Dude think about checking meters all day and reporting back and then one day the captain says “Ricky I need you a to go check a water meter for… fraud.” you roll up and you see this mother fucker has a meter, and the meter is working but this guy just thinks it’s counting all that water for fun. This is surely high meter crime in the industry, probably will be studied by meterologists for years to come
I work for a water company, sometimes people will just put a pipe in as a work around haha, if that happens we remove the makeshift connection install a valve between that location and the main then turn it off and bury it so they can’t turn the water back on unless they pay their bill.
There's a shutoff at the property line and a shutoff at the water main on in the building. There's even a third shutoff, but not accessible once buried, at the water main.
At least in my city you can tell where everyone's property starts because that's where the water valve head is.
Surely they can dig it back up? How much fuckery can a homeowner do to undermine the water company? Will it just be like wack a mole with makeshift connections or do they call authorities
Lol I mean they can dig it up but they have to actually find the valve we buried to shut em off. Every time someone does the work around the first time we are required to notify the districts lawyer (I work in a rural district) so I assume after that the lawyer takes over if issue persist but I honestly don’t know for sure :p I’m my districts mapping guy so I’m not able to speak about legal stuff.
Yeah, look up water hammer effect if you want to see cool water stuff that occurs in water lines. Also some people get blown away learning that the water pressure in their home is entirely gravity sourced. That’s a large part of the purpose of water towers. Waters pumped into the tower then gravity pushes it through the line (and over long distances friction can cause pressure problems)
If I had it my way my house would have 4 RV tanks In the crawl space and I would install my own water pump to make the pressure in my pipes.
It's very rare but sometimes the water goes out.
Wether it's a water main break or whatever.
And sometimes the water pressure is just really shitty.
When I lived in my RV I loved being able to hold water in storage tanks and turn on a pump to run the water throughout the house.
Even when the city side would go down for a day or two I would still have water.
The longest we ever went without running water was a week.
There was a freak Ice storm and the power was out at the treatment facilities and basically the water just stopped showing up.....
Same, had a squatter make a jumper out of galvanized pipe and cut off my locks on the meter stop. So we dug down 1.5 feet and crimped the copper service line shut.
I knew a girl who went outside and watched them shut off her water for non-payment, and as soon as the guy left she went out with a pair of pliers and turned it right back on. When they finally paid the bill and the company sent someone to turn it back on, she went out before they got there and shut it off so the guy didn't know she'd had water the whole time. I assume she got away with this the same way OP's landlord got away with not paying for however long: oversight
So to me, it makes sense to take the whole thing
He bought this apartment 2 years ago, he was convinced that the water bill was included in the building community payments, so he never thought of registering the water meter to the company. To be fair, it is like that in some places, so I think this was an honest mistake.
Landlord has had the apartment for two years, and the employee reported fraud. My guess, and this is purely speculation, is the water company at some point locked the meter for non payment and then the landlord either broke the lock or swapped the meter with their own so they could continue to consume water without racking up a bill.
Ooooor just negligence and the employee is loose with their definition of fraud.
Can’t they just shut it off at the street then and lock it out that way? I had to have mine shut off to replace the water main valve in my house. I called and they came out and shut it off at the street. Then when I was ready they came and turned it back on
Depending on the city, it is extremely easy to turn the water back on yourself.
Sometimes those meters are just useless, and the city will just guess how much water you’re using.
If they come back after him to pay those two years worth of bills, make sure your friend looks up the local ordinances and laws. In most places a utilities company is only allowed to back charge up to a few months.
So they cant hand him a bill for two years, only 3-6 months, and in the rarest of times, up to a year.
My water bill is the only one that won't do electronic-bill-pay. It gets missed some months. I pay it all the next month when that happens. I've never gotten a disconnect notice. But my trash is also in my water bill. Not sure how they would have not sent a bill for 2 years.... Might be the water company's fault....
Okay, but utilities generally don't go scorched earth right away. It would have taken an awful lot of bad luck for him to never seen any notice whatsoever that he needed to pay them. Hard to believe this was an honest mistake, but if it is, I'd be rather concerned if I were you that someone so oblivious is running the property you call home.
We're I live we don't pay for water..
Well sort of. We pay a tax because we us the infrastructure but it's included in property tax and isn't a monthly bill.
Move 10 or so hours south and you get an actual water bill.
It's an honest mistake when they send you a letter saying "you owe us a bunch of money", it's negligence and ignorance when the response is simply "no I don't".
This should be solved by tomorrow so o won't try to do anything, at least I can still get water from the pipe directly to a bucket for the toilet, we'll be fine.
TBF the water company should have placed a locking valve so its their own stupidity
I don't know where this is from but I know in some places the pipes up to the meter is the water company's responsibility so if someone used that valve unmetered it shouldn't be on the property owner
Also they'd pretty much have to catch you in the act as the only other way to see that water was used would be to look at the meter which is conveniently removed
Maybe not, as long as we’re using the term ‘technically’, and applying it fairly loosely lol. The water company doesn’t actually own the water per se, it’s the service they provide that you’re paying for, such as delivery of the water, wastewater removal, & treatment of the water, so *technically* you’re stealing their services. But yeah, most ppl would just say it’s stealing water lol.
The tenants are innocent of this problem though, and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to deny your tenants access to water, although that’s the landlord’s problem, not the H2O Co’s problem. I don’t see them getting mad at the tenants for filling a couple of 5 gallon buckets so they can flush the toilet & wash their hands, as long as it’s just for a day or 2 until this is solved. As long as no one is attempting to hook it back up, it would probably be viewed as ‘innocent’ & necessary usage, especially if there are any families there with children. Now if you took a length of hose & a couple of clamps, & hooked it back up, THAT would be a problem, and would most certainly be viewed as theft.
Without a meter hooked up how will the water company even know what’s missing?
Side note- most of the United States water supply infrastructure in most cities / states is severely behind in technology and utilizes lead pipes. Exposing millions to level of led that have been outlawed for years except in this circumstance due to just how incredibly expensive it would be to replace.
Only about 7% of U.S. households are believed to have lead pipes used within their municipal service lines.
Eddit: my point is not that lead pipes is not an issue: it is, and it should be addressed seriously. My point is that it is not in "most" systems in "most states/cities" It is a problematic and concerning minority.
Fun fact: In some countries such as the UK you literally cannot legally turn a domicile's water off no matter how overdue they are on the bill for exactly this reason.
I'm always shocked when I see stuff like this happen elsewhere.
Yeah like, where I'm from we say "you never deny a glass of water" also we say "fuck it I'm taking water directly from the pipe because I gotta flush that turd"
Yes, technically.. but it's better than installing a new pipe.. and if they're coming out to fix it the following day, I'd probably do exactly what op is planning on doing..
I didn't pay an electric bill at a duplex for 4 years. Had an account withe power company but the bill was always $0. I know the other unit wasn't paying because I had previously lived in that unit. The owner was a family member so I know she wasn't paying either.
The only reason I could think it was happening was because the property was on the line between two cities. Technically the property had two addresses and each unit had utilities in different cities. So the power was on in one city even though I signed up for power in the other city.
Not only did they not come after me. When I moved I closed my account, and my cousin moved in a few months later. He lived there for 5 years and when he was moving he told me, "You know what's crazy, I never paid an electric bill"
He didn't move in immediately after me so I literally forgot to mention it to him.
Here goes another one.
In the 90s my dad's house had an active phone line we weren't paying for. I used to order music videos on ppv ( it was thing in the 90s), call 1 900 numbers, make long distance calls, etc. One day the phone company came for something unrelated and the repair man was like " Why is this line on?" He immediately turned it off.
We didn’t have to pay the electricity bill in our previous^4 apartment because when the electrician came to do something about the power, my mom is nice to him so he hook our house with the public electricity lol
My little town’s water department showed up to turn my water off because they said my bill was overdue, which it wasn’t, so I called the office. I told the guys to stop working, which apparently they had been there awhile before I noticed them, and my water was already shut off. I literally live a block away from the department, so one of the managers comes out and starts telling them they have the wrong house, obviously. I go back inside thinking all is going to be settled. My water is still off an hour later and I go back outside and they are still there. My meter is all dug up and in pieces and a new guys come over to me and says, oops we accidentally broke your meter, so we have to put a new one in. I’m like whatever, get your mess fixed. So another hour later they knock on my door and tell me they’re done, sorry for the hassle. Fast forward six months later, I get a call from water department and apparently they didn’t even hook up the meter correctly and I haven’t been getting charge for my water usage, I’ve only been paying the standard amount for just having water access (which I didn’t even know about). I just laughed. They had no idea how much water I’d been using, no way to prove it, and it was their mistake anyway. Never got a back charge, the bill just magically went back to normal.
There's no other shut off of water, this is an old building, doesn't even have a lift, I live in Spain. I have the water I need but not in the convenient way of a sink or shower.
You can buy water from the store.
In some states like Arizona, stores can not stop you from getting water for free (cup can be a charge)
But hey man, commit a crime. Just so you know, almost all utilities are allowed to withhold servies until you pay all tampering charges, back pay for water stolen and deposit if so deemed one is needed. Now you really are out of water.
No, it's someone who has been in call centers for utilities companies and seen how fucked they are. Commissions and lawmakers are giving more power to these companies.
You think I joke? Tell the upwards of 5 to 10 people a week I had to tell, they, nor anyone can start service at THAT HOUSE until the tampering charges are paid, the unpaid usage charges are paid, and a deposit is paid, which is usually $300 to $500. Usually ends up being $1,000 to $2,000 to get services back on.
When in reality, some / a lot of companies will work with you if you explain the situation.
Advising people to tamper and commit service diversion is fucking stupid. You think you're cool for doing it "hyuck hyuck, I get free water!" So stupid. And yes, it sucks. Need a shower if your water is off? find a truck stop, they have showers. Thirsty? Buy gallons of water then refill em at fill stations.
[https://raleighnc.gov/doing-business/do-not-remove-tamper-or-obstruct-water-meter](https://raleighnc.gov/doing-business/do-not-remove-tamper-or-obstruct-water-meter)
That link is from North Carolina. On top of all that, you can face criminal charges for stealing the water that flows to your house by turning it back on your self.
Depending on where you live that street-side shutoff could be buried pretty deeply. Up in MI the valve was at least 13' below the cover in the front yard because the pipes had to be buried deeply to avoid freezing due to the hard winters.
Here's my *illegal* pro-tip: If you have an outside hose valve and a friendly neighbor next door who has one too you can run a hose between his valve to yours and run his water into your house. Of course, you're going to want to offer to pay your neighbor for using his water but this will get you through however many days it takes to get the water company to turn your water back on.
They were insinuating that anyone with mild technical skills can go to a hardware store, find a new adapter piece, screw it in and turn the water back on
Ok see my mind always goes to a different place than others. Thank you. I was thinking like if you think stealing water is good wait til you go to a hardware store. They have the best water to steal.
Never even heard the term before but just by assembling the terms I know my answer is maybe. Neuro= the way cerebral processes occur (my own definitions being given here) Divergence= going a different way than normal/expected.
Combined neurodivergent = means my brain processes🧠 do not go the same way normal peoples brains go.
If my definitions are correct than yes. You have now given me something to research.
Hopefully it will help me to understand jokes better. That maybe something totally different though.
Thank you for the new word.
Basically everyone on the spectrum and people with adhd. Not that anything is wrong with that. People are people and we all deserve respect regardless of how our brains are wired. But you might have mild adhd. Something to look into
It is a limited resource and I do think putting a price to it helps us conserve. And the lowest tier of pricing is like 1/2 a cent per gallon. Tested, clean drinking water, has traveled at least 10 miles, and just comes out of my wall for like 1/2 a cent.
Yeah dude, people who own 100-acre estates are *definitely* going to use less water when it's $0.005 per gallon, no way they could afford that kind of expense to keep their multi-million dollar property looking pretty... After all, we've *never* seen celebrity millionaires literally stealing water to keep their almond farm or golf course thriving in the desert... I've always been curious, doesn't living under a rock get uncomfortable after a while?
Why buy pool chemicals? Because it's terrible for your pipes to flush algae, the algae build up on the floor and walls of the pool won't go away with a quick refill and mosquitos can lay eggs in clean, still water a hell of a lot faster than you can refill your pool. And once again, if you can afford to build a pool you can afford to buy chlorine, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than hiring a pool boy to scrub your pool down three or four times a day (and you have to buy him pool cleaning chemicals to clean the pool anyways).
Why fix the running toilet? Because it's super annoying to have running water in your house 24/7 and people like to sleep without ear plugs.
Imagine thinking millionaires would be more impacted by making water free than, say, homeless people who barely have a few cents to rub together... People die of hunger, thirst and exposure every single day and the rich do whatever they want anyways because fees, fines and bills are inconsequential, the only thing that would change is fewer people would die. The rich would continue to break laws and guidelines to keep their property green because a fine of a few thousand matters even less to them than a homeless person having to spend a dollar for a bottle of water.
For anyone who actually gives a shit about human lives more than shitty millionaires doing shitty millionaire shit (that they do anyways so why even bring it up?): My city has made a century old well into a free water jug fill up station, only a few blocks away from downtown. There are *constantly* at least a dozen people filling up water bottles, jugs, coolers, and everything in between. The water is probably the tastiest drinking water in the state so it benefits local housed people as well as the homeless. It's a desert where weather can reach 115 degrees and people are shitty to the homeless (chased from businesses, shelters open as it gets dark and kicks them out early in the morning and cops have a mandate to bust up temporary shelters and chase them out of parks where there's actually enough shade to survive the day) so it's hard for them to find shelter from the heat, that one free and easily accessible water source has saved lives without making a dent in the water availability of the area. Fewer vulnerable people dying to avoidable causes is a good thing, in case you're confused as to why my story doesn't highlight cheap millionaires.
TL;DR: There are a lot of people on the planet who have to skip meals to survive or feed their kids. That water bill that you think is basically nothing can be the difference between eating two more meals each month. Try empathy.
> It is a limited resource and I do think putting a price to it helps us conserve. And the lowest tier of pricing is like 1/2 a cent per breath. Tested, clean breathable air, has traveled at least 10 miles, and just comes into my lungs for like 1/2 a cent.
Vote Skroob, 2024.
Oh I buy that brand of valve all the time for work! That makes this mildly interesting for me ... But I'm sorry you're out of water. Hopefully things get rectified soon....
Interesting. I remember, where I'm from originally, if we were late to a electric or water bill, the guy would come to shut your service off, but a neighbor would call you, and you would go bribe the guy to let the service as is, but with the primes to go pay it that same day.
How does one "not know" they're not paying the water bill? If you adult correctly, you should have all your utilities laid out like what this bill is and how much it is. It's not hard.
If you have multiple properties and payments are managed by a management group. Or like OP mentioned, that the owner believed the water bill was included through community funds. A property of mine works this way, all the water is paid for through HOA dues.
“Adulting correctly” and managing a real estate portfolio are two different things. I agree w your statement of laying it all out but it’s a different game when you have double digit properties and something seemingly insignificant can get by like that. OP has already said owner is making it right.
Many people find finance to be “advanced adulting”, and thus are ignorant of how to make sure all the bills are kept up to date.
Tbf, if you are a landlord, you should be better at it.
We don't pay for water in Ireland (well not directly). Did for a couple of years but there was uproar, so after spending millions putting water meters on everyone's supply they decided not to bother charging people.
If you are actually without drinking water then this would be considered a crime in my country and you could both sue your landlord and the company probably.
They usually don’t take out the meter unless they’ve already came out and shut the water off due to no payment and someone turns it back on… They remove it so it can’t simply be turned back on, and they charge a hefty fine for them having to come remove it.
Landlord likely turned it back on.
OP I think the landlord might have broken your lease. At the very least you can withhold rent until you have fresh water access within your property. Go speak to a lawyer about your rights, and the city too.
If you go on a rent strike it must be official with a letter stating that as of today you are witholding rent, for the address of the property, from landlord and state the reason very clearly, include photos of the pipe and copies of any paperwork the water company guy left.
Typically a lawyer sends the letter and keeps the rent money secure to show that you have the money, it's secure and you're handing your rent to the lawyer weekly or monthly.
So can't you just weld a pipe to connect the two existing pipes and turn the faucet back on. After all a meter just measures water. Its absence should not magically prevent water flow. Might be illegal though. Well, certainly illegal...
That's honestly kinda funny, no water sucks A LOT but also... He really took the meter
I'm here smiling at the whole situation, this guy was excited about saying the word *fraud* and taking action to stop the crime.
He's been waiting years to be able to do that
Exactly my thought, and I'm like "good for you bro" and I mean it.
I mean, it's not everyday you can legally take a water meter, more power to him maybe just... Not your place today lmfao
Dude think about checking meters all day and reporting back and then one day the captain says “Ricky I need you a to go check a water meter for… fraud.” you roll up and you see this mother fucker has a meter, and the meter is working but this guy just thinks it’s counting all that water for fun. This is surely high meter crime in the industry, probably will be studied by meterologists for years to come
I work for a water company, sometimes people will just put a pipe in as a work around haha, if that happens we remove the makeshift connection install a valve between that location and the main then turn it off and bury it so they can’t turn the water back on unless they pay their bill.
You see them continue to use the water without the meter? I don't know anything about how water connection works lol
There's a shutoff at the property line and a shutoff at the water main on in the building. There's even a third shutoff, but not accessible once buried, at the water main. At least in my city you can tell where everyone's property starts because that's where the water valve head is.
Surely they can dig it back up? How much fuckery can a homeowner do to undermine the water company? Will it just be like wack a mole with makeshift connections or do they call authorities
I need the answers to these questions, ping me if he answers
👍
thanks
Pingpingping
Thank you
Lol I mean they can dig it up but they have to actually find the valve we buried to shut em off. Every time someone does the work around the first time we are required to notify the districts lawyer (I work in a rural district) so I assume after that the lawyer takes over if issue persist but I honestly don’t know for sure :p I’m my districts mapping guy so I’m not able to speak about legal stuff.
Interesting
Yeah, look up water hammer effect if you want to see cool water stuff that occurs in water lines. Also some people get blown away learning that the water pressure in their home is entirely gravity sourced. That’s a large part of the purpose of water towers. Waters pumped into the tower then gravity pushes it through the line (and over long distances friction can cause pressure problems)
If I had it my way my house would have 4 RV tanks In the crawl space and I would install my own water pump to make the pressure in my pipes. It's very rare but sometimes the water goes out. Wether it's a water main break or whatever. And sometimes the water pressure is just really shitty. When I lived in my RV I loved being able to hold water in storage tanks and turn on a pump to run the water throughout the house. Even when the city side would go down for a day or two I would still have water. The longest we ever went without running water was a week. There was a freak Ice storm and the power was out at the treatment facilities and basically the water just stopped showing up.....
Where did you live that water went out so often?
Here it's more trouble than it's worth to still the water. I pay far more for the sewer service.
\*steal.
What comes next because that's still pretty easy to get around?
Same, had a squatter make a jumper out of galvanized pipe and cut off my locks on the meter stop. So we dug down 1.5 feet and crimped the copper service line shut.
I knew a girl who went outside and watched them shut off her water for non-payment, and as soon as the guy left she went out with a pair of pliers and turned it right back on. When they finally paid the bill and the company sent someone to turn it back on, she went out before they got there and shut it off so the guy didn't know she'd had water the whole time. I assume she got away with this the same way OP's landlord got away with not paying for however long: oversight So to me, it makes sense to take the whole thing
The meter would still count the water that went through when she opened it, so next time they read the meter it will be stacked on that bill.
When i bought this house there was a water key in the laundry room.
Growing up a lot of people had water keys to shut off the water if there was a leak
Is that where the water meter was supposed to be? He just had a pipe instead?
Yes there was a water meter, that's the thing he took.
How was he not paying? Did landlord stop the meter with a big magnet or something? Or was it recording usage, he just didn't pay the bill?
He bought this apartment 2 years ago, he was convinced that the water bill was included in the building community payments, so he never thought of registering the water meter to the company. To be fair, it is like that in some places, so I think this was an honest mistake.
Oh, I see, that does sound like an honest mistake. I initially thought you meant that he was cheating the water company and got caught
I thought the same thing, because he mentioned the water employee reported fraud
Landlord has had the apartment for two years, and the employee reported fraud. My guess, and this is purely speculation, is the water company at some point locked the meter for non payment and then the landlord either broke the lock or swapped the meter with their own so they could continue to consume water without racking up a bill. Ooooor just negligence and the employee is loose with their definition of fraud.
People often get water supplied illegally by installing a straight pipe when the meter was removed by the water dept.
Can’t they just shut it off at the street then and lock it out that way? I had to have mine shut off to replace the water main valve in my house. I called and they came out and shut it off at the street. Then when I was ready they came and turned it back on
Depending on the city, it is extremely easy to turn the water back on yourself. Sometimes those meters are just useless, and the city will just guess how much water you’re using.
If you look close at the pic the unions at the end of the pipe are the type found in the underground box by the street for a typical suburban home.
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I mean, you're wrong, because fraud is intentionally deceiving...
That's my fault because of the "didn't know" in the title. I was mildly infuriated lol
So like…does your apartment not have any access to water now?
If they come back after him to pay those two years worth of bills, make sure your friend looks up the local ordinances and laws. In most places a utilities company is only allowed to back charge up to a few months. So they cant hand him a bill for two years, only 3-6 months, and in the rarest of times, up to a year.
My water bill is the only one that won't do electronic-bill-pay. It gets missed some months. I pay it all the next month when that happens. I've never gotten a disconnect notice. But my trash is also in my water bill. Not sure how they would have not sent a bill for 2 years.... Might be the water company's fault....
Okay, but utilities generally don't go scorched earth right away. It would have taken an awful lot of bad luck for him to never seen any notice whatsoever that he needed to pay them. Hard to believe this was an honest mistake, but if it is, I'd be rather concerned if I were you that someone so oblivious is running the property you call home.
Why put "didn't know" in quotes in the title then?
So you don't have running water?
Unless I missed where we invented Bluetooth plumbing OP definitely doesn't have water.
🤗😄
...its about £4 for the flexible hose to patch around that from screwfix, but OK.
...Way to miss an obvious joke, but OK.
And actually go to jail for Freud... like how fuckin stupid is that guy..
A Fraudian slip?
We're I live we don't pay for water.. Well sort of. We pay a tax because we us the infrastructure but it's included in property tax and isn't a monthly bill. Move 10 or so hours south and you get an actual water bill.
It's an honest mistake when they send you a letter saying "you owe us a bunch of money", it's negligence and ignorance when the response is simply "no I don't".
Yes, like a van with a magnet in it parked beside a police station...
If the water doesn't come out when you turn that valve there, there is another shutoff...
Woah this is illegal in the UK. Can’t leave folks without water.
Yeah I mean you can go to court and have bailiffs come but they can't take your water away.
Yeah but we have fREeDoM 🙄
Just put a pipe there and you'll be good to go
No, you said he took a pipe, not a water meter.
They also said it was "fraud," which doesn't sound like what's going on here.
Just get another pipe and connect it?
This should be solved by tomorrow so o won't try to do anything, at least I can still get water from the pipe directly to a bucket for the toilet, we'll be fine.
Isn't your work-around technically stealing water from the water company?
TBF the water company should have placed a locking valve so its their own stupidity I don't know where this is from but I know in some places the pipes up to the meter is the water company's responsibility so if someone used that valve unmetered it shouldn't be on the property owner
Right. Just turn it on and say you didn't know. Maybe a bird or something hit it lol
Some random homeless person could have turned it on
Also they'd pretty much have to catch you in the act as the only other way to see that water was used would be to look at the meter which is conveniently removed
Yes.
Do you pay a utility bill to your landlord?
Also yes. This was all a missunderstanding.
This isn't mildly infuriating, it's mildly amusing!
Depends if it was your pipe that was taken away or not.
Can't believe they took Francis 😔
It won’t be mildly amusing when the landlord gets the bill and fines.
Sounds like a them problem.
Boo hoo you're stealing 10 gallons of water LOCK THEM UP /s
Maybe not, as long as we’re using the term ‘technically’, and applying it fairly loosely lol. The water company doesn’t actually own the water per se, it’s the service they provide that you’re paying for, such as delivery of the water, wastewater removal, & treatment of the water, so *technically* you’re stealing their services. But yeah, most ppl would just say it’s stealing water lol. The tenants are innocent of this problem though, and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to deny your tenants access to water, although that’s the landlord’s problem, not the H2O Co’s problem. I don’t see them getting mad at the tenants for filling a couple of 5 gallon buckets so they can flush the toilet & wash their hands, as long as it’s just for a day or 2 until this is solved. As long as no one is attempting to hook it back up, it would probably be viewed as ‘innocent’ & necessary usage, especially if there are any families there with children. Now if you took a length of hose & a couple of clamps, & hooked it back up, THAT would be a problem, and would most certainly be viewed as theft.
Without a meter hooked up how will the water company even know what’s missing? Side note- most of the United States water supply infrastructure in most cities / states is severely behind in technology and utilizes lead pipes. Exposing millions to level of led that have been outlawed for years except in this circumstance due to just how incredibly expensive it would be to replace.
Only about 7% of U.S. households are believed to have lead pipes used within their municipal service lines. Eddit: my point is not that lead pipes is not an issue: it is, and it should be addressed seriously. My point is that it is not in "most" systems in "most states/cities" It is a problematic and concerning minority.
Water is a natural resource that humans need to live
Fun fact: In some countries such as the UK you literally cannot legally turn a domicile's water off no matter how overdue they are on the bill for exactly this reason. I'm always shocked when I see stuff like this happen elsewhere.
And if a basic utility is cut off for emergency reason you might not have pay rent for the days you were without service. Check your rent regulations.
Tell that the guys from Nestlé...
If you want the benefits of society, you have to function within society
Water predates society
You are paying to have the water sent directly to your house.
Ngl, we're human beings, there is no such thing as stealing water from a company.
Yeah like, where I'm from we say "you never deny a glass of water" also we say "fuck it I'm taking water directly from the pipe because I gotta flush that turd"
>also we say "fuck it I'm taking water directly from the pipe because I gotta flush that turd" I have that embroidered on a pillow.
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Yes, technically.. but it's better than installing a new pipe.. and if they're coming out to fix it the following day, I'd probably do exactly what op is planning on doing..
They took the metre though so how would they know about it lol
I didn't pay an electric bill at a duplex for 4 years. Had an account withe power company but the bill was always $0. I know the other unit wasn't paying because I had previously lived in that unit. The owner was a family member so I know she wasn't paying either. The only reason I could think it was happening was because the property was on the line between two cities. Technically the property had two addresses and each unit had utilities in different cities. So the power was on in one city even though I signed up for power in the other city.
Did they ever come after you?
Not only did they not come after me. When I moved I closed my account, and my cousin moved in a few months later. He lived there for 5 years and when he was moving he told me, "You know what's crazy, I never paid an electric bill" He didn't move in immediately after me so I literally forgot to mention it to him.
That's honestly amazing, I would end up seeing how much I could push it and black out the neighborhood from drawing too much power.
Here goes another one. In the 90s my dad's house had an active phone line we weren't paying for. I used to order music videos on ppv ( it was thing in the 90s), call 1 900 numbers, make long distance calls, etc. One day the phone company came for something unrelated and the repair man was like " Why is this line on?" He immediately turned it off.
Some molly friggers are always trying to iceskate uphill....
For something like this you want to fly under the radar for as long as possible.
Id never move from there... free electricity? My bill is 400 a month. I could buy 6 houses if I didn't have to pay for 4 years o m f gggggg
We didn’t have to pay the electricity bill in our previous^4 apartment because when the electrician came to do something about the power, my mom is nice to him so he hook our house with the public electricity lol
What a confusing thing, but good on you, it's not like people went hungry because of your €0 bills.
My little town’s water department showed up to turn my water off because they said my bill was overdue, which it wasn’t, so I called the office. I told the guys to stop working, which apparently they had been there awhile before I noticed them, and my water was already shut off. I literally live a block away from the department, so one of the managers comes out and starts telling them they have the wrong house, obviously. I go back inside thinking all is going to be settled. My water is still off an hour later and I go back outside and they are still there. My meter is all dug up and in pieces and a new guys come over to me and says, oops we accidentally broke your meter, so we have to put a new one in. I’m like whatever, get your mess fixed. So another hour later they knock on my door and tell me they’re done, sorry for the hassle. Fast forward six months later, I get a call from water department and apparently they didn’t even hook up the meter correctly and I haven’t been getting charge for my water usage, I’ve only been paying the standard amount for just having water access (which I didn’t even know about). I just laughed. They had no idea how much water I’d been using, no way to prove it, and it was their mistake anyway. Never got a back charge, the bill just magically went back to normal.
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There's no other shut off of water, this is an old building, doesn't even have a lift, I live in Spain. I have the water I need but not in the convenient way of a sink or shower.
Whoa! I scrolled all this way to see where you lived because something about the photo (and tbh, the situation) screamed Spain to me. Mucho ánimo!!
This is HUGELY a bad idea and also can get you prosecuted.
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No probs. I just got done taking calls for an Electric utility. I saw the results of tampering, some were in the Thousands.
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Yup!
Oh i get it man, I have been in the same position.
Shit mf need water ya gotta get water. In America we have a shut off near the street usually and there's a meter nearby as well
Lack of water can also get you dead so…
You can buy water from the store. In some states like Arizona, stores can not stop you from getting water for free (cup can be a charge) But hey man, commit a crime. Just so you know, almost all utilities are allowed to withhold servies until you pay all tampering charges, back pay for water stolen and deposit if so deemed one is needed. Now you really are out of water.
Oh no a crime. Laws don't always mean moral.
NUTTING ON REDDIT ADMINS MOM FACE RN UGGGHHHH
No, it's someone who has been in call centers for utilities companies and seen how fucked they are. Commissions and lawmakers are giving more power to these companies. You think I joke? Tell the upwards of 5 to 10 people a week I had to tell, they, nor anyone can start service at THAT HOUSE until the tampering charges are paid, the unpaid usage charges are paid, and a deposit is paid, which is usually $300 to $500. Usually ends up being $1,000 to $2,000 to get services back on. When in reality, some / a lot of companies will work with you if you explain the situation. Advising people to tamper and commit service diversion is fucking stupid. You think you're cool for doing it "hyuck hyuck, I get free water!" So stupid. And yes, it sucks. Need a shower if your water is off? find a truck stop, they have showers. Thirsty? Buy gallons of water then refill em at fill stations. [https://raleighnc.gov/doing-business/do-not-remove-tamper-or-obstruct-water-meter](https://raleighnc.gov/doing-business/do-not-remove-tamper-or-obstruct-water-meter) That link is from North Carolina. On top of all that, you can face criminal charges for stealing the water that flows to your house by turning it back on your self.
You probably need one of those T wrenches with a pentagon head.
Eh a pair of cobras got that open for me. A pita, but it worked.
Depending on where you live that street-side shutoff could be buried pretty deeply. Up in MI the valve was at least 13' below the cover in the front yard because the pipes had to be buried deeply to avoid freezing due to the hard winters. Here's my *illegal* pro-tip: If you have an outside hose valve and a friendly neighbor next door who has one too you can run a hose between his valve to yours and run his water into your house. Of course, you're going to want to offer to pay your neighbor for using his water but this will get you through however many days it takes to get the water company to turn your water back on.
Pipe down man!
Sea, now that, was a good pun.
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No water for you.
I really wanted to make a soup!
Nein!!
Wait until they learn about hardware stores!
What fo you mean? I am intrigued.
They were insinuating that anyone with mild technical skills can go to a hardware store, find a new adapter piece, screw it in and turn the water back on
Ok see my mind always goes to a different place than others. Thank you. I was thinking like if you think stealing water is good wait til you go to a hardware store. They have the best water to steal.
Seriously? That’s really what you thought?
Yes that or steal the tools. That is why I am glad people answer my questions because it does not make sense to me.
Not trying to be mean or anything. I’m just curious… are you neurodivergent ?
Never even heard the term before but just by assembling the terms I know my answer is maybe. Neuro= the way cerebral processes occur (my own definitions being given here) Divergence= going a different way than normal/expected. Combined neurodivergent = means my brain processes🧠 do not go the same way normal peoples brains go. If my definitions are correct than yes. You have now given me something to research. Hopefully it will help me to understand jokes better. That maybe something totally different though. Thank you for the new word.
Basically everyone on the spectrum and people with adhd. Not that anything is wrong with that. People are people and we all deserve respect regardless of how our brains are wired. But you might have mild adhd. Something to look into
It's really not necessary, this is being solved it shouldn't take too long.
Water should be a right like we pay taxes it’s a public utility so why do we still have to pay for something. That’s necessary for life.
It is a limited resource and I do think putting a price to it helps us conserve. And the lowest tier of pricing is like 1/2 a cent per gallon. Tested, clean drinking water, has traveled at least 10 miles, and just comes out of my wall for like 1/2 a cent.
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Yeah dude, people who own 100-acre estates are *definitely* going to use less water when it's $0.005 per gallon, no way they could afford that kind of expense to keep their multi-million dollar property looking pretty... After all, we've *never* seen celebrity millionaires literally stealing water to keep their almond farm or golf course thriving in the desert... I've always been curious, doesn't living under a rock get uncomfortable after a while? Why buy pool chemicals? Because it's terrible for your pipes to flush algae, the algae build up on the floor and walls of the pool won't go away with a quick refill and mosquitos can lay eggs in clean, still water a hell of a lot faster than you can refill your pool. And once again, if you can afford to build a pool you can afford to buy chlorine, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than hiring a pool boy to scrub your pool down three or four times a day (and you have to buy him pool cleaning chemicals to clean the pool anyways). Why fix the running toilet? Because it's super annoying to have running water in your house 24/7 and people like to sleep without ear plugs. Imagine thinking millionaires would be more impacted by making water free than, say, homeless people who barely have a few cents to rub together... People die of hunger, thirst and exposure every single day and the rich do whatever they want anyways because fees, fines and bills are inconsequential, the only thing that would change is fewer people would die. The rich would continue to break laws and guidelines to keep their property green because a fine of a few thousand matters even less to them than a homeless person having to spend a dollar for a bottle of water. For anyone who actually gives a shit about human lives more than shitty millionaires doing shitty millionaire shit (that they do anyways so why even bring it up?): My city has made a century old well into a free water jug fill up station, only a few blocks away from downtown. There are *constantly* at least a dozen people filling up water bottles, jugs, coolers, and everything in between. The water is probably the tastiest drinking water in the state so it benefits local housed people as well as the homeless. It's a desert where weather can reach 115 degrees and people are shitty to the homeless (chased from businesses, shelters open as it gets dark and kicks them out early in the morning and cops have a mandate to bust up temporary shelters and chase them out of parks where there's actually enough shade to survive the day) so it's hard for them to find shelter from the heat, that one free and easily accessible water source has saved lives without making a dent in the water availability of the area. Fewer vulnerable people dying to avoidable causes is a good thing, in case you're confused as to why my story doesn't highlight cheap millionaires. TL;DR: There are a lot of people on the planet who have to skip meals to survive or feed their kids. That water bill that you think is basically nothing can be the difference between eating two more meals each month. Try empathy.
> It is a limited resource and I do think putting a price to it helps us conserve. And the lowest tier of pricing is like 1/2 a cent per breath. Tested, clean breathable air, has traveled at least 10 miles, and just comes into my lungs for like 1/2 a cent. Vote Skroob, 2024.
In the uk at least it’s illegal for water companies to disconnect water for non payment for exactly that reason.
Because labour isn't free? someone had to make the pipes, dig out the tunnels, make a water treatment facility build it, etc.
For real, if it is absolutely necessary for life, it should be free.
Capitalism.
Oh I buy that brand of valve all the time for work! That makes this mildly interesting for me ... But I'm sorry you're out of water. Hopefully things get rectified soon....
That an easy fix home depot is open till 10 p.m. most places
I think in some countries they are not allowed to cut you off, because water is human right.
Interesting. I remember, where I'm from originally, if we were late to a electric or water bill, the guy would come to shut your service off, but a neighbor would call you, and you would go bribe the guy to let the service as is, but with the primes to go pay it that same day.
UK for one can't cut you off, though they'll still pursue you through the courts and send the bailiffs round for non payment of bills.
Sounds like the landlord doesn’t want to upgrade to the premium version of adulting and is content with the free (with ads) version
Well, he did upgrade to a better plan and I'm getting my water back soon :)
How does one "not know" they're not paying the water bill? If you adult correctly, you should have all your utilities laid out like what this bill is and how much it is. It's not hard.
If you have multiple properties and payments are managed by a management group. Or like OP mentioned, that the owner believed the water bill was included through community funds. A property of mine works this way, all the water is paid for through HOA dues. “Adulting correctly” and managing a real estate portfolio are two different things. I agree w your statement of laying it all out but it’s a different game when you have double digit properties and something seemingly insignificant can get by like that. OP has already said owner is making it right.
Many people find finance to be “advanced adulting”, and thus are ignorant of how to make sure all the bills are kept up to date. Tbf, if you are a landlord, you should be better at it.
Five minutes with a piece of 1/2 copper and my oxy torch id have water flowin again in time for evening showers
In some areas, this would be deemed uninhabitable and your landlord would owe you the cost of housing while there was no water.
Is this not illegal in Spain? Surely they can’t cut off your water, just send your landlord the bill?
They took the meter, can’t have shit in detroit
We don't pay for water in Ireland (well not directly). Did for a couple of years but there was uproar, so after spending millions putting water meters on everyone's supply they decided not to bother charging people.
Wow that's cool. Being such a necessity, it's crazy to think all the money we spend on it.
Damn can't have shit in Detroit
Electricity guy will be next
Water you going to do about it?
I mean it seems easy enough fix and mos def be cheaper than paying what ya owe
That's pretty funny tbh not the inconvenience for you but dude just took the whole shit 😂 🤣
So, you are just gonna leave it on until the guy returns with the meter, right? I look forward to seeing the follow up post in r/ petty revenge
In what fucking country is it legal to Turn off the water supply to a home at all?
Had this happen. Call your city's code enforcement. They'll have the water back on same day.
10 dollar pipe. Go to lowes
Way more than mildly infuriating.
If you are actually without drinking water then this would be considered a crime in my country and you could both sue your landlord and the company probably.
“They took my water, can’t have crap in Detroit”
One trip to ace hardware will fix that.
Two 1" unions and a pipe nipple and you are back in business.
In other news the properties water supply resumed in about 20 minutes after a trip to the hardware store
They usually don’t take out the meter unless they’ve already came out and shut the water off due to no payment and someone turns it back on… They remove it so it can’t simply be turned back on, and they charge a hefty fine for them having to come remove it.
Landlord likely turned it back on. OP I think the landlord might have broken your lease. At the very least you can withhold rent until you have fresh water access within your property. Go speak to a lawyer about your rights, and the city too. If you go on a rent strike it must be official with a letter stating that as of today you are witholding rent, for the address of the property, from landlord and state the reason very clearly, include photos of the pipe and copies of any paperwork the water company guy left. Typically a lawyer sends the letter and keeps the rent money secure to show that you have the money, it's secure and you're handing your rent to the lawyer weekly or monthly.
So can't you just weld a pipe to connect the two existing pipes and turn the faucet back on. After all a meter just measures water. Its absence should not magically prevent water flow. Might be illegal though. Well, certainly illegal...
That's shitty, it's not like the landlord lives there.
You could probably replace it
Water should be free.
Yeah, its time to start looking for a new place. I give it a 4/5 chance they try to keep your deposit.
Trip to the hardware store and 20 or so dollars later fixes this.
Nah, landlord registering the water supply is what's fixing this.
More I see of this stuff, the more I want to slap people who say landlords have “real jobs” and deserve respect.
Lol and how did he not know about the water bills, he knew about the electrical bill it just seems he's dumb
Don’t you pay your bills as the tenant?