CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — “We've lived here almost 30 years and we never had a bill like that before,” said Orlando Becerra.
After receiving a water bill for more than 600 dollars, Becerra and his wife contacted the city of Corpus Christi’s water department, hoping to find a resolution for their unusually high water bill.
But according to the office manager for the utilities department there is no error.
Meaning, the Becerra’s will be responsible for paying their whole bill.
The Becerra’s claimed they received their first high water bill back in October of 2018.
When they called the Corpus Christi water department, asking why the bill was so high, the Becerra’s said they were told it might be an error and the city would investigate it.
Meanwhile, the city put the balance due on hold.
After looking into the dispute, the city concluded the bill was correct.
So, the charges that were on hold and in dispute were added back on to the couple’s bill, making it seem higher than normal.
“They didn't realize that they hadn't made a payment in so many months or that part of the bill was in dispute because of the concerns that we had when we went live over a year and a half ago,” said Margaret Morin, utility business Officer manager. “They're obligated to pay that part based on the outcome of it.”
According to the Becerra’s there are also late fees for missed payments that contributed to their higher than average bill.
“The customer is satisfied with the information that they were given and we're going to be doing a follow up in two to three weeks just to make sure that appropriate action has been taken,” said Morin.