FERNDALE, Wash. — The City of Ferndale recently sent letters to 83 of its commercial water, sewer and stormwater utilities customers advising them that their property had been underbilled or overbilled for stormwater services.
The city told Whatcom News that 54 underbilled commercial customers owe a total of $78,388.50 (an average of $1,451) and 29 overbilled commercial customers are due credits totaling $17,705.75 (an average of $611).
The billing errors were discovered during a recent internal audit conducted by the City of Ferndale Finance Department according to the city.
When asked by Whatcom News, city staff were unable to say how long the erroneous billings had been occurring or how far back the city was seeking reimbursement for underpaid accounts and providing credit for overpaid accounts since the current finance director was out of the office.
Click for more information
Click for more information
Customers who were underbilled are being provided the following repayment options. According to the City of Ferndale’s Utility Bill Collections Policy, these options apply when the outstanding balance is $5,000 or greater.
- making payment in full
- setting up a monthly payment schedule
- placing a lien on their property
Disputing the charges by filing a formal statement with the city’s Finance Department no later than 20 days from the date of the letters sent is also an option according to the city.
Customers who were overbilled will see amounts under $1,000 credited to their city utility account or, when the amount is over $1,000, a check will be mailed to them as dictated by the city’s Utility Bill Collections Policy according to the city.
The following are excerpts from the version of the city’s Utility Bill Collections Policy provided to Whatcom News.
Click for more information
Click for more information
When it appears that a customer or other person from whom payment is sought did not know and had no reason to know of the error, charges accruing more than one year from the discovery of the error, along with fees, interest, and penalties may be waived.
For outstanding balances under $5,000, repayment terms will be determined at the discretion of the Finance Director or their designee. In such cases, the City will make every reasonable effort to work with the customer to establish a payment plan that is within their means while ensuring collection of the balance due.
Where an account is overbilled or overpaid, the refund period granted administratively is up to one year from the time the error is reported to the City utility billings office, except overpayments or overbillings because of customer fault which shall be reported by the customer within 60 days. Refunds approved by the Finance Director are administered by crediting the utility account for the premises served when under $1,000 and in the form of a check when more than $1,000. All refunds will be forfeited by the customer if after a year from the time of error the overbilling or overpayment has not been reported to the City.
– City of Ferndale’s Utility Bill Collections Policy (June 18, 2025)
Discover more from Whatcom News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
