Put your case forward for overdue bills – Hon. Vanterpool
Appearing on the Speak Your Mind TV show on September 28, 2013, Hon. Vanterpool urged that customers avoid staying away from communicating with the company with the expectation that they would not be disconnected whenever they are in arrears.
“The Water and Sewerage Department in their new efforts to try to work with their customers, if you go to the Water and Sewerage Department and put your case forward, they will work with you,” Hon. Vanterpool stated. “I’ve seen them work out bills over long periods of time, shorter periods… whatever you can afford. And they’re very open to that.”
He noted that the ‘question and the problem’ arise when customers stay away. “Just feel free [to go in], they’ve improved and expanded their customer services department and they’ve extended their hours. Feel free if you think you have a difficulty to go to the Water and Sewerage Department and put your case forward. They will work with you, I can promise you that,” the Minister said emphatically.
Hon. Vanterpool stopped short of issuing any sort of directive that would allow for the elimination of a reconnection fee for disconnected customers.
On a previous show, host, Julio Sam Henry, made an appeal to Hon. Vanterpool to suspend disconnection of power and water for the people of the Territory for the rest of September and October. "Give them a break, it is hard," he said.
“The history of Water and Sewerage Department… is that for quite some time they’ve been paying out $12M [or] $16M to buy water and collecting $2M [or] $3M,” Hon. Vanterpool argued.
He said the Department has been working very hard with customers to help them to be able to afford their bills and have even consulted him in some situations.
“Put your case forward, just don’t stay away and expect your water to continue flowing,” Hon. Vanterpool advised. “Go and put your case forward, if it’s a matter of a disconnection fee, if it’s a matter of the cost of your water… try to work it out with the Water and Sewerage Department and they will work with you.”
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11 Responses to “Put your case forward for overdue bills – Hon. Vanterpool”
This is the price customers pays when top positions in Government are filled with novice. Kisses go by favour but this is ridiculous. To add insult to injury, Mark is moving rapidly to murge this Department with the Electricity Corp. Neither of the two can survive without the assistance of the central Government, so what is the point? Only in the BVI.
This is just BULL$£%"!!! You use the water, pay the "£$%^& bill! The only issue should be those with questionable charges or ridiculous bills that were allowed to escalate despite people asking for clarification for months and months. I know one time they told a lady she owed over $2,000.00 and they need at least half within a week or they will cut her. How does someone just cough up over $1,000 within a week for water even when they've been asking for clarification on bills for months? In those cases I can see where they can work with them but when people owe $50 or $100 and cutting style cut their £$%% off. What kind of sh!£ is this? If we paying oout over $16mil and only collecting $3mil what you think will happen? Then don't talk about the water truck companies that were raping that place. It seems once you from here you got a license to rape this poor treasury.