Q COSTARICA — Users daily report irregular charges on their drinking water bill by the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA).
The cause has not yet been confirmed by the utility, but for now, it is suspected that it could be due to a new methodology issued by the regulatory body, the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep), which the AyA is now using to apply the charges.
AyA reported that 38,000 customers could initially be affected. However, the regulator general, Eric Bogantes, fears the impact could have spread to meters that supply more than one home on a lot. This means that the impact of the irregular charges could be greater.
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What to do in these cases?
If you are one of those affected, the first thing you should do is go to the nearest AyA office and file a complaint. It is not important if the water service is not in the name of the person paying the bill, such as in the case of rentals or shared service.
The utility, with the service identification number (NIS), will receive the complaint and investigate. However, it needs to be noted that only the ‘owner’ of the service will be informed of the decision, irrespective of who filed the complaint.
Bogantes explained that all bills have a due date, and if the person hasn’t paid or filed a complaint before that date, the institution could still enforce the payment.
A user who disagrees with the amount has the right to a proper investigation to determine the cause and adjust the amount, if necessary.
“As long as there is a pending issue in the system, the cutoff order shouldn’t be generated,” Bogantes said.
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This can be troublesome for tenants or users of a shared service not named on the bill, as the decision by the AyA may come much sooner than given at the counter when filing the complaint, affecting the service which could be cut while the user waits a reply that will never come to them, rather to the owner of the service, who in turn may not inform his or her tenant.
This could be detrimental for the user, but very lucrative for the water utility as it charges a disconnection AND reconnection charge.
If the user is not satisfied with the way the complaint is resolved, they should go to the AyA Services Comptroller’s Office. In the case of tenants, they will have to ask the owner to make the case. As a last resort, customers can file a complaint with Aresep until the previous steps have been completed.
Irregular charges in most cases are due to faulty meters and water leaks inside the property, to which the AyA no longer enters the property to investigate the cause of the leak.
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In the case of a leak past the meter, the user needs to repair or contract a service to effect the repair and notify the AyA. The work is at the cost of the user and notifying the AyA will allow them to assess the complaint and adjust the billing accordingly.
González noted that by filing a complaint, “its status is claimed and technically does not allow a suspension order.”
As mentioned earlier, the notification of the decision will be sent to the owner of the service, effectively canceling the do-not-suspend order, and the bill will automatically become due and payable.
It is essential to check daily for any changes in the billing to avoid having your service suspended and additional charges.
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