A LIMERICK charity got quite a surprise when it recently received a bill for over €2,600 from Uisce Éireann.
Following the shock bill, the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) outlet in Palmerstown Court in Limerick City Centre got notice that its water would be cut off over non-payment of the bill, which SVP’s Mid West region manager, Paul Ryan, says should be less than €150.
“We got a lovely bill from Uisce Éireann about a year after we were opened asking ‘what business are you?'” Mr Ryan told the Limerick Post.
“We said ‘we’re St Vincent de Paul’ and next thing they sent us a bill for €2,500,” he said.
The bill, photographed above, is for €2,628.38 for the period between April 1 and June 30 this year.
The building housing the SVP store, whose proceeds go towards the nationwide homeless charity, was redecorated a number of years ago and spread out over four double retail units, Mr Ryan told the Limerick Post, noting that a number of bathrooms on the site were removed and that one water metre was in place to monitor usage.
One bathroom on the site remains, solely for the use of store staff.
The region manager, trying to make sense of the staggering bill, said that “I guess what they’re (Uisce Éireann) doing is judging it on the rateable value of the shop site”.
However Mr Ryan said that, based off his reading of the single meter at the outlet, the eye-watering water bill should only be around €140.
In a statement to the Limerick Post, Uisce Éireann said that while it can’t comment on individual cases, significant irregularities in bills can often be down to “leaks”.
“If a customer experiences a spike in their bill amount for metered consumption, this could point to a customer-side leak,” the utility said.
“Customers can phone the contact centre and avail of leak allowance once certain criteria is met and that evidence of a fix (by way of a plumber’s report) is provided. The account is then adjusted back to what would account for typical consumption.”
