RICHMOND, Va. -- Luis Pardo hasn’t been able to make sense of his water bill from the City of Richmond for years.
His latest issue is a bill for $23,968.58.
"It’s stressing me out just knowing that I owe $25,000 to the city," Pardo told CBS 6 reporter Tyler Layne. "Something's gotta be wrong."
Pardo owns 12 trailer park units off Richmond Highway. He used to pay between $1,200 and $1,600 a month for utilities.
But his recent bills have been all over the place.
Some months he said he was charged over $5,000.
Other months, he said he was charged $2,000.
"I was trying to call different people [with the city], but I still have no answer. I mean, they’re telling me don't worry about it, just keep paying," he said.
Pardo said he was told to just pay what he normally would and DPU would work it out.
Another time he said he was told maybe there was a leak.
He said a plumber came out and did not find a leak.
"Somebody tells me one thing, and then somebody else comes to me another thing. And then time went by and nothing happened," he said.
CBS 6 reviewed Pardo's bills and found he’s been receiving mostly estimated water reads.
That means DPU isn’t charging him for the water his tenants truly used. Instead, they’re estimating the usage, basically guessing the amount of water they think will be used.
Of the bills he showed CBS 6, only one was an actual meter reading.
On that bill, DPU refunded him $357.
CBS 6 made multiple attempts to discuss Pardo's concerns with DPU but there was no response.
As CBS 6 previously reported, DPU is still trying to clear its massive backlog of estimated billings and in doing so some customers either receive a credit or owe more money.
All Pardo wants is to put this confusion behind him.
“It is worrying me a lot because I've been trying to solve this for a few years now," he said.
After CBS 6 reached out to the city on Pardo’s behalf, he said a DPU representative set up a meeting to address his issues.
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