When Keith saw his water bill, he knew there was something wrong, and he knew just what had happened.
Not too long before, he had discovered a leaking hose bib outside his home and had it repaired.
“I had no idea how long it had been leaking, though,” he said.
The leaking fixture was concerning. He had experience repairing another hose bib at his home, and the leak had sent his water bill, normally just north of $40, soaring. After the latest repair, he worried he might be in for another big water bill.
His fears proved to be well-founded when he opened the mailbox and saw his June bill. It was nearly $140, almost $100 more than he was accustomed to paying. The last time he had been confronted with a higher-than-usual bill because of a leak, his utility had given him an adjustment, knocking off a portion of the bill, although he still paid more than usual in the end.
“The water company helped some with that,” Keith said.
With this experience in mind, he made a visit to his utility to ask for an adjustment again—and was surprised.
There was no need for an adjustment, because utility officials had the foresight to provide the ServLine Leak Protection Program to their customers. Once the utility representatives reminded him of this, Keith remembered receiving a letter about the program. The representatives explained to him, for the small on-bill fee he was paying monthly as part of his water bill, he was protected from high bills caused by leaks.
“I had got the letter a good while back, but once they said that, I remembered,” Keith said. “They gave me a number [for ServLine] and said to contact them and file a claim.”
The claims process was seamless for Keith. Since he had already repaired the fixture causing the leak, ServLine sent a check for $93—the cost over Keith’s average monthly water bill—directly to his utility.
“They were very polite and helpful,” he said. “They explained that they could help out with a leak once a year under the program.”
Keith thought his problems were over. Then, he got his July water bill, which was even higher than June’s bill. This time, it was more than $250.
“The same leak was split between two billing cycles,” he said. “This time, [ServLine] contacted me before the water company did. It was a great experience, well worth the little extra money.”
Because both of the high bills had been caused by the same leak, ServLine sent another check, this one for $230, to Keith’s utility, once again leaving him only his usual bill, around $40, to pay.
“I thought it was great, the way [ServLine] handled it,” Keith said. “I had no complaints at all, and it was a really pleasant surprise. I’m glad it was available.”
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