News

Actions

Parma mother of child with Cerebral Palsy gets unexplainable water and sewer bills

Posted at 7:03 AM, Mar 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-29 17:58:03-04

On Your Side Investigators have been unveiling big problems Cleveland Water customers face with bad billing and poor customer service.

A mother in Parma, who's struggling on so many levels, is now up against unexplainable water and sewer bills.

Tears were falling down Quatellia Turner's face. Meanwhile, her water and sewer bills are piling up and she can't figure it out.

DROWNING IN DYSFUNCTION: Watch our 30-minute investigative special into the Cleveland Division of Water.

"What is ya'll doing? How are you going to shut my water off when I got a kid here?” she questioned.

That child she's taking care of uses a wheelchair.  She has Cerebral Palsy.

"There’s nobody here to help me out,” she said while tearing up.

Our On Your Side investigation has uncovered hundreds of complaints against Cleveland Water over billing practices. This is yet another example of an unexplained bill that has huge spikes in usage. A water department representative even went out to the house and found no leaks.

Investigation: Cleveland Water Department cover-up fails to disclose serious billing errors

"Exactly what he said was, 'you're not the only one complaining,'” said Frank Fragedakis, who is Turner's landlord.  He showed us the sewer bill for $800 and the water bill for $500.

He and Turner told me they went to the water department in downtown Cleveland asking questions about the bills, but all they got was rude treatment and zero help. "He said, ‘I can't do nothing about it. I'm sorry this is it,’” said Fragedakis.

And for him, there's another property he owns in Parma. That is winterized using no water and he got a bill for more than $300.

RELATED: Hidden cameras capture Cleveland water meter failure, creating $3,000 customer bill

"You feel terrible and you don't know what to do about it," said Fragedakis.

For Turner, it's about being treated fairly. She told us she knows she did not use $1,300 in water.

After reaching out to Cleveland Water, News 5 was told reps will look further into this case and sometime this week they will contact Fragedakis on the bill that has yet to be explained.

READ MORE: Our ongoing investigation into the Cleveland Division of Water