After getting hosed twice over bogus Chicago water bill, man finally gets $5,000 refund
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Another success story in our years-long "Getting Hosed" series on bogus water bills in Chicago.
CBS 2's Brad Edwards reported in October how the city gummed up David Steele, and even after he "won" the first round in his dispute over his water bill, the city figured out a way to hose him again.
Steele realized that his single-family home was classified by the city as two dwelling units. As a result, his water bill ballooned to nearly double of what it should be.
The city eventually fixed that, crediting his account by more than $5,000. But Steele could not get a refund of the money he'd paid after being overpaid, just a credit on his bill to reduce future payments.
"I'd rather have the $5,000 than the credit. I don't know how long I'm going to live here. I may not live here for five more years. I don't know. I'm grateful for the credit, but I'd rather have the $5,000," he told Edwards in October.
To get a refund, Steele was told he needs to provide five years of canceled checks and/or bank statements to prove he made the payments the city acknowledged Steele made, even though the city has acknowledged it owes him more than $5,000.
That all changed recently.
"I amazingly got a refund," Steele told Edwards last week.
But he didn't get an explanation for the sudden change of heart from the city.
"It's kind of a form letter saying, 'enclosed is your refund for overpayment,'" Steele said. "I did not really get any explanation or apology."
During his ordeal, Steele said he spoke to at least seven people in city bureaucracy, only one of whom he felt was truly helpful. He said he looked at stories of other people who had been hosed by bogus water bills from the city to get the names of people he wanted to talk to at the city in his bid for a refund.
"Eventually, somebody sent me an email and said, 'This is the person who's going to help you,'" Steele said.
Steele recommended others facing bogus water bills research CBS News Chicago's "Getting Hosed" series, and take note of the names of top city staffers they can reach out to.
"Watch the series, get caught up, take notes on some of the names, key names, and just do Google research and Linkedin research to find out who the upper-level management is at the City of Chicago Water Department, and email those people. This should be black or white, just like it is with all other utility bills. There's not much mystery, but there's a lot of wiggle room with the Water Department, it seems," he said.