RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond woman spent eight months trying to resolve a nearly $2,000 water bill she says she never owed: a bill that grew to over $3,000 and ultimately led the city to restrict her water to a trickle before a CBS 6 inquiry prompted officials to wipe it away entirely.
Lily Shin, who lives in the Fan, received the bill in September of last year. It was 10 times the amount of her normal water bill. She contacted Richmond's Department of Public Utilities that same month, and the city told her it needed to repair her water meter.
DPU told her they repaired the meter, but a September email from the department shows an account adjustment was delayed because water consumption was not returning to normal following the repair. Shin received another email in October saying the same thing. In January and February, DPU told her the city was waiting for a third party to visit the property and make additional repairs to the meter.
Meanwhile, the bill kept growing.
"The bills kept continuing to increase because of the unpaid balance and they were adding late fees and all kinds of penalties and everything," Shin's mother, Santica Holtzman, said.
"As time was going on, she was becoming more and more alarmed about it," Holtzman said.
The first weekend in May, a notice appeared on Shin's door informing her a flow restrictor had been placed on her service due to a past due balance. The notice said the city was there to help and suggested she reach out to start a payment plan.
"I've never heard of anything like this. It seems crazy — to have your water cut off for an erroneous bill you don't even owe, and to basically be forced to sign a payment plan for a bill you don't owe to have your water turned back on," Holtzman said. "They say restrict, but it's like literally drops of water coming out of the faucet."
Holtzman reached out to CBS 6 on her daughter's behalf. After CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit contacted the city, DPU spokeswoman Rhonda Johnson thanked her for bringing the matter to their attention, and facilitated a phone call with DPU Director Scott Morris. Morris said the water meter had been leaking, which led to the inflated bill. Johnson said one of its employees inadvertently closed the work ticket before Shin's bill could be credited, which was the reason the issue dragged on for months.
"Something she had been trying to address for months was suddenly turned around," Holtzman said.
The city wiped away Shin's bill and removed the flow restrictor after Hipolit brought the issue to DPU's attention.
"This is what, eight months later to get resolution? It's a little nutty," Holtzman said.
"Should you have to reach out to a news station to get a resolution with an erroneous bill?" Hipolit asked Holtzman.
"No, absolutely not. You should be able to call as a customer and get assistance," Holtzman said. "Get your act together, get your process and your customer solutions and better control, honestly."
When asked what she would like to say to DPU head Scott Morris, Holtzman said: "You could have treated my daughter a little bit better, and hope you don't have other customers that are in this same boat."
"I feel like they were really taking advantage of a customer," Holtzman said.
DPU said flow restrictors are not intended to be installed on accounts that are being actively worked on by the department.
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