NBR- Property management gripe

MLvK

We moved into our townhouse Feb 1 and my landlord said he'd take care of switching all the utilities to our name.  Fast forward to this week and it turns out his request to the property management company to put the water in our name was not taken care of and we haven't gotten a water bill in 5 months.  Which suddenly the 3rd party that bills for the water found my landlord and said "hey we need this paid". To the tune of nearly $900.  

I am pissed.  I would have paid it on time each month had it come to me.  But I had even said to my husband how nice it was to NOT have a water bill.  (The HOA also pays for gas, so I guess we just thought it was covered by HOA dues.) 

I feel like the property manager who dropped the ball on this should be at fault.  Why is her mis-management my $900 problem?  I just off the phone with the VP of the management company and he said he would absolutely not eat the cost.  That I should have known I wasn't getting a water bill and asked questions.   I also pointed out to him that we SHOULD have had a service break and maybe then I would have been able to tell my landlord something was wrong and gotten it straightened out.  Instead 5 months go by and no one said anything.  

The guy said lots of people don't pay their bill for whatever reason and I should feel lucky that I live in a condo where they don't shut off water.  I said "I DON'T feel lucky!  I would have preferred to have a day without water to get us in the know about the situation than to have a $900 water the bill the very same week I am leaving on vacation!"  The guys is a 1st class asshat.  

What do you think I should do?  I already contacted the water company to let them know I can't pay it all at once and to expect me to pay it over time.   But should continue to escalate this?  To whom?  Am I out of my mind to think someone else should be responsible  since its not my oversight?   Yes, its my water usage, but I am po'd.  

/furious

ugagirl95

That is absolutely insane!  How in the WORLD could there be a $900 bill for 5 months?  My water bill rarely hits $50 a month and I shower daily (and take 30 minute showers) and run the washer about every other day and the dishwasher.  Unless your water includes a sprinkler outside that runs alot I'd seriously check into that amount.  It sounds like you could be getting a bill for services that were used before you moved in.

missmlp

Even with late fees this is way too high for 5 months.  I would escalate it to at least get it dropped if possible.

keg

I agree with pp, that amount is way too high.  I think ours runs about $15/month or so and that includes showers, baths, and dishwasher every day and a good bit of laundry too.  (We're in Dekalb, but I can't imagine anywhere else having that much of a difference.)

rara855

That is an insane amount. Our water bill runs between 30-40 dollars a month. So even 5 months late with late fee's would be nowhere near that. What did the water company say? Is this normal usage costs for Atlanta? Can they take off the late fee's since the PM was at fault. That really sucks. 

MLvK

They took off the $10 a month late fees (so that's only $40).  Apparently, Fulton has this absurd sewage fee, its roughly $179 a month.  Then our water usage has been around $60-80 per month.  Which I don't get because in Woodstock, our water bills were like $40-50 a month.  We don't use more water now, I guess water just costs more here. 

Its the sewage thats raising the bill up so high.  See my post below titled "Fulton Cty girls". 

myrall

MLvK:

They took off the $10 a month late fees (so that's only $40).  Apparently, Fulton has this absurd sewage fee, its roughly $179 a month.  Then our water usage has been around $60-80 per month.  Which I don't get because in Woodstock, our water bills were like $40-50 a month.  We don't use more water now, I guess water just costs more here. 

Its the sewage thats raising the bill up so high.  See my post below titled "Fulton Cty girls". 

Yes, water costs more in the CoA. And let me tell you, dealing with the City's water department is no better than what you're getting with your property managers. In 2006, they went around and swapped out a bunch of meters for new ones. We were renting at the time, but we still paid the water bill (even though it was in our landlord's name). After about three months of not receiving a bill, I called our landlord to let her know something was up. After some investigating, we found out the City had lost her account in the meter switch over and THEN wanted to backbill her for the bills they NEVER SENT. Nevermind that they didn't hold actual records of what the water usage was! 

It was a mess and I'm just glad we didn't have to personally deal with it. But yes, the City's water is soooo much higher than anywhere else. 

K&P414

I don't think you are crazy to try and get someone else to pay for this. Yes, it was your usage but it was their mistake. Does it say in your lease agreement who is responsible for paying for the water bill? Was the water bill in your name or the landlords name? If it was in his name, I think it should be his responsibility.  He was supposed to get the bill switched over to the tenant and didn't follow through with that either.  Then he should turn around and go after the PM company to reimburse him because they dropped the ball. 

Especially if the conversation you had with him was that he would get the utilities switched over to you and some of the bills were.  It's a logical assumption that if he did one, he did all of them, you know?