ABILENE, Texas — An Abilene resident got quite the shock when she opened her latest water bill - the City of Abilene Customer Service Center says she used 99,029 gallons of water between March 7 and April 11, for a grand total of $911,116.46.
Debbie Vicary posted the bill to her Facebook page saying, "Hey if you live in Abilene Tx, check your water bill! Not only did they bill me for almost a A MILLION DOLLARS ……After I called them - before the due date, they said there was nothing they could do. So now I have $836,079 OVERDRAFT!!!"
Vicary said she was not getting answers from the water department after multiple calls, then was told the people she would speak to about the bill were in a meeting.
Later, she posted an update about her bank account, "To the bank’s credit, as of this morning, they have now reversed out the draft."
We spoke with Vicary Friday afternoon, she said she began calling the water department three days ago and to her frustration, still did not have answers.
"I was told Priscilla Rayford [Water Utilities Division Manager] would be the one to handle it for me, but I haven't heard from her," Vicary said. "Since the beginning of this thing, I have not heard anything from the managers."
Vicary said she did receive a call from someone asking her to call them back, but they did not leave a name to contact.
While we were speaking with Vicary, we received a reply via email from the City of Abilene that said, "Abilene Water Utilities is aware that a limited number of customers may have received unexpectedly high bills after our recent transition to new billing software. We want to assure our customers that we're aware of these errors, dedicated to promptly rectifying any discrepancies, and have taken steps to prevent similar issues in future billing cycles.
We appreciate the patience and feedback from our community as we fine-tune our new system. No customer will experience any interruption to their water or trash services because of billing discrepancies. During this transition period, the City of Abilene also is not imposing late fees.
We thank you for your patience and understanding as we adapt to our new billing system. If you need assistance accessing our online customer portal, you can find a new video tutorial at this link."
We read the City's statement to Vicary and she said it was the same as the message the Water Customer Service line plays when a customer is on hold and says she still has yet to speak with an actual person who could have answered her questions.
Vicary did say she's learned to “not keep all my eggs in one basket” and will open another bank account that is separate from the one assigned for autopay transactions.
Have you received a similar bill? Let us know at FWTNews@foxsanangelo.com.
