$11,000 Water Bill

[Oldoak]

I completely disagree with the water co being on the hook for anything. They provide water at a price to residences and are responsible for accurate meters and readings, etc. Their job is not to babysit every residence in terms of consumption. They are a publically owned utility, or in some cases a privately owned water company, and as either provide certain services to the public. You, the OP are part of that public. A leak past their meter is NOT their responsibility; it is on YOU, and up the food chain, to the builder and County/State inspectors etc.

That is exactly the way I see it. The amount flowing downstream for the meter, be it water, gas, or electricity is not the utility company's responsibility.

 

[dragoneggs]

That is exactly the way I see it. Anything flowing downstream for the meter, be it water, gas, or electricity is not the utility company's responsibility.

True enough, but nice for a company to have systems in place to provide good customer service and support. Nothing like just thumbing your nose at your customers even if you have a monopoly.

 

[Streetcar]

This ^^ may also put the county/town "on the hook" for some responsibility if the "inspector" let this slide.

County inspection is never responsible for missed items

 

[Coyote machine]

That is exactly the way I see it. The amount flowing downstream for the meter, be it water, gas, or electricity is not the utility company's responsibility.

Yep, ALL that matters. Nothing more or less regarding the water delivery system. NOT the responsible party.

True enough, but nice for a company to have systems in place to provide good customer service and support. Nothing like just thumbing your nose at your customers even if you have a monopoly.

'True enough'. All that need be considered.
How exactly is it the water companies responsibility to provide detailed analysis of every user's possible monthly overage(s)? It's NOT!
When I owned property in CT, Aquarion, the private water supplier for the entire area sent out scary looking brochures with a big excavator digging up a water main for the purpose of selling me and other customers an insurance policy for any damages that might occur from the street's main to my house. They stated that repairs could run in the thousands of $ if a pipe from their main to my house burst or failed due to age, earthquakes, etc. Their objective was to sell me a policy that might some day save me the expense of repairing a broken pipe. I did NOT buy it for either of my houses.
It's the homeowner's responsibility to keep track of what they use; not the utilities job to babysit the consumer.
Does ANYONE take any responsibility for anything these days, or is it always someone else's job to do one's own job?!:confused2:

 

[Sigarms]

I completely disagree with the water co being on the hook for anything. They provide water at a price to residences and are responsible for accurate meters and readings, etc. Their job is not to babysit every residence in terms of consumption. They are a publically owned utility, or in some cases a privately owned water company, and as either provide certain services to the public. You, the OP are part of that public. A leak past their meter is NOT their responsibility; it is on YOU, and up the food chain, to the builder and County/State inspectors etc.

Whether your excessive water bill, due to a leak caused by someone on the contractor's payroll is a newsworthy story is debatable. You have recourse under the law and IMHO, that is where your energy should be focussed. Why else have a warranty to begin with? You are paying for the warranty - you should use it to get you what you need. You don't need your wife and child on display in the public eye.

The law is what matters here and it is what will get your builder to do what he should have done originally- install the correct water line, pulled all relevant permits and have whoever was responsible to inspect and sign off on the job do so. This is what contractors/builders do. Their checklist to check off each box as your agent in building your house. Anything less is unacceptable.
I'm not saying you have to follow through on litigation, UNLESS the threat of a lawsuit doesn't bring things around. It is entirely possible that if the builder is concerned about a BBB complaint, that you having your case lined up in case things don't get resolved to your satisfaction will enable you to persuade him to do the right thing without going to court. BUT, if you're not prepared to go the distance, further cob-job workmanship may occur to get you past the time limit on the builder's warranty.
Playing the 'victim' is a bogus approach, and not one I would ever consider. Just because your builder screwed up and you received the bill for his screw-up doesn't make you a victim. It makes you someone who needs to stand up and take names, and force the responsible party, your builder to put the situation right.
You weren't robbed, you have a warranty that you are paying good money for, and now you need to exercise your warranty rights.
Forget the media, they're a waste of time and resources; your and your wife's time.

By your own reasoning, if this issue would of happened 2 years down the road, the OP would of been stuck with a $11,000 water bill with no recourse because "it is what it is".

As of now, the only recourse is to hope the builder pays for the 11k water bill, and the key question is he legally responsible for it? I don't know, do you? The builder is replacing his work and is standing behind his work, the question is the water bill.

The next question then beceomes exactly how much time and money it will take on the OP parts to get this resolved by the court system.

Currently I know of a case where someones password was hacked, and they ran up a 9k phone bill in one month. The phone company wants their 9k but the end user is claiming that they didn't make the calls. Is the end user responsible for 9k worth of phone calls if they didn't actually make them?

I can tell you for a fact that Duke energy (largest energy provider in the state of NC) knows EXACTLY what people consume power wise and can break it down anyway you want per household use by the day, month, quarter, semi annual or the year.

At the end of the day, I believe this situation could be resolved more easily and with less money out of the OP's pocket if it gets press coverage. More apt to get three parties (less the OP) to cover the water bill than one person themself. Heck, all the contractor has to do is "go out of business" and then see what the OP collects. I can tell you for a fact that has happend more than once when in comes to HVAC in the state of NC (and I was threatened to be sued by a guy who closed up shop and then started a new company with his daughter as "president" because he owed me money and I told him so).

 

[4570Man]

I would conduct a flow test. I really doubt the meter itself is capable of passing 50 GPM. I would be very surprised if this hole that appears to be about 1/2" diameter is passing that much water. Aside from that the water department is off the hook. Trying to say it's their fault for not telling you is ridiculous.

 

[Rustyiron]

I've never been on public water my self, but have 2 rentals that are, they bill quarterly. That would change things some. I would only look for sympathy from them, with little to no responsibility, although I would think their computer billing or somewhere along the line would recognize this spike. Especially for a residential account.

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm NOT saying it is the water company's fault. Just saying if we work together and communicate, we would all be better off whether we are the supplier or consumer... that is how long term relationships prosper. Around here, the water company knows exactly how much you are using and automatically surcharges depending on usage. My rental (previously my residence) is on a private community well that has grown immensely over 30 years of development in the area. Now it is providing water to thousands of homes vs. a couple hundred back when I 'joined'. Amazing to see how much additional regulation, testing, and monitoring is required now vs. then. Participating in board meetings, etc. is a good idea if you want to understand and influence the way your community 'behaves'.

I do think this situation falls on the builder and their subs based on what I have read here and that should be the approach. Talking and working with your water company can only help the situation... get them on your side. I commented (post #8 here) about working with your water company to resolve the issue as best as possible. They are not your adversary but they should know the details of what you are dealing with... again, can't hurt.

 

[tre873]

First off, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE and I hope the builder makes it right (as Mike Holmes would say).

Maybe I'm missing something but my water meter only counts up to 99,999 before it "rolls over". Maybe that's a regional thing but I don't see a need for any water meter that can read 1,000,000 gallons a month in a residential environment. I agree with the others, I don't think the water company is liable for informing the customer of excessive usage. My bill shows how much water my family uses each month. If this occurred in 1 month, the water company would not have known until the meter was read. My meter is read approximately 4 days before I get my monthly bill.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I've been on the other side of this scenario several times. I'm on the board for a natural gas co-op. Our secretary always checks the bills for unusual usage. We are a member owned co-op so why wouldn't you want to protect the owners of the company from excessive bills. That being said I realize that this situation could very well be different. I still feel that a company even if it's for profit has a responsibility to protect it's customers. I know I couldn't afford an $11000 bill of any sort.

The fact that there has been several other leaks in the previous month's is a good indication that this problem won't go away over time. It needs to be redone properly.

After seeing how our gas co-op joins plastic lines I would never use a fitting and hose clamps underground. There is a process called fusing that melts the ends of the plastic pipe and "welds" them together. If it's done properly you never have to worry about a leak. Most farmers around here have caught on to this and when they run plastic pipe underground they get the gas co-op to fuse the pipe for them.