In Hamilton, Ontario, Deborah didn’t know she had a slow and subtle water leak. Then she received her water bill, only to find that it was almost $680 higher than usual.
“I was just devastated (by the bill). I said, ‘this doesn’t make any sense,’” she said.
Her utility had advised her she had an issue with a water leak and encouraged her to check her water fixtures.
“They were telling me to check all the taps, and they kept saying something is wrong,” she said. “I thought ‘how can this be?’ I checked everything and found nothing. I kept watching the meter, and it looked normal, it wasn’t running like a racehorse.”
Faced with the new evidence of the high water bill, Deborah called on a plumber, who found the problem – her toilet was running. Because it was leaking straight into the bowl, there was no telltale puddle of water to clue Deborah in.
“it’s funny because I couldn’t even tell the toilet was running,” she said. “I kept checking (to find the source of the water leak). The plumber came and used blue food coloring to show me how it was leaking – it was a slow, constant leak. I had no idea it was leaking – I was flabbergasted.”
Of course, she still had the problem of the higher than usual water bill from the period when the sneaky water leak was occurring. She called her utility company to find out what her options were.
“I spoke to someone at the hydro company – my water is paid with the hydro bill – and they explained that I should call ServLine.”
ServLine Leak Protection is a service offered by utilities to help customers defray the cost of a high water bill caused by a leaking service line or faulty plumbing. Once the water leak is repaired, customers can file a claim. ServLine calculates the average bill over the prior 12 months, and customers only have to pay the average cost. ServLine pays the overage, up to the benefit amount once a year, directly to the utility.
“They explained all I need to do was call a plumber, find out why (the water leak) was happening and what needs to be fixed,” she said. “(The claims process) was quite easy. I was told right off that I would receive an email to tell me if I was approved. It was easy peasy.
“If I hadn’t started getting an outrageous bill, I wouldn’t even have known about this service,” she said. “I’m glad [Hamilton] offers it, or the bills would have kept coming in. I’m very, very pleased with how it turned out.”