I’m not sure how the national news plays it, but Georgia has been suffering from a severe drought for several months. We have also been under a water ban for some time and it is evident from the dry landscape. Personally, I would rather not water my lawn in the first place, so I haven’t had to change my behavior much. My water bills have increased from around $30 to upwards of $50 a month. But that’s not a big price to pay, in my opinion.
However, this month my water bill was $754.00! Say what!? How could this be? I checked and rechecked the water bill and I noticed that this month’s bill was an “estimate”. An estimate based on what, exactly? And why an estimation? I looked further.
There was a small note on my bill that said that the meter could not be read because it was “covered with landscape”. If I’m going to suffer a 1500% increase in my water bill because of a landscape malfunction, I had better fix this problem quickly.
The image below shows the state of my water meter and the “landscape” problem. A dusting of pine needles? Give me a break, Dekalb County! Get out of the truck, lift the metal plate, and read the freakin’ meter. Being lazy and/or incompetent is no excuse to gouge customers.
Hey- we’ve had a heck of a time with Dekalb water service too. Im glad you put this out there- its important for us to have a voice in this. As it is, there is no other water service provider, right? Do they think they can treat customers this way? Can they get away with it?
Maybe you should post ours too, and we can have a general complaint website for this issue- a service for the consumer, as we seem to have not other!! thank you!!
LindseyM
Hi Lindsey, I’m not sure if we will get much headway with Dekalb County, but there is a certain amount of catharsis with venting. Besides, if they’re unable/unwilling to read a water meter, I seriously doubt they would make an effort to read a complaint. Oh joy!
I am so fed up with dekalb county, they 1st sent me a $330 water bill for x mas then today they sent me a $1100 water bill for my birthday. i am so tired of this .
I have news for you. That black circular thing indicates that your meter has can transmit the reading and doesn’t have to be opened. That makes this account even more sad.
I just got a $600 water bill and have never had one over $200.
More payback to Dunwoody residents, I guess.
Hi Scott – thanks for sharing. I didn’t know that.
Geez. Now it really makes me wonder why they even bothered writing a note saying the meter was covered with landscape.
Police cars are now equipped with cameras so that disputes in judgment can be less subjective. I say it’s time to install the “meter reader camera” so we can see what the heck is going on while our meters remain unread and we are charged out the nose for services not rendered.
I just got a bill for $500.00 for a vacant house. This is the second such bill this year. Interim bills show almost zero usage. Then BLAM. No leaks detected. Have watched the meter. It’s not moving. How can this be? DeKalb County Water has no explanation. Who can give me one? Maybe it’s time for some “class action”.
The two times this has happened is when 2 meter readings took place in a single billing period. Never when there was a single reading. Very strange.