'Absolutely frightening': Winnipeg senior charged $146K for water bill

Oh boy the line broke from the meter to the House most likely.
Water company should have come out and shut it off at the meter.
My wife deals with these problems everyday as a rep of the water company.
We know how the mechanical thing of Water meter to the House works.
Usually, it is a STOOL valves that are bad but a big wet spot in the front yard
is so much worser. That kind of bill would have destroyed the Yard, road and neighborhood.
The Water company knows about free water leaks. They should have shut off the outside free leak.
 
"Martin believes his mother submitted an incorrect meter reading."
I guess that sounds more reasonable than a massive leak that would account for a massive bill

However my first thought was maybe I should cancel my automatic payment for city services.
After thinking about it, I don't think I need worry.
Bill arrives on the first of the month and my auto payment is always debited on or within a day or two of the 15th.
That gives me about 2wks to clear any possible misunderstanding before the auto payment kicks in.

Bonus: I don't submit meter readings so an error such as Dorothy experienced is unlikely.
Our meters are radio monitored somehow. No one ever actually pulls up a plate and reads a meter anymore around here.

But dang that is a shocking situation to find oneself in eh
 
Some things are understandable, a Golf Course valve fails and the greens get sprayed all night. or the fairways. But thats always controlable costs with financing. But to a home. Well in a month that's a main Brake for a week or so. Usually water meters slow down with age. If the yard line brakes thas huge on the meter and usually water can be seen somewhere. Of course the home owner owning the too to shut his water meter off is a wise purchase. ... ... Again shut the meter off is the water company's legal liability in court ???
_________________
Its Panhandling and living in a tent, no home, homeless in a decent climate time for em.
 
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Our meter is read electronically, once they shut the meter off accidentally. PITA was a thought.
Most likely settling is a cause for catastrophes of hot weather or very cold nights.

[ That is why I don't use banking online. I go to the bank in person to pay my bills. Hubby says we can pay bills on the phone with telephone banking, so that is another option. ] "The wife pays her bills that way. I like to make out checks and file the paper billing and receipts." I did
bank electronic payments for a 2% loan once on a New Truck. We pay the water bill electronically so there is no Muni complaint.
 
I hope someone can advocate for them so that they only have to pay a minute fraction of that bill !! News venues like 7 On Your Side (ABC news) has helped people in seemingly impossible situations with companies. Perhaps Winnipeg has a similar thing...bringing public attention to kee on the pressure could hopefully help.

@papa tiger I've had my electric bill set on automatic payment for decades and never had a problem. One thing about banking online, which I just started doing, maybe a decade ago, one can see immediately what's going on with the accounts instead of waiting, possibly a month to get bank statements. But I understand banking online isn't for everyone. My BFF would never bank online.
 
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