DWP neglected to bill customers, then hit them with sizeable due notices

[Liberal_in_LA]

DWP Billing Mistakes Leave Customers Reeling
DWP neglected to bill customers, then hit them with sizeable due notices

The Department of Water and Power has failed to properly bill several Los Angeles residents and small business owners, and in some instances threatened to cut off electrical service if they do not pay up.

Matt Epstein, owner of Sweet Harts, installed a new electric meter when his Sherman Oaks ice cream and candy shop opened two years ago.

He regularly paid his DWP bills, but in March he received a bill for $23,000 and a warning that his service would be cut off if he didn’t pay.

The DWP suggested that he make up the shortfall by paying $1,000 a month for 23 months.The explanation? He had been under-billed for 23 months.

“I just about fell off my chair,” Epstein said. “I was very surprised and very upset.”

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Tracie Pandi, who lives downtown, also had a new meter installed. A year and a half later, she was slammed with a $1,300 electric bill (PDF) right after New Year’s.

The timing was especially difficult for Pandi, who had lost her job and whose daughter had recently died.


http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/120655909.html

[katanalori]

1. "Sweet Harts" shop...........

I wonder how Matt Epstein (a fairly well-know realtor in our area) ended up with the "Sweet Harts" candy shop? Unless it is a big coincidence and a different Matt Epstein owns the shop?

"Actress Melissa Joan Hart has sold her Sherman Oaks home for close to $2.5 million.

Hart, 33, had listed her residence for sale in October at $3.25 million but had since reduced it to $2.85 million.

She recently opened Sweet Harts, a shop selling candy, gelato and baked goods in Sherman Oaks.

The actress, who had owned the custom home since 2005, sold to get a change of scenery, according to her listing agent, Matt Epstein of Re/Max on the Boulevard, Sherman Oaks."

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/15/home/hm-hotprop15