water department and $7000 bill

[dad1977]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? West Virginia

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WV

I'm not sure if this is in the right place or not. My grandparents owned 2 homes- one they lived in and one next door that they moved out of. I lived in the vacant home for a year in 2002. Other than my living there the 2nd home had been vacant since 1996. My grandparents kept the electricity on there but turned the water off in 1996. The water was turned back on by me in 2002 when I moved in. The bill was of course in my name. When I moved out in 2003, I called and told them to turn off the water. I received a bill marked "final bill" which I still have. I paid it and everything was fine. No one has lived in this house since I moved out in 2003.


In 2005 my grandfather passed away (all the bills for both homes had been in his name). At this time the electricity was turned off in the 2nd home and all bills for the home they lived in were transferred to my aunt's name (she was living there with my grandmother). No one lived in the 2nd home and no utilities were turned on. in 2006 my grandmother passed away.
My grandparent's 2nd home was just used for storage and we had to clean it out to get it ready to sell (for the estate) and there was no electricity or water turned on at this time. In 2007 my aunt was mowing the grass and saw water pouring out of the basement. The yard behind the house was muddy. She called a neighbor who said the water must have been turned on and a pipe burst (this was during the summer). She called the water company and they came out and shut the water off. My aunt explained to the utility worker who came out that the water had been shut off since 2003 (when I moved out) and no one had lived there since.

The water department sent a bill in the amount of $7000. They say the water was turned on and a pipe burst and the water was running for several days and several million gallons were used. They sent the bill in MY name as I was the last person to have a water bill at that residence. I have not lived there since 2003 and I know for a fact the water was shut off when I moved out ( I tested it) and I received a final bill at the time. I called and advised them of this and asked what date they show that the water was turned back on. They said the water service had never been shut off (from the time I moved out in 2003 until "now" in 2007 I'd NEVER received a bill, nothing on my credit report (if you didn't pay your bill for 4 years there would be something on your credit). And this water company always had a minimum charge of $20 every month even if you didn't use hardly any water so I know they would have been racking up the charges every month if the water service truly was never shut off.

I advised them I have a bill that reads "final bill" from them. They asked who I talked to when i called to shut off the water. I have no idea since it was 4 years previously. So they sent the bill again,
this time it was sent in my grandfather's name (he had passed away 2 years previously). They now claimed that the bill was ALWAYS in HIS name and that it had never been shut off. (even though I had a year's worth of bills for the same address in my name). My father (executor of my grandmother's estate) had his lawyer send them a letter and all the water department did was then send the $7000 bill in my father's name!! He has NEVER lived there.

The water damage (no one knows how many days the water was running through the house as it is about an acre away from my aunts -grandparent's home- and she never had any reason to go to the 2nd home unless she was mowing grass. ) is extensive. There is mold throughout the basement (was a finished basement) and remediation would cost several thousand dollars.

The water department has threatened to put a lien on the house. They have also sent the bill to collections under MY name, and my deceased grandfather's name.

My dad's attorney says there is not much he can do because the water department claims the water service was NEVER shut off. But we are certain it was. There is no possible way the water would have been on for four years and no one ever received a bill, and if there was a broken pipe and the water was left on it would have flooded the basement long before the summer of 2007. (water was shut off in 2003). The water department has a different story every time someone contacts them. If it matters the dates of the bill are for just a month in 2007 (the same month my aunt noticed the water pouring out of the basement and called the water department)

Sorry for this being so long, I'm trying to get all the facts in there. Is there anything I can do? THanks.

 

[cosine]

Be sure your dad's attorney gets a notarized copy of your "final bill" and a written and signed statement of the facts as you know them to be. This should be good evidence against the water department claim that the service at least should have been turned off (because the account was closed as the bill shows).

It sure seems like the water department is desperate to get someone to pay for the water loss, by billing it in various names one after the other. Your dad's attorney should be able to get them to say who opened an account and re-started service after your 2003 closing. Then they should have a record of what water employee came out to turn it back on.

You should now be in the clear since they switched the billing out of your name (and you have that final bill). Your dad has the issues before him and he has an attorney (who needs to become more informed about what you are saying).

It MAY be possible that your grandfather turned the water back on manually himself to try to get water at that house for some reason. Maybe he thought it would be free that way (but they will know how much was used since the last reading). In such a case they are likely to want to bill someone for all the use, whether there was a leak or not (the leak simply brought it to their attention). But this is all something for your dad and his attorney to deal with.

 

[dad1977]

Be sure your dad's attorney gets a notarized copy of your "final bill" and a written and signed statement of the facts as you know them to be. This should be good evidence against the water department claim that the service at least should have been turned off (because the account was closed as the bill shows).

It sure seems like the water department is desperate to get someone to pay for the water loss, by billing it in various names one after the other. Your dad's attorney should be able to get them to say who opened an account and re-started service after your 2003 closing. Then they should have a record of what water employee came out to turn it back on.

You should now be in the clear since they switched the billing out of your name (and you have that final bill). Your dad has the issues before him and he has an attorney (who needs to become more informed about what you are saying).

It MAY be possible that your grandfather turned the water back on manually himself to try to get water at that house for some reason. Maybe he thought it would be free that way (but they will know how much was used since the last reading). In such a case they are likely to want to bill someone for all the use, whether there was a leak or not (the leak simply brought it to their attention). But this is all something for your dad and his attorney to deal with.

I do have the final bill and the billing was not in my name but they have turned this over to collections (last year) and it is on my credit report. I asked the creditor to verify this and supposedly they did.

No one turned the water back on manually (unless it was a water department employees. My grandfather was dead at the time. My aunt would have no idea how to turn the water back on. I have no idea either. There was no reason for anyone to turn the water back on (trying to get free water) as no one lived at this house. It was used for storage. The only scenario that makes any sense is earlier that week (that the leak was discovered) a water department employee must have accidently turned the water back on. And now the water department is looking for someone to pay for their mistake.

The water department has no record of the water being turned back on by any of their employees because they state their records show the water was NEVER turned off. The attorney has sent them a copy of my bill that clearly sates "final bill". Also I know for a fact that the water was turned off when I left because I checked it and in 2006 (after my grandmother passed away) we were cleaning the old house out and my son wanted to use the bathroom and we told him there's no water here you can't use it and I turned on the faucet to show him that there was no water. Nothing came out.

The water department is now claiming the water was never listed in anyone's name but my grandfather's and that he never had the water turned off (their first story after I talked to them and they sent a bill in my grandfather's name was that my grandfather had called (in 2007) and had the water turned back on (but they couldnt' give an exact date, just said that it was recently) Well at that time my grandfather had been deceased for 2 years so I highly doubt he called them. That is when they changed their story to the one that the water had always been on and in my grandfather's name and they'd never received a request to shut it off. I have the bills to prove that it was indeed in my name for a year. And the water was shut off before i moved in, in 2003. So those are all lies as well.

My dad's attorney claims he can't do anything because the water department is claiming that the water was never shut off or that someone called and had it turned back on (my dead grandfather, apparently) even though they never sent a bill until the $7000 which was dated only for a month of service.

 

[xylene]

Then your dad's lawyer is not competent to handle the case.

 

[Alex23]

No one has blamed the aunt, yet!

 

[Some Random Guy]

Keep fighting to pay nothing. But, if that fails, see if you can get the bill reduced because the water never returned via the sewers. Many districts have combined water/sewer billing and if you can show that the water was not returned through the sewers, then you should not pay that portion of the bill. This may come close to 50% of the cost. Normally, this is only an issue for people excessively watering their lawns, but it seems to apply here as well.

 

[dad1977]

What I don't understand is why is this not an open and shut case? How can a lawyer not be competent enough to handle this? It is pretty simple. I had the water shut off four years before the supposed pipe broke/water leak. I have proof as in the final bill they sent me. Plus witnesses that saw that the water was turned off in the years that followed. If the pipe had burst (only happens in winter not during the summer) and the water was turned on when it burst then the back of the house would have been flooded, the basement would have been flooded etc. An appraiser was in the house in 2007 (we were going to sell it) and the basement was NOT flooded or wet (have pictures he took at the time that are part of the appraisal).

Also the water department has come up with about five different stories (wish it was legal to record a conversation in WV). meanwhile, we have one. The water was shut off in 2003 and was never authorized by anyone to turn it back on. I know for a fact that in the district (because I've rented places there and also had to do this when I moved into this exact house) that you have to provide your drivers license and another form of id (they make copies of it) and pay a $50 deposit (which they give you a receipt for) before they will send someone out to turn the water on. They have no proof of anyone doing this to have the water turned back on (their first story) so they are now saying the water was never turned off (in the last 15 years) was always in my grandfather's name. This is incorrect as the water was shut off by my grandfather in 1996 (when they moved to the house next door) and turned on again by ME in 2002. And shut off by ME in 2003. If it was on from 2003 until 2007 (when the huge leak was discovered) where are all the bills for those four years??

Also there is no city sewer system. The house has a septic tank.

 

[dad1977]

Also I can't sue the water department because I don't own the house, although I did have a contract on the house to buy it at the time and I have no damages personally except for my ruined credit and I'm not sure how to put a value on that. My grandmother's estate owns the house and the estate can not be finalized until this bill is taken care of.

 

[cosine]

Also I can't sue the water department because I don't own the house, although I did have a contract on the house to buy it at the time and I have no damages personally except for my ruined credit and I'm not sure how to put a value on that. My grandmother's estate owns the house and the estate can not be finalized until this bill is taken care of.

You can take them to court to ask the court to order them to remove the credit report item, even if there isn't any recorded harm (e.g. you have not needed to get credit, yet). If you get the judge to agree that the item is incorrect, he/she could issue a court order for it to be removed. Then they would have to remove it or face contempt.

I would suggest a different attorney than the one your dad is using. But there's no money in it, so you pay the costs. Hopefully, the water department will act to remove the item upon receiving the initial letter from YOUR (new) attorney before it has to go to court.