Big bills but no water in pipes

Since February, Viviene Ramsay has not received a drop of water in her pipes at her Orange River, St Mary, residence. It therefore came as a surprise when she received a bill in June for $44,828.19. Refusing to pay the required amount, Ramsay said she sought clarification from the National Water Commission (NWC), who removed her meter for testing.

The meter was later reinstalled and Ramsay said she was told by the utility company that it was working properly and that the bill reading was in fact accurate and offered her a payment plan to clear the balance. But Ramsay is still asking 'How come?"

DRASTIC INCREASE

"Water has been trucked to me since February. In May, my bill was little over $1,000 and then in June it was drastically increased to almost $45,000, and at that time when it was generated, we were still not getting any water in the pipes. Even when we started to get a little water, the bill was little under $3,000, so I don't understand. The pipes were not left open and no leaks were found during their checks," she said.

Delores Lee, a neighbour of Ramsay, said she is also faced with a similar fate, as for the past three years, she has been receiving an estimated bill of $2,500.

"How can someone get an estimated bill for three years? To make matters worse, I don't have any water. Everytime mi contact dem, dem say dem a com take out di meter and go check and all now," she said.

Another resident, Gladstone Leslie, said his water bill currently stands at $118, 748.57 and he refuses to pay a dime until the balance is rectified.

"Is two years and nine months, I don't pay on the bill because I don't know how mi a get bill and mi nuh have nuh water," he said.

Attempts to get a comment from Andrew Canon, corporate public relations manager at the NWC, up to yesterday were unsuccessful.