two high-capacity water connections were not being properly monitored. One had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and another was not tied to a billing account.
Yeah, you don’t just “accidentally” install an “extra” water pipeline like that.
I once moved in to a property development where the development collectively paid for water access.
The water was turned on for the developers during construction, but when construction was finished, the city closed the account without remembering to transfer to the strata. So the strata went for almost 10 years without paying beyond the base rate for water, before someone investigated. At that point, the city only back-dated the water use bill to the start of the year, thankfully for the homeowners.
Yeah, you don’t just “accidentally” install an “extra” water pipeline like that.
Who tf got paid under the table.
Funny story there.
I once moved in to a property development where the development collectively paid for water access.
The water was turned on for the developers during construction, but when construction was finished, the city closed the account without remembering to transfer to the strata. So the strata went for almost 10 years without paying beyond the base rate for water, before someone investigated. At that point, the city only back-dated the water use bill to the start of the year, thankfully for the homeowners.
So yeah, it happens, probably pretty regularly.
Pretty much anyone else would be facing prison
But it was a company that did it. You can’t put a company in prison.