After I purchased a rental house in Jenkinsville, I noticed there was a chain and lock on the water meter that looked like it had not been touched for a long time.
I called the Jenkinsville Water Company (JWC) to have the water turned on. I had to show them the deed to the property to get service.
Later that day they called me to say I had to pay the former resident’s unpaid bill of $757.58 before they would turn on the water. I explained that I was not responsible for the previous resident’s bill, but JWC would not turn on the water. I had a paint crew ready to paint the house and it was going to cost me more than $757.58 for the time it would take to dismiss the painters and take JWC to the magistrate’s court.
So I paid the $757.58.
Later a woman from JWC called to say I also had to pay $275 to buy a membership in the JWC club. So I gave her my credit card information over the phone.
Shortly thereafter I received my first bill – a whopping $89, with no one living in the home. I complained to the woman who answered the phone at JWC.
“Well, on the first cycle, when we charge people the same time every month, another month just went by, so you owe for that month,” the woman informed me.
“With a chain and a lock on the meter?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s the way we do,” she said.
So, the next bill was for $70.50, and they had a late fee of $25 tacked on, claiming they got the payment too late.
Welcome to the world of JWC water billing…$1,217.28 for less than two months, with no one living in the house or using water there.
Jimmy Ray Douglas
Fairfield County
