Latest news with #overcharge
CTV News
02-08-2025
- General
- CTV News
Chicago woman billed more than US$233,000 for water she never used in vacant home with no plumbing
A Chicago woman was billed US$233,000 for water she never used in a vacant home with no plumbing. WBBM via CNN Newsource A senior citizen's vacant home in the Back of the Yards neighbourhood racked up a staggering $233,000 water bill, despite not having any plumbing for years. Diane Carli, 82, said the city of Chicago is threatening to garnish her pension, and she's looking for help because the Water Department isn't backing down on an outrageous bill she says is clearly an error. You don't need 20/20 vision to see this house in the Back of Yards neighbourhood is abandoned. 'It's gutted. … There's nothing in there,' Carli said. It has sat vacant for years, with no plumbing. Diane inherited the childhood property of her late husband in 2017. In December 2024, the city contacted her, telling her a new water meter needed to be installed. 'Why would you need to come in when there's no water there, and I'm not asking for water,' she said. She allowed the city to install a meter, and within six months she got a water bill that was out of this world. 'I said, 'A bill for what?' And they said for water,' she said. Despite the vacant home having no plumbing, she's been billed for $233,439.90 since the city installed the meter. 'This is unbelievable. This is totally wrong,' she said. After the meter was installed, the Water Department said she used more than 500,000 gallons. They have placed her account in collections, and threatened to garnish her pension. 'I'm slow, I'm dumb, whatever you want to call me, but it's going to take an Einstein to figure this s*** out. I don't care what you say,' she said. Her daughter, Lisa, went to City Hall to fight the bill, with no luck. 'As soon as you touched our property and made entry into our property, now we have water bill of $233,000,' Lisa said. The family turned to Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) for help, but he couldn't get the Water Department to back down. 'The most we got was yesterday, they said, 'Well, we'll take off $25,000 in penalties for late charges,'' he said. 'I've never in my lifetime seen a bill like that,' Diane said. For years, CBS News Chicago has uncovered countless Chicagoans who all got hosed by outrageous bills for water they never used, and it continues. 'One would think that, after six years of seeing your stories on Getting Hosed, people within the Water Department, people within the Law Department, and people within Finance would understands mistakes happen,' Lopez said. 'They're going to put me in the grave with this, because what do I do?' Diane said. The city recently came back and replaced Diane's water meter, which is registering zero water usage. Lopez and the family are fighting the city to eliminate the entire bill. Diane is far from alone with her water bill woes. For years, CBS News Chicago has reported on this issue with our Getting Hosed series, leading to the Chicago City Council approving a water bill relief program last year.
Wall Street Journal
26-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Fast-Tracks Deregulatory Push at Consumer-Protection Bureau
WASHINGTON—In the final months of the Biden administration, the nation's largest credit union agreed to refund $80 million to U.S. service members and their families the government said it had illegally overcharged. Under President Trump, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which had reached the settlement agreement with Navy Federal Credit Union, dropped the case. Now the credit union is no longer required to refund cash to members of the military it had previously agreed to reimburse.
Malay Mail
26-07-2025
- Malay Mail
Singapore Grab driver suspended for charging RM16 ‘VIP' fee after passenger requests air-con
SINGAPORE, July 26 — A Grab driver has been suspended in Singapore after charging a passenger an additional S$5 (RM16) for 'VIP treatment' — simply because the passenger asked to turn on the air-conditioning during a ride. The incident, reported by Stomp yesterday, took place on May 18 when a commuter, only known as Dominic, booked a Grab ride from Orchard to Bencoolen. 'During the journey, I asked the driver to turn on the air-conditioning,' Dominic told Stomp. 'He did so without comment, only to message me after the trip via the Grab app, stating that he had added a S$5 charge for 'VIP treatment'.' According to Dominic, the surcharge was never discussed or agreed upon. 'It was imposed entirely at the driver's discretion, with no transparency or consent on my part,' he said. 'It sets a worrying precedent if passengers can be subject to arbitrary fees after a trip has ended.' He also shared a screenshot of his reply to the driver, which read: 'You overcharged me S$5. I am reporting you to Grab.' The driver then responded with a curt message: 'Aircon number 3 u think u what VIP?' In response to queries from Stomp, Grab said it had taken swift action. 'We are sorry about the unpleasant experience this passenger encountered,' said a Grab spokesman. 'It is against our driver-partner code of conduct to impose additional charges unless there is a valid reason — such as extra stops beyond the initial booking or for additional child seats.' 'A request to adjust the air-conditioning should not have incurred a fee,' the spokesman added. 'The driver-partner's actions are not reflective of the standards we hold, nor of the vast majority of our driver-partners.' Grab confirmed that the driver's account has been temporarily suspended and a full refund has been issued to the passenger.
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
EE customers urged to check bills as thousands have been overcharged
EE customers are being urged to check their bills after thousands were overcharged while on holiday. The telecoms firm hit customers travelling to the EU with double roaming charges this summer, The Sun can reveal. 1 EE said the billing error affected customers for a "short period" at the beginning of June, but The Sun has seen customer examples being hit with double charges in May too. Customers without roaming included in their plans pay a daily charge of £2.59 when using their EE devices in Europe, but the error increased it to £5.18 per day. Scores of customers have complained about the issue online, affecting trips to EU destinations including Italy, France, Spain and Belgium. One said: "Just returned home from holiday abroad to find that on five occasions I had been charged £5.18 daily roaming charges by EE . "Spent nearly two hours in their chat, they are aware of the problem, but they still charge. Check your bills!" While another added: "I have been charged double on two phones for a daily charge in France. "I have spoken to three separate EE helpers who agree I have been double charged and you have taken over £32 too much. EE told The Sun refunds started going out yesterday, July 8, with all customers being refunded by the end of this week. It noted that the process has taken longer than expected to ensure accuracy, but that customers are being contacted via text and phone calls. Brits will always have mobile phone & internet signal at home after tech breakthrough that beats Elon Musk's Starlink It added that affected customers won't need to do anything and will receive a full refund automatically. However, if any doubts, check your bills and reach out to EE directly. Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "It's always worth checking your bills. It's easily overlooked, especially when you have automated payments, but it's the only way to keep on top of potential errors. "If you have travelled overseas recently and paid a roaming charge, it's worth checking whether you were billed what you were expecting. "If not, get in touch with your mobile provider, and ask for it to be credited to your account." A spokesperson for regulator Ofcom added: "Any customers that think they were affected by these billing errors, but have not yet been refunded, should contact EE directly." Ofcom rules require that bills are accurate and customers are not overcharged. Providers must give customers, on request, and at no extra charge, access to adequate and up-to-date billing information that allows them to monitor their usage and expenditure. Providers also need to have processes to deal with incorrect charges, and take action to correct overcharging. The spokesperson added: "Where we see evidence of errors occurring, we will consider appropriate action." It fined rival O2 £10.5million in 2023 for overcharging customers, while GiffGaff was fined £1.4million in 2019 and EE was hit with a £2.7million fine in 2017. An EE spokesperson told The Sun: "We identified an isolated roaming charge issue which impacted a small cohort of customers using their devices in the EU zone. "This issue has been resolved, and all affected customers will be refunded automatically. "We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their patience while we put things right." How to cut roaming costs Plenty of firms have re-introduced roaming charges across Europe since Brexit, which can see costs add up fast. If your mobile phone contract does not include data roaming, you could be charged up to £6 per GB of data you use, according to price comparison website Uswitch. However, not all do and some have pledged to keep roaming free, meaning you won't have to pay extra to use your internet, minutes and texts while away. Today, 10 mobile networks still let you roam for free. These are: Asda Mobile BT Mobile GiffGaff iD Mobile Lebara O2 Plusnet Smarty Talkmobile Tesco Mobile Just last week, Three Mobile also brought back "inclusive" roaming for customers on certain plans. If you frequently travel in Europe, it could be worth switching providers. However, make sure to read the small print carefully as some still have a cap on free roaming meaning you may still be charged. It's also important to check whether you'll be hit with any exit fees before you switch. If you don't want to switch providers, EE offers roaming passes for a certain time period. Or you may be able to switch to a different plan which includes free roaming. Another way to make sure you don't overspend is through a "spending cap" that you can put in place with your provider. Most mobile phone companies in the UK give customers this option, though you'll need to set it up first. Simply tell your provider the maximum amount that you want to spend each month. Check what it includes and if data roaming is, it could stop you racking up a huge bill while jet-setting. How to avoid roaming charges Simrat Sharma, a mobiles expert at Uswitch, said switching to an eSIM - short for embedded SIM - can be cheaper than using international roaming. 'eSIMs make it easier to change networks," she said. "So for example, if you're abroad you can quickly connect to the local network to pay local rates - without having to add or swap a physical local SIM card for your device. "This means travel eSIMs are almost always cheaper than using international roaming, as users are effectively tapping into the same network plans as locals. If you're regularly switching numbers or travelling to different locations, you'll be able to keep them all safely in digital format rather than carrying around a number of small cards. 'The software can easily be accessed via your device's app store and uploaded to your phone in a few quick steps."
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Walmart shopper stunned after being hit with $25.68 receipt charge: 'Pay attention!'
A Walmart shopper was left stunned after being charged $23.99 for an item she did not purchase. Meegan Simon Diaville said the incident occurred during her weekly shop at a Walmart supercenter in Marksville, Los Angeles. Diaville assiduously checked her receipt in the car only to find that she had been charged $23.99 for an 'emoji sheet' which she had not added to her cart. The disgruntled shopper complained to the store's service counter about the overcharge only to be told 'these machines do crazy things.' The Walmart employee said the till likely double-charged her for the last item scanned. However, Diaville pointed out that the previous item, a pack of meat, was only $4.28. She also noted that the mystery sheet's item number did not even 'come up in the system.' 'Pay attention to your Walmart receipts!' Diaville warned others in a Facebook post. 'Thank goodness I'm observant and noticed a $23.99 charge that I knew I didn't pick up anything for that price,' Diaville wrote of her experience. She says she was refunded $25.68, the cost of the item and tax. Diaville was not alone in finding mysterious items and overcharges on her Walmart receipt. 'I found stuff like that often on my receipts, so now I only self-check and watch the screen to see what rings up as I scan,' one fed up consumer replied. 'Happened to me at dollar store by Walmart!' another added. 'I addressed it fast, only like a little over five dollars but got my money back. Check receipts.' Last March Walmart suffered a technical fault that prevented price data flowing to self-checkout kiosks in 1,600 stores across the US. The glitch resulted in customers being overcharged for thousands of everyday items. Meegan Simon Diaville (left) was stunned to find the mystery charge on her receipt Walmart has seen no end of issues stemming from its self checkout machines In a statement at the time Walmart said it 'made it a priority to refund customers who were overcharged.' One Walmart shopper was recently left so incensed by mistakes at a self-checkout machine that he called the police claiming he had 'been robbed.' Walmart has seen no end of issues stemming from its self checkout machines from crafty theft to card skimming scams. The retailer has begun pulling the machines from many of its stores as a result. The grocery giant also hopes a return to the traditional checkout system will improve the 'in-store experience' for customers.
