A hefty water bill accumulated in our absence
September 1, 2011 7:48 PM Subscribe
What to do about house sitter who ran up large water bill?
We were away for a month this summer, and I asked an acquaintance to take care of the house for us. The agreement was that she would come every other day to feed the cat and the fish, bring in the mail and newspapers, and water the lawn for about half an hour two or three times a week. (We have watering days designated by the city government.) I asked her because I know she really needed the money. She works as a home health aide but makes so little that she gets food stamps.
She did an adequate job taking care of things, although the lawn was noticeably dry in several spots when we returned.
Yet today when I opened the water bill to pay it, I was shocked to see that we owed over $160----that's about $100 more than we normally pay!
I will talk with her about this tomorrow, and ask her what happened. But I would like advice on hold to handle this situation. She lives in an apartment and may not have realized that the water in our city is metered, but still that fact is widely known, and also I told her to water only 1/2 hour two or three times a week. By our calculation she must have left the water on in some areas of the lawn (not, obviously, the dried out spots we noticed upon returning) for as long as 48 hours at a time, and must have done this more than once.
Any suggestions, hive mind people? Many thanks in advance!
We were away for a month this summer, and I asked an acquaintance to take care of the house for us. The agreement was that she would come every other day to feed the cat and the fish, bring in the mail and newspapers, and water the lawn for about half an hour two or three times a week. (We have watering days designated by the city government.) I asked her because I know she really needed the money. She works as a home health aide but makes so little that she gets food stamps.
She did an adequate job taking care of things, although the lawn was noticeably dry in several spots when we returned.
Yet today when I opened the water bill to pay it, I was shocked to see that we owed over $160----that's about $100 more than we normally pay!
I will talk with her about this tomorrow, and ask her what happened. But I would like advice on hold to handle this situation. She lives in an apartment and may not have realized that the water in our city is metered, but still that fact is widely known, and also I told her to water only 1/2 hour two or three times a week. By our calculation she must have left the water on in some areas of the lawn (not, obviously, the dried out spots we noticed upon returning) for as long as 48 hours at a time, and must have done this more than once.
Any suggestions, hive mind people? Many thanks in advance!
Is the $100 an economic hardship for you? Because if it's not, and because you're describing this acquaintance as someone dealing with some level of economic hardship: Just let it go and don't ask her to house-sit again.
posted by axiom at 7:52 PM on September 1, 2011 [60 favorites]
posted by axiom at 7:52 PM on September 1, 2011 [60 favorites]
What are you looking to get out of this? Did you specifically say "do not water more than 15 minutes a day?" Do you want money from her for this?
Have you checked to make sure there wasn't some sort of water leak somewhere? Do you know she used the water, and not one of your neighbors borrowed your hose?
posted by TheBones at 7:52 PM on September 1, 2011 [6 favorites]
Have you checked to make sure there wasn't some sort of water leak somewhere? Do you know she used the water, and not one of your neighbors borrowed your hose?
posted by TheBones at 7:52 PM on September 1, 2011 [6 favorites]
Unless she was bottling water to sell on the black market, I can't imagine that this was done purposely or maliciously. She made a mistake. If you want her to house-sit again, point this out to her before the next time. Otherwise, let it drop.
posted by xingcat at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
IMHO if you didn't instruct her to be conservative with water, you should just pay it. Especially if your friendship with her is something you value more than $100.
posted by k8t at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by k8t at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
What do you hope to gain by asking her what happened? It sounds like you know what happened, but you want her to tell you. To do what? Catch her in a lie? Go, "ha-ha, I know you wasted our water and drove up our water bill" ? Get an apology?
Unless you are going to ask her to refund you the overage on that water bill, don't bother bringing it up to her. Just eat the $100, don't invite her to house-sit again, and be done with it.
posted by juniperesque at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
Unless you are going to ask her to refund you the overage on that water bill, don't bother bringing it up to her. Just eat the $100, don't invite her to house-sit again, and be done with it.
posted by juniperesque at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
YOu may want to call the water company and see if high daily usage is still occurring. Because if the lawn wasn't a sopping mess, as I assume it might be if one was watering for 48 hours, you may have a leak somewhere.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [26 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2011 [26 favorites]
It seems like it's much more likely that you have a leak, or that there was some billing error, than that this person either maliciously or obliviously used more than twice your usual usage of water.
Did you pay the previous month's bill? Two months normal use + late fee would be able $160.
posted by gerryblog at 7:57 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Did you pay the previous month's bill? Two months normal use + late fee would be able $160.
posted by gerryblog at 7:57 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
You told her to water for a half hour 2-3 times a week but didn't tell her water is metered and apparently didn't tell her why it was important not to exceed that.
This kind of sounds like your fault.
And, this person can't afford to pay you. Unless your purpose is to make her feel like crap, don't mention it (but if she does this - house sits for you - again, then explain the situation more clearly).
posted by J. Wilson at 8:02 PM on September 1, 2011 [6 favorites]
This kind of sounds like your fault.
And, this person can't afford to pay you. Unless your purpose is to make her feel like crap, don't mention it (but if she does this - house sits for you - again, then explain the situation more clearly).
posted by J. Wilson at 8:02 PM on September 1, 2011 [6 favorites]
Does the water company check the meter every month? Before my gas company changed to electronic drive-by metering, they did "estimated" readings for many months at a time. When they got around to *actually* checking the meter, I got a whopper of a bill (or five). This may have happened to you.
posted by notsnot at 8:14 PM on September 1, 2011 [12 favorites]
posted by notsnot at 8:14 PM on September 1, 2011 [12 favorites]
What are your goals in telling her that she ran up your water bill accidentally? Are you trying to get out of paying her?
Echoing what others have said, you shouldn't mention it unless you plan on hiring her again, and even then, just lay out specific instructions and ask her to not leave the water running too long because your usage is metered and last time she watched the house, you got an atypically high bill.
Some perspective is in order. $100 is a very small price to pay for an accident when you are leaving your house for a month, especially if your home and your pets were otherwise kept safe and sound.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:21 PM on September 1, 2011
Echoing what others have said, you shouldn't mention it unless you plan on hiring her again, and even then, just lay out specific instructions and ask her to not leave the water running too long because your usage is metered and last time she watched the house, you got an atypically high bill.
Some perspective is in order. $100 is a very small price to pay for an accident when you are leaving your house for a month, especially if your home and your pets were otherwise kept safe and sound.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:21 PM on September 1, 2011
As a frequent house-sitter, I would not mind being approached about high water/electric/gas/whatever bills. (I actually expect to proactively offer some money to a house-owner because I'm sure I'm using more electric now than they do.)
Still, I would be pissed if the house owner came to me and didn't double-check the billing period and with the utility company first.
That being said: "what to do" is your question? Switching hats and speaking as a person with a house who also uses housesitters: well, you probably should pay your utility bill, or else they'll turn it off eventually.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 8:22 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Still, I would be pissed if the house owner came to me and didn't double-check the billing period and with the utility company first.
That being said: "what to do" is your question? Switching hats and speaking as a person with a house who also uses housesitters: well, you probably should pay your utility bill, or else they'll turn it off eventually.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 8:22 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
You should definitely ask her what happened but definitely do not ask her to pay for it. Are you going to want to have her house-sit again? Then clarify the situation. However, if you make it hostile then she will obviously not want to bother. She did you a favor (even if paid) and a mistake was made, either by her or your billing company. You need to sort out how the mistake was made and determine how to not have it repeat itself. Please don't ask her for the money if you know she can't afford it (and would not have left the water on maliciously or knowingly).
posted by bquarters at 8:34 PM on September 1, 2011
posted by bquarters at 8:34 PM on September 1, 2011
ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T HAVE A LEAK SOMEWHERE, MAYBE IN A BURIED PIPE?
I only bolded that because there are so many answers already, I didn't want you to miss it. Sorry if I repeated anyone else!
Hey! I've actually had this happen at residential properties I've managed. So it is a possibility exploring before you approach the house sitter (who I think you should not approach at all, to be honest. I like the idea of talking to your neighbors, first, at the very least.)
Good luck sorting this out.
I'm guilty of jumping to conclusions a lot. So I speak out of kindness and understanding towards my own past mistakes in the arena. YMMV.
posted by jbenben at 8:35 PM on September 1, 2011
I only bolded that because there are so many answers already, I didn't want you to miss it. Sorry if I repeated anyone else!
Hey! I've actually had this happen at residential properties I've managed. So it is a possibility exploring before you approach the house sitter (who I think you should not approach at all, to be honest. I like the idea of talking to your neighbors, first, at the very least.)
Good luck sorting this out.
I'm guilty of jumping to conclusions a lot. So I speak out of kindness and understanding towards my own past mistakes in the arena. YMMV.
posted by jbenben at 8:35 PM on September 1, 2011
Best answer: I'd do what others have said, and check with your provider first. I've also had the suddenly large utitlity bill after months of estimated reads, for instance. And a friend just had a $1000 water bill because of a leak she didn't know about. So follow up on that first.
It occurs to me that, depending on where she lives, she may not know that water is metered. For instance, I've lived for the last 9 years in a house with well water (we're one of the last houses in our neighborhood not to be hooked up to city water). I'm so out of the habit of thinking of water as something you pay for that if I were housesitting, it would never cross my mind.
Given that it will probably be an economic hardship for her to pay the difference, in your shoes I wouldn't want her to feel bad and would just pay the bill, but make a mental note to make sure she understands the water is metered next time she housesits.
posted by not that girl at 8:48 PM on September 1, 2011
It occurs to me that, depending on where she lives, she may not know that water is metered. For instance, I've lived for the last 9 years in a house with well water (we're one of the last houses in our neighborhood not to be hooked up to city water). I'm so out of the habit of thinking of water as something you pay for that if I were housesitting, it would never cross my mind.
Given that it will probably be an economic hardship for her to pay the difference, in your shoes I wouldn't want her to feel bad and would just pay the bill, but make a mental note to make sure she understands the water is metered next time she housesits.
posted by not that girl at 8:48 PM on September 1, 2011
Contact her; tell her "we got an unusually high water bill for the time you were house-sitting. the bill isn't a big deal, and if you just used a lot of water while you were here, then everything's fine -- but if you didn't, I have to start looking for an underground leak. can you tell me how much you watered, and whether you accidentally left water running or anything?"
Which is to say, suck up the money, but do get the information needed from her to determine if it was her actions or something more serious.
posted by davejay at 10:08 PM on September 1, 2011 [12 favorites]
Which is to say, suck up the money, but do get the information needed from her to determine if it was her actions or something more serious.
posted by davejay at 10:08 PM on September 1, 2011 [12 favorites]
What jamaro said in the first paragraph. I am a lifelong apartment renter, and for the first time in thirty years I am paying my own water bill. I had no idea water was so expensive! I'm guessing she didn't give it a thought. I know I wouldn't have. Please don't punish her for this, especially if she is in dire straights financially and you can afford the extra expense.
If you decide to hire her again, make sure to explain explicitly that you pay for your water and are trying to minimize your bill.
posted by trip and a half at 10:10 PM on September 1, 2011
If you decide to hire her again, make sure to explain explicitly that you pay for your water and are trying to minimize your bill.
posted by trip and a half at 10:10 PM on September 1, 2011
I house sit a lot, for friends. Sometimes they pay me. I only accept that because I figure refusing leaves some people feeling indebted in a way that makes them uncomfortable.
But the money is never even close to what I would make as a gardener, handyman, security guard, operator of a pet kennel/boarding service, dog handler, dog walker, cleaner, personal assistant, secretary, computer technician, auto mechanic, airport taxi service, etc.
So I tend to think of it as me doing other people a favor. That's the case even when I'm paid, when the fridge is full, when I'm not electrocuted by dodgy appliances, when the pets don't run away or get sick or bite, the roof doesn't leak, the car or computer doesn't break down, there are no water leaks, and you're not asking me to guard 120 000 litres of molasses (or your trucks or whatever).
In short, even when everything goes well and there's some money and food in it, I'm spending quite a bit of my time doing stuff that I still have to do at home, I'm stressed about keeping other people's property alive, safe and working, I'm providing eyes on someone's house that would make a major difference if something did go wrong, and the prime reason I'm doing all of it is not the money, but because the person I'm doing it for is my friend and I want them to have a worry free holiday.
Translating that to your case.. She helped you out. Something (very minor) went wrong. Be gracious about it.
posted by Ahab at 10:16 PM on September 1, 2011 [12 favorites]
But the money is never even close to what I would make as a gardener, handyman, security guard, operator of a pet kennel/boarding service, dog handler, dog walker, cleaner, personal assistant, secretary, computer technician, auto mechanic, airport taxi service, etc.
So I tend to think of it as me doing other people a favor. That's the case even when I'm paid, when the fridge is full, when I'm not electrocuted by dodgy appliances, when the pets don't run away or get sick or bite, the roof doesn't leak, the car or computer doesn't break down, there are no water leaks, and you're not asking me to guard 120 000 litres of molasses (or your trucks or whatever).
In short, even when everything goes well and there's some money and food in it, I'm spending quite a bit of my time doing stuff that I still have to do at home, I'm stressed about keeping other people's property alive, safe and working, I'm providing eyes on someone's house that would make a major difference if something did go wrong, and the prime reason I'm doing all of it is not the money, but because the person I'm doing it for is my friend and I want them to have a worry free holiday.
Translating that to your case.. She helped you out. Something (very minor) went wrong. Be gracious about it.
posted by Ahab at 10:16 PM on September 1, 2011 [12 favorites]
Just make sure you don't have a leak somewhere in your system. I had a leak on my 2inch water well line. The water was free, but the electricity ran me $250/month for 3 months until I discovered I had a broken line. Silly me.
posted by nogero at 10:34 PM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by nogero at 10:34 PM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
One other thought...do you have the type of neighbor(s) who might hook up to your hosebib on their own watering day?
posted by maxwelton at 11:13 PM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by maxwelton at 11:13 PM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Pay the extra $100 water bill.
Buy yourself a $100 gift.
Be fucking ecstatic that you can afford $200 on what is essentially the same thing.
posted by Sphinx at 11:18 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Buy yourself a $100 gift.
Be fucking ecstatic that you can afford $200 on what is essentially the same thing.
posted by Sphinx at 11:18 PM on September 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
I would suggest doing as davejay said: ask her how much water she used because you need to find out if there's a leak. It's the most direct way to get the right information, after all.
But please be very careful how you sound when you say it. Don't make it sound like you got back and found that the whisky in all the bottles in your drinks cabinet now tastes suspiciously of cola and does she know anything about it, hm, raised eyebrow? Because that is kinda what you sound like - as if a woman on food stamps is particularly likely to be stealing your water supply.
Well, okay, let's say she is so poor that she decided to shower and do laundry at your house to save money. That's the only possible way I can imagine her benefitting from your water supply at your expense. Would you really begrudge her that? You gave her the job because she really needed the money, and if she hadn't been showering there you would have been.
posted by tel3path at 12:29 AM on September 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
But please be very careful how you sound when you say it. Don't make it sound like you got back and found that the whisky in all the bottles in your drinks cabinet now tastes suspiciously of cola and does she know anything about it, hm, raised eyebrow? Because that is kinda what you sound like - as if a woman on food stamps is particularly likely to be stealing your water supply.
Well, okay, let's say she is so poor that she decided to shower and do laundry at your house to save money. That's the only possible way I can imagine her benefitting from your water supply at your expense. Would you really begrudge her that? You gave her the job because she really needed the money, and if she hadn't been showering there you would have been.
posted by tel3path at 12:29 AM on September 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
I'll nth a potential leak somewhere. The tiniest of leaks at House: The Sequel easily doubled my water bill.
posted by thomas j wise at 4:31 AM on September 2, 2011
posted by thomas j wise at 4:31 AM on September 2, 2011
I've lived in apartments my whole adult life, and have never had to pay a water bill. I know people do, certainly, but it's just not something that I've ever had to think about, so it doesn't enter my mind.
I like davejay's approach best. It will help you figure out what caused the high bill and gently let her know that your water isn't free, but let her off the hook. I'd go so far as to downplay the damage and not mention actual numbers even if she asks. If she offers to pay the difference, refuse.
I'd approach it this way no matter how much money the housesitter made. I wouldn't even call it a mistake, just the kind of thing that sometimes happens when someone else is in the house.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:52 AM on September 2, 2011
I like davejay's approach best. It will help you figure out what caused the high bill and gently let her know that your water isn't free, but let her off the hook. I'd go so far as to downplay the damage and not mention actual numbers even if she asks. If she offers to pay the difference, refuse.
I'd approach it this way no matter how much money the housesitter made. I wouldn't even call it a mistake, just the kind of thing that sometimes happens when someone else is in the house.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:52 AM on September 2, 2011
Have you compared your bill with the neighbors? FWIW My city's water department raises rates annually, and the new bill is often a shocker.
posted by Gungho at 5:34 AM on September 2, 2011
posted by Gungho at 5:34 AM on September 2, 2011
Actually, the most direct way to find out if you have a leak is to turn off all the water in your house and go look at the meter. Is it moving? You have a leak.
If there is some complicating factor, have the water company come out and do it for you. Have them do a meter re-read while they're at it. Leaks happen, mis-reads happen. Your rate might have gone up, but I assume if you're scrutinizing your bill that closely you have compared it to the previous month's bill already.
It would be really bad for your karma to go make somebody feel bad about something they can't afford to make right if they didn't do it.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:16 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
If there is some complicating factor, have the water company come out and do it for you. Have them do a meter re-read while they're at it. Leaks happen, mis-reads happen. Your rate might have gone up, but I assume if you're scrutinizing your bill that closely you have compared it to the previous month's bill already.
It would be really bad for your karma to go make somebody feel bad about something they can't afford to make right if they didn't do it.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:16 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
(not, obviously, the dried out spots we noticed upon returning)
You can kill grass just as easily with over watering, which causes root rot, as you can with under watering. But that really isn't the point, your language has finger pointy bad mojo written all over it. The only thing I'd try to get to the bottom of is whether you have a water leak without be accusatory and leave the rest be.
posted by squeak at 7:15 AM on September 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
You can kill grass just as easily with over watering, which causes root rot, as you can with under watering. But that really isn't the point, your language has finger pointy bad mojo written all over it. The only thing I'd try to get to the bottom of is whether you have a water leak without be accusatory and leave the rest be.
posted by squeak at 7:15 AM on September 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
My first thought was "Check to see if there's a leak, if the downstairs toilet was running the whole time, etc."
My second thought was "Did she do a shit-ton of laundry at your house while you were gone? Like, taken the opportunity to wash not only all of her clothes, but the sheets and curtains and towels and tablecloth etc etc etc?"
My third thought was "Did you forget to pay the previous month's bill before you left?"
posted by Elly Vortex at 9:08 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
My second thought was "Did she do a shit-ton of laundry at your house while you were gone? Like, taken the opportunity to wash not only all of her clothes, but the sheets and curtains and towels and tablecloth etc etc etc?"
My third thought was "Did you forget to pay the previous month's bill before you left?"
posted by Elly Vortex at 9:08 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
You may find out there's not a leak or some billing-related explanation. If you'd like her to tend to your pets, etc., during some future vacation, you've gotta ask her now about the water. I wouldn't wait till next year and then say, "Last time the water bill was high. Please limit blah blah." Even if I didn't plan to have her housesit again, I'd still bring it up -- mostly so I could quit speculating about what happened.
The upside is that you had peace of mind while you were away, your pets are fine, and nobody broke in after seeing an accumulation of mail or newspapers, and no problems occurred other than the waste of water/money and the dry lawn areas.I'm not saying, "Lighten up and look at the positives." There are risks any time you entrust someone with such a job. Seriously, I've occasionally had guests who did careless things that caused damage, turned their heating zone up to 80 degrees for days, stunk up the guest apartment with smoke from "cooking." That's just how it is.
Do what will work out best for you. I think this means being tactful, but acknowledging what happened and make it less likely for the same thing to happen again.
posted by wryly at 10:32 AM on September 2, 2011
The upside is that you had peace of mind while you were away, your pets are fine, and nobody broke in after seeing an accumulation of mail or newspapers, and no problems occurred other than the waste of water/money and the dry lawn areas.I'm not saying, "Lighten up and look at the positives." There are risks any time you entrust someone with such a job. Seriously, I've occasionally had guests who did careless things that caused damage, turned their heating zone up to 80 degrees for days, stunk up the guest apartment with smoke from "cooking." That's just how it is.
Do what will work out best for you. I think this means being tactful, but acknowledging what happened and make it less likely for the same thing to happen again.
posted by wryly at 10:32 AM on September 2, 2011
I'm really surprised by all the responses that come down to "Water is free so I don't care how much I use." I've lived places where one of water, garbage, or electricity was free, but that didn't lead me to waste it or more than double my usage.
Regardless of how the water was used, I wouldn't ask her to pay for it given that it sounds like you have the ability to pay for it and she doesn't; it's a gracious thing to do if you can afford to. I'm assuming she did not do this on purpose.
posted by reeddavid at 10:44 AM on September 2, 2011
Regardless of how the water was used, I wouldn't ask her to pay for it given that it sounds like you have the ability to pay for it and she doesn't; it's a gracious thing to do if you can afford to. I'm assuming she did not do this on purpose.
posted by reeddavid at 10:44 AM on September 2, 2011
I live in an apartment and I pay water. It's not always the case that water is included.
I'd double-check my bill and think about whether or not neighbors (did you tell them you were going to be out of town?) might have used your outside hose before I assumed that someone doing a favor for me was a water scofflaw.
posted by winna at 12:48 PM on September 2, 2011
I'd double-check my bill and think about whether or not neighbors (did you tell them you were going to be out of town?) might have used your outside hose before I assumed that someone doing a favor for me was a water scofflaw.
posted by winna at 12:48 PM on September 2, 2011
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