$125,000 fix: The Fixer's biggest fix ever
BY STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN Staff Reporter
Details: Dear Fixer: Indiana American Water Co. bills all businesses that have fire sprinklers once a month for what is termed "fire protection." Basically, it is a water rent. The business rents the water in the event the sprinkler system is required.
An alternative to paying would be to meter one's water. However, metering of fire protection water is not allowed with Indiana American.
Normally, Shelton Fireworks, the business I manage, has a monthly fire protection charge of around $265 (though this, too, has changed over time).
In January 2009, however, I was double-billed -- and no one seems able to correct the problem. Here's how it happened:
Last January, Indiana American changed its system and began sending a bill at the beginning of the month, so first I got a bill dated Dec. 31, 2008, and then I got another bill dated Jan. 6, 2009, just one week apart. That would sound like double billing, right? Well it was, but they explained it away by saying that the Dec. 31 bill was for December's service (in arrears) and the Jan. 6 bill was for January (in advance), and that they simply changed how they bill for service.
This would be reasonable if I didn't know better. The thing is, I have been doing this job for 15 years and I know what my bills are for. Anyone new might believe Indiana American's explanation.
Because I have bills going back to the beginning of 2000, I can show that their own invoices used to clearly show a "billing period" on the face of the bill. The last bill for which this was true was the one dated Feb. 23, 2004. After that, they changed their billing format and removed the billing period information from the bills. Mind you, this in no way invalidated the plain fact they were still billing in advance. I never complained back then because I was aware of what I was paying for. When the March 24, 2004, bill came, for example, I knew it was still for April despite not saying so on the bill anymore.
Now, fast-forward to Dec. 31, 2008. The facts have not changed. The bill still does not show a billing period, but it is nevertheless for the following month's fire protection service. This can be simply proven.
I have tried to describe the double-billing that occurred last January to at least six of their customer service reps, but it is either too much detail, or they are not authorized to do anything, or something else.
Today, after speaking with a particularly haughty customer service person, I am beginning to think that the problem is so huge -- it affects many of their commercial customers -- that Indiana American needs to be forced to correct their billing.
Somebody screwed up -- perhaps on purpose, perhaps not. When they removed the billing period from their bills, beginning in March 2004, the possibility of a blunder was born.
I think the light of The Fixer would shine well on this problem. Although this issue is, in essence, a rather small one for each commercial customer, it is not right that they be allowed to profit one cent more than they already do from this onerous fire protection service. To them, one month's "advance-advance" billing is no doubt quite a sum, and it is not a sum they are entitled to.
Gary Shelton, Porter, Ind.
Dear Gary: Well, you came to the right place. Team Fixer reporter extraordinaire Jon Seidel of the Post-Tribune looked into your case -- thankfully, you had nine years' worth of bills handy -- and could see right away you had paid twice for the service one year ago.
And Jon, like you, wondered how many other Hoosiers had been similarly overcharged without ever realizing it because, as you said, the bills didn't show a billing period.
We could see how all this might make the average Indiana American customer service rep put down the phone and reach for the aspirin. So instead, Jon took all your evidence to Indiana American spokesman Joe Loughmiller, who promised to find someone to look into it.
A short time later, we got our answer: You were right! Loughmiller told us the company thought it had switched from billing in arrears to billing in advance, when in fact they went from billing in advance to billing again in advance. As a result, you paid 13 times for fire protection in 2009, when you should have paid 12 times. The company is giving you a $301 credit.
But that's not all. The even better news is that they're also issuing refunds for 863 other commercial customers in northwest Indiana who had the same billing error. Those refunds -- totaling about $125,000 -- will appear as credits on their February bills along with a written explanation.
Being organized pays off
Think about that. Eight hundred sixty-three northwest Indiana businesses have Gary Shelton to thank for being so organized he caught the mistake no one else noticed.
Which made us wonder: What can the rest of us do to stay on top of our bills?
Experts at organizing point to two important strategies: Keep everything in one place and choose a regular time for bill-paying.
More tips:
• Banish the mail piles. Buy two stacking office baskets and use one for bills that need to be paid this month and another for bills that come due next month or later.
• Create a due-date calendar. Look over all your bills and note on the calendar when each must be paid. Then make a reusable checklist and check off each bill as you pay it.
• Pick a set day (and time and place) for paying bills, so you won't procrastinate or forget.
• As you receive new bills, write the due dates on the front of the envelopes and take a peek to make sure they're accurate. After that, put them in the proper basket.
• Consider auto-payments for some recurring bills, as long as you make sure you have enough in the bank.
Hello, Blue Island!
The Fixer will speak at the Blue Island Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, about our favorite fixes and rip-offs to watch out for. The library is at 2433 York St. Tickets are free -- just ask at the library's main desk.
Thanks to contributor Jon Seidel.
Getting the runaround over a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at www.suntimes.com.
THE FIXER HAS SAVED YOU: $868,331:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/zimmermann/1996140,CST-NWS-fixer18.article
Details: Dear Fixer: Indiana American Water Co. bills all businesses that have fire sprinklers once a month for what is termed "fire protection." Basically, it is a water rent. The business rents the water in the event the sprinkler system is required.
An alternative to paying would be to meter one's water. However, metering of fire protection water is not allowed with Indiana American.
Normally, Shelton Fireworks, the business I manage, has a monthly fire protection charge of around $265 (though this, too, has changed over time).
In January 2009, however, I was double-billed -- and no one seems able to correct the problem. Here's how it happened:
Last January, Indiana American changed its system and began sending a bill at the beginning of the month, so first I got a bill dated Dec. 31, 2008, and then I got another bill dated Jan. 6, 2009, just one week apart. That would sound like double billing, right? Well it was, but they explained it away by saying that the Dec. 31 bill was for December's service (in arrears) and the Jan. 6 bill was for January (in advance), and that they simply changed how they bill for service.
This would be reasonable if I didn't know better. The thing is, I have been doing this job for 15 years and I know what my bills are for. Anyone new might believe Indiana American's explanation.
Because I have bills going back to the beginning of 2000, I can show that their own invoices used to clearly show a "billing period" on the face of the bill. The last bill for which this was true was the one dated Feb. 23, 2004. After that, they changed their billing format and removed the billing period information from the bills. Mind you, this in no way invalidated the plain fact they were still billing in advance. I never complained back then because I was aware of what I was paying for. When the March 24, 2004, bill came, for example, I knew it was still for April despite not saying so on the bill anymore.
Now, fast-forward to Dec. 31, 2008. The facts have not changed. The bill still does not show a billing period, but it is nevertheless for the following month's fire protection service. This can be simply proven.
I have tried to describe the double-billing that occurred last January to at least six of their customer service reps, but it is either too much detail, or they are not authorized to do anything, or something else.
Today, after speaking with a particularly haughty customer service person, I am beginning to think that the problem is so huge -- it affects many of their commercial customers -- that Indiana American needs to be forced to correct their billing.
Somebody screwed up -- perhaps on purpose, perhaps not. When they removed the billing period from their bills, beginning in March 2004, the possibility of a blunder was born.
I think the light of The Fixer would shine well on this problem. Although this issue is, in essence, a rather small one for each commercial customer, it is not right that they be allowed to profit one cent more than they already do from this onerous fire protection service. To them, one month's "advance-advance" billing is no doubt quite a sum, and it is not a sum they are entitled to.
Gary Shelton, Porter, Ind.
Dear Gary: Well, you came to the right place. Team Fixer reporter extraordinaire Jon Seidel of the Post-Tribune looked into your case -- thankfully, you had nine years' worth of bills handy -- and could see right away you had paid twice for the service one year ago.
And Jon, like you, wondered how many other Hoosiers had been similarly overcharged without ever realizing it because, as you said, the bills didn't show a billing period.
We could see how all this might make the average Indiana American customer service rep put down the phone and reach for the aspirin. So instead, Jon took all your evidence to Indiana American spokesman Joe Loughmiller, who promised to find someone to look into it.
A short time later, we got our answer: You were right! Loughmiller told us the company thought it had switched from billing in arrears to billing in advance, when in fact they went from billing in advance to billing again in advance. As a result, you paid 13 times for fire protection in 2009, when you should have paid 12 times. The company is giving you a $301 credit.
But that's not all. The even better news is that they're also issuing refunds for 863 other commercial customers in northwest Indiana who had the same billing error. Those refunds -- totaling about $125,000 -- will appear as credits on their February bills along with a written explanation.
Being organized pays off
Think about that. Eight hundred sixty-three northwest Indiana businesses have Gary Shelton to thank for being so organized he caught the mistake no one else noticed.
Which made us wonder: What can the rest of us do to stay on top of our bills?
Experts at organizing point to two important strategies: Keep everything in one place and choose a regular time for bill-paying.
More tips:
• Banish the mail piles. Buy two stacking office baskets and use one for bills that need to be paid this month and another for bills that come due next month or later.
• Create a due-date calendar. Look over all your bills and note on the calendar when each must be paid. Then make a reusable checklist and check off each bill as you pay it.
• Pick a set day (and time and place) for paying bills, so you won't procrastinate or forget.
• As you receive new bills, write the due dates on the front of the envelopes and take a peek to make sure they're accurate. After that, put them in the proper basket.
• Consider auto-payments for some recurring bills, as long as you make sure you have enough in the bank.
Hello, Blue Island!
The Fixer will speak at the Blue Island Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, about our favorite fixes and rip-offs to watch out for. The library is at 2433 York St. Tickets are free -- just ask at the library's main desk.
Thanks to contributor Jon Seidel.
Getting the runaround over a consumer problem? Tell it to The Fixer at www.suntimes.com.
THE FIXER HAS SAVED YOU: $868,331:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/zimmermann/1996140,CST-NWS-fixer18.article
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