Got an expensive water bill from DeKalb County? You're not alone.
Hundreds of people are complaining about water and sewer charges they believe are too high.
Government officials say they're improving customer service so bills can be corrected when appropriate. Bills can drastically increase for many reasons: malfunctioning water meters, meter reading mistakes, billing errors, increased water consumption and more.
Here's how you can dispute your bill:
1. Call the customer support line at 404-371-3000 or 404-378-4475 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Alternately, you can send an email to dekalbwaterbillingfn@dekalbcountyga.gov or visit the Utility Customer Operations Center at 774 Jordan Lane, Ste. 200 in Decatur.
2. Once you ask to dispute your bill, your call will be transferred to a newly created Customer Assurance Team, which is designed to work through issues with customers.
3. Your water service won't be disconnected as long as you pay your average bill amount during the dispute process. The county will confirm through an email and a letter that your bill is in dispute. A moratorium on water service disconnections lasts at least until the end of the year.
4. Though you aren’t at risk of losing water service, you will still receive disconnection warning letters, which are generated automatically. Those disconnection notices can be disregarded until the dispute is resolved.
5. A field technician will be dispatched within three days to investigate your water meter at no cost to the customer. Residents can meet the technician at their homes if desired to discuss their issues.
6. The county will review the technician’s findings and contact the customer to adjust the bill if necessary. Customers are responsible for paying the full cost of their actual water usage.
7. When customers aren’t satisfied, their bills will receive an outside review. The county is still deciding the details of the third-party review process, which will be set up by the end of the year.
Read frequently asked questions about DeKalb's water discussion moratorium by clicking here.
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