This page last updated: Saturday, January 29, 2005, 11:27:03 AM EST

January 29, 2005
 
West Virginia American Water Mails Erroneous Bills
200 Hinton Residents Complain About Improper Billing of Wastewater Charges
 
by David M. Kinchen
Editor, Huntington News Network
 
Hinton (HNN) — A major billing malfunction at West Virginia American Water Co. has caused confusion in this community which is already sensitized to high utility costs.
 
The confusion was compounded by a change in the billing procedure with the Hinton Sanitary Board; under an agreement effective Jan. 1, 2005, WV American Water handles the billing for the Sanitary Board, placing the sewer charge on the water bill. Previously, the Hinton Sanitary Board billed residents independently of the water company, basing the charge on water usage.
 
A city hall spokeswoman said Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, at least 200 residents have complained about incorrect bills. A check with the Sanitary Board by this reporter showed that WV American Water had a wastewater charge $11.00 too high on his bill. A call to the water company revealed the information that new bills will be issued; clients were told to disregard the current bill and pay the corrected amount on the new bill.
 
The Hinton City Hall spokeswoman said the only notification to Hinton Sanitary Board customers that a new billing procedure was about to take place was a notification on water bills saying: "Effective Jan. 1, 2005, West Virginia American Water will be performing billing and collection services for the Hinton Sanitary Board. Your monthly sewer charges will be included with your water billing statement."
 
Apparently, there was no publication of the change in neither the local Hinton News, the official newspaper of Summers County, nor in the widely read Register-Herald of Beckley.

David M. Kinchen is the Editor of HintonNews.Net, letters to the editor, rebuttals, replies, story and event submissions can be made to .
 
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