‘Somebody is not doing their job’: Hopewell woman receives three water bills in one month

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — A Hopewell homeowner was left confused after she received not one, not two, but three water bills in one month.

Leslie Richardson moved into her Hopewell home in November of 2024. After moving in her water service was connected to Virginia American Water. For the first five months, her water bills totaled $20 each month.

“It makes sense to get a 20 or $30 bill because I wasn't really here. So, I didn't think anything of it until I got two bills and then three bills due in one month, said Richardson.

It wasn't until May when Richardson says she knew something was wrong because she received three bills in one month totaling about $380.

“Somebody is not doing their job. I’m not going to get penalized for that, said Richardson.

When she tried to contact customer service, Richardson said she still didn't get to the bottom of her problem. It wasn't until she later when received a letter in the mail explaining that Virginia American Water did not track her water usage from November when she moved in until April.

The $20 charge she received was only her service charge for the water service.

To fix the problem, Virginia American Water said they would estimate her past usage based on her current usage. That amount comes to $263.79 for previous months plus additional service charges.

Hundreds of dollars, Richardson said she did not expect to pay so soon.

“If it’s estimated, that means that’s a guess. That means nobody knows. So why would I be charged for a bill that nobody knows," Richardson said.

Richardson also questioned whether her estimated usage was accurate. 8News contacted Virginia American Water about Richardson's concerns. A spokesperson from the company sent the following statement.

“Like any equipment, meters do sometimes malfunction. We encourage customers to review their bill each month and to get in touch with us if they see unusually high or low usage. In almost all cases, there will be a bill message flagging a pattern of irregular usage. Those messages were triggered in this case for consecutive reads of zero usage. We also want our customers to know that we are always willing to work with them on payment arrangements and in this specific instance were able to find a resolution for this customer. “

Customers with questions about their bill can call Virginia American Water at 1-800-452-6863.