PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority customers have filed a lawsuit against the company after receiving monthly bills for thousands of dollars.
The lawsuit claims that PWSA customers have been getting “outrageously high bills” linked to water meter and billing problems.
FREE APPS | NOW | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
- 10-year-old dies after losing consciousness on Magic Mountain roller coaster
- Police investigating death of 2-year-old girl found in Swissvale as homicide
- GALLERY: Chicago Blackhawks win 3rd Stanley Cup in 6 years
- People are taking the Belly Button Challenge to see if they need to lose weight
"The thing that was getting me also was they skipped a bill,” Daniel Houck, who owns several properties served by PWSA, said. “There has never been an issue until just recently.”
He said about two weeks ago, he received a bill for $1,100 for one month’s service.
Houck said he checked for leaks when he saw the spike in charges. When he found no issues on his properties, he called PWSA customer service.
"One time they tell me there's a leak, and it turns on and it turns off. The next thing they're telling me the bills have been estimated for nine months, and they're trying to catch up, so the story changes. I'm not exactly sure what is going on,” he said.
Houck said he thinks some of the problems involve radio-controlled water meter interface units, and according to the recently filed lawsuit, he isn’t alone.
The lawsuit targets PWSA, Jordan Tax Service and Veolia Water North America with claims that those “systems have catastrophically failed, and customers have received grossly inaccurate, and at times, outrageously high bills,” including one for more than $2,800 and another for close to $10,000.
"If you're a senior citizen and you receive a certain amount of fixed income a month and your bill goes from $40 to $300, you decide whether you get water or you eat that month,” said lawsuit attorney John Corcoran.
On Tuesday, customers affected by the claims in the lawsuit gathered in Greentree to discuss the problem and a plan of action, with the hope that the lawsuit can help get them back money they were incorrectly charged and get PWSA to change its practices and procedures.
Corcoran said the next step is to get the case certified as a class-action lawsuit.
When contacted for comment Tuesday, PWSA issued the following statement:
"Our mission at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is to provide the highest quality water at the best possible price for our customers. Customer satisfaction is our highest priority, and we strive to work with customers to resolve any issues they may encounter. Recently, customers have expressed concern regarding what they feel are inaccurate PWSA bills and service terminations, and we want to assure our customers that we will work diligently to resolve any issues.
"Because of current litigation, we cannot comment on specific claims or comments being made, but we are working to resolve any problems that our customers are having. If a customer feels they received an inaccurate bill and/or an incorrect termination notice, they should call PWSA customer service Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. at (412) 255-2423. Customers always have the option to request an exoneration appeal, by writing to the PWSA.
"PWSA was formed in 1984 as a municipal authority, which is governed by a board of directors."
RELATED CONTENT:
WPXI
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
