Water inflation upsets residents

Coolum resident Dick Tombs is challenging his Unitywater bill.

Mike Garry

COOLUM resident Dick Tombs has demanded a refund from Unitywater, accusing it of overcharging him based on its inflated estimate of his water usage.

“Unitywater has been sending out bills with inflated water meter readings in order to obtain money to which there is no legal entitlement,” he said.

“Unitywater has publicly admitted it did not read every meter before sending out its water bills.

“What Unitywater has done is very much like a police traffic patrolman ignoring a reading of an actual 80kmh on his radar gun, and then booking you for 148kmh in order to obtain money for which there is no legal entitlement.”

Mr Tombs said he was billed for using 88 kilolitres of water between January 30 and April 15, a period of 75 days.

But when he checked his water meter on August 13 – a total of 194 days from January 30 – it showed only 64.17 kilolitres.

The photo on the opposite page, taken on August 16, confirms a similar figure of 65.71.

“Nowhere does my bill say that the 88kL is estimated,” Mr Tombs said.

“My meter reading for Unitywater’s 75-day billing period should have only been around 25.1945kL, not the 88 for which I was billed.”

Mr Tombs said a figure of 25kL for 75 days would have been more consistent with his previous bills.

Based on his calculations, the former SEQEB manager for customer relations has demanded a refund of $50.85 off his bill and intends to ask the ombudsman to investigate whether Unitywater “has engaged in an irregular practice on a wide scale”.

Mr Tombs is also unhappy about Unitywater’s fixed water-access charge of $112, which he claims is a new charge not levied by the previous council utility, Sunshine Coast Water.

He said in his last bill from Sunshine Coast Water he was charged $60.50 for water consumption and a water base charge of $105.50 – a total of $166.

“Yet only a year later I am charged a total of $309.55 for pretty much the same amount of actual water usage,” he said.

“I am being charged 86% more for water in only one year by this sinister love child of the Bligh government.

“It’s time to end the water torture.”