We were confounded upon receiving our water bill a few months ago. Admittedly, we hadn’t paid our bill in a few years, but we didn’t expect it to be in the thousands, let alone almost BND10,000 since 2017! Up until our last payment, the bill hovered between BND7 and BND10 per month.
So imagine our surprise when we first saw the statement. It showed the lump sum of how much we owe but no details on our monthly usage.
Prior to the last time we paid, I often had to look for the bills in the drain near our mail box. Once, the bill was indeed in the mail box but it wasn’t ours; it was our neighbour’s. Since 2017, I hadn’t received a single bill until the recent one.
During our last conversation with the authority, we found that the meter number for which we were billed was different from the one we had, which made no sense. The only reason given was that the meter had been changed, which prompted the questions of when and what the reading was at the time of change.
We know we are billed BND0.11 every month for every cubic metre and BND0.44 per cubic metre beyond 54.54 cubic metres of water usage. We are eager to pay the water bill and move on.
However, we have yet to receive words on how our water bill got this high. Have we been charged on the higher tariff rate, thus resulting in such a huge water bill? And why does the statement not include itemised usage?
As warga emas (senior citizens), we are grateful for all the services that are available to us. However, with November just around the corner, we can’t help but wonder if the water bill issue would be settled fairly and amicably.
HABS
