Yahoo Finance Tradie's major win after receiving bizarre $15,000 water bill: 'One for the good guys'
Anthony was hit with a bill 50 times higher than normal and refused to pay it.
A tradie has copped a major win after he received a $15,000 water bill from his local council. Anthony couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the charge, which was around 50 times higher than his average $300 bill.
Goulburn Mulwaree Council claimed he had used roughly 35,028 litres of water per day for 104 days. But he stood his ground and said he would take the matter as far as he needed.
"They can go and get themselves nicked," he said to A Current Affair. "I'm not paying it...no way in the world."
Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
The mechanic said he usually uses around 130 litres of water a day and that's for showering, washing up and the toilet. The rest, which is used for gardening, washing his car and topping up the fish pond, comes from a water tank.
Using more than 35,000 litres of water per day would require a home to have multiple taps running constantly through the day and night.
RELATED
Aussie reveals wild $77 breakfast bill after ‘tapping without looking’
David Koch's bill warning for households: '10 years of pain'
The council told Anthony it had done water meter tests in the area and none were faulty or leaking. The tradie would have to pay $50 to get his meter tested if he wanted to be sure it was fine.
"There's something wrong somewhere. That amount of water, where is it?" he said.
The council admitted the amount of water that had been invoiced was "clearly outside of what would be for usual domestic consumption", but said Anthony would have to present his case at a meeting.
Well, he's done just that and managed to get the humungous bill massively reduced.
The bill has dropped from $15,645 to just $302.
"We had a win, I told the council to go and get themselves nicked and they did , so one for the good guys," Anthony said to the Channel 9 programme.
However, he was stung with a 10 per cent surcharge because of council paperwork.
What's the average water bill in Australia?
Canstar Blue revealed the average Aussie is forking out around $217 a quarter.
Those in the Northern Territory enjoy the cheapest water bills, paying an average of $180 every three months, while residents in the Australian Capital Territory cough up the most at $244 each quarter.
A household with just one person has an average water bill of $157, while a household with five or more people can expect to pay around $254 per quarter.
Get the latest Yahoo Finance news - follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
