident of New Harbour Village in St Catherine, told The Gleaner on Tuesday that she received a bill totalling $2,973,406.07 in July.

The NWC informed the woman that the sum is for a six-month period between January and June this year and attributed it to a “leak” at her house.

But she has rubbished the claim by state-run entity, insisting that a thorough check of the property has proven that the claim is not accurate.

She said NWC also conducted two external walkthroughs and no leak was detected.

Additionally, she said that the monthly charge returned to its average sum of approximately $8,000 without either she or NWC addressing the purported leak.

“You (NWC) didn’t fix a leak and I didn’t fix a leak so where did the leak go? They then told me that soil could have an impact and that soil could have got into the pipe and stopped the leak. They kept telling me a lot of things that were not adding up or did not make sense,” she said.

Lecky said after months of back and forth with the company, which has had to respond to similar customer complaints in recent months, she received a letter dated December 6, 2023, informing her that a test was carried out on the property’s meter and that the device had “passed the test” and that it “is working accurately”.

“Therefore, the charges are deemed accurate and payable. Kindly make the necessary arrangement to have balance of $2,973,406.07 settled,” said the letter, which was signed by Carlene Wisdom, customer relations manager at NWC.

The company told Lecky that it is willing to offer an extended payment arrangement not exceeding 36 months to assist her in settling the balance.

“We trust you will find this information useful as the National Water Commission strives to serve you, our valued customer,” the letter said.

OUR CONTACTED

Lecky said that she has since contacted the OUR, which is looking into the matter.

The OUR said in these matters, the NWC must notify customers in writing, clearly stating the amount and the reasons for the additional sum being applied to their bills.

Customers have the option to query the billed amount to the NWC, and if they are not satisfied with the response, they can do so via the OUR, through its Consumer Affairs Unit.

Customers are to submit their concerns in writing and a response must be provided within specified timelines.

In the case of NWC, it is within 30 working days. The customer then has the option to submit an appeal in writing to the OUR if they remain dissatisfied.

Up to press time last night, the NWC had not responded to The Gleaner’s request for comment on the matter.

Frustrated with the process, Lecky is banking on the OUR to settle the dispute.

“I don’t know how I am now liable to pay $3 million for water. Water is the cheapest utility. I have lived here for three years. There was no leak,” she asserted.

She told The Gleaner that while construction was taking place on the property, it was completed in August last year, several months before the billing period in question.

Further, she noted that debris from the construction had blocked the meter, following which NWC meter readers informed her that a virtual reading would have been done.

She believes that the “error” reflected in the bill amount is a direct result of that reading.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com