Hot news on the street in Ogden Valley. The word is that Lakeview Water Corporation
serving the Ski Lake area has been overcharging their customers for water
connection fees for years.
The information we have been able to gather is that the
previous owner of Lakeview Water overcharged most, if not all of the customers
of Lakeview Water $500 each above the approved tariff (rate) for water
connection fees than was approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The overcharges may go back to the early years of the Lakeside
Village development.
The information we have obtained is that the PSC approved water
connection fee for each customer was $1,000 until January 2008, when the fee
was increased in a rate case to $3,500 for each customer. Some customers told us their bills for the
connection fees reflected $1,500 up to the rate increase in 2008 and others
said it was $4,000 after January 2008. Each
customer noted the $500 overcharge on his or her connection fee.
The actual amount of customers affected is not known at this
time, but Lakeview Water Corporation serves over 200 customers. That indicates that the overcharges could
amount to more than $100,000 dollars.
Some Lakeview Water customers we spoke to say they noted
their own overcharges recently and requested a refund from the new owner of
Lakeview Water. They said they were either ignored or told that the statute of
limitations had expired and Lakeview Water did not have to refund the money. The
new owner is squealing like a mashed cat about the refund requests from his
customers.
What is known is the new owner of Lakeview Water and
Mountain Sewer purchased the two corporations, at a bargain basement price and
that that purchase included 66 lots in the Ski Lake area. Those 66 lots alone are
worth about $8,250,000 at $125,000 per lot. This is also the same guy that is
asking for a $1,300 special assessment from each customer in order to recoup
the money to pay for employees salaries at Mountain Sewer that the previous
owner did not pay before the sale. This special assessment is in addition to
the 159% increase in the sewer fees
7 comments:
It seems this new owner of Mountain Sewer and Lakeview Water is worse than the previous owner. He not only wants the customers to pay again for those Mountain Sewer bills left behind by the previous owners , he refuses to acknowledge or refund the $500 overcharge to his Lakeview Water customers made by his corporation.
Talk about a double standard.
I hear that this guy said he was going to save the Sewer Company. Don’t you wonder if the Valley will survive all these greedy businessmen who come up here and act they are doing
residents a favor while picking their pocket with their other hand.
The rumor is that this guy, Ray Bowden has already sold 15 of his 66 lots at about $125,000 each, so he has made at least cool $1,875,000 for his alleged $304,000 purchase price for everything, but he does not want to even talk about the $100 K of overcharges his corporation ripped off of his water customers.
We also hear that Bowden made this deal without doing any audit or due diligence prior to the sale. What kind of a fool would do that?
How greedy can you get at the expense of your neighbors? I hear the so called special assessment is made up of dollars for maintenance items and back pay for Mountain Sewer employees that should have been paid long ago by the previous owner. All this would have been found if he had even looked at the condition of the company before purchase.
Yes, we remember when the new owner came in and tried to pretend to be a nice guy and help the damaged customers of Mountain Sewer. That dog won't hunt anymore. He is a wolf in sheep's clothing and is out to get every penny he can from the customers.
I am one of the overcharged folks whose original letter sent within the 2 years of Statute of Limitations was received by PSC, but not from Lakeview. Hmmm. It took an informal complaint to get them to send me a letter from their lawyer in Ogden.
If he bought those 66 lots with his own money and is getting a great return on his investment, I'm actually happy for him. What he does in his personal life isn't my business. What IS my business is how he conducts HIS business. The more people he lights on fire with these poor business decisions will yield more backlash in the months to come this year. I'm involved now, whether I like it or not.
I think it is safe to say that anyone that makes a good deal honestly, no problem. When this guy uses a double standard to deny the refunds on overcharges from his corporation, but insists that he get paid for old business from the previous owner, it looks like we are not dealing with an honest business man.
NAKED GREED AND AVARICE
He and his slimy lawyer ("The Sultan of Sleaze") are sure to get a great reception when and if they move into the neighborhood they are in the process of royally screwing. He has apparently handled so many pieces of crap in his career that he has turned into one.
What is really sad about all this is that in 2007 the Lakeview Water corporation received an increase in the approved tariff amount for water connection fees from $1,000 to $3,500 for each customer. The case was heard in 2007 and the increase was made effective in January, 2008. The Lakeview Water Corporation has continued to add the $500 overcharge to the water connection fees after the new rate case was in effect through 2011.
The PSC oversight group is supposed to conduct an audit when a rate case is proposed. It appears no audit was conducted as required, or these overcharges would have been identified by the PSC staff in 2007.
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