Couple Battles to Collect $4,400 From Water Department

Water Refund Fight, Ruth to the Rescue Gets Involved.

As the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department cracks down on thousands of people who the city money, one Southfield couple says the department actually owed them more than $4,400. They ran into some trouble trying to get their money back until they contacted Ruth to the Rescue.

Pat Garner lost her father, J.C. Marsalis in September of 2013. He lived in his home on Hazelwood Street in Detroit's west side.

"My father was 89 when he passed, very secretive about his banking, his money and everything," Garner told Ruth to the Rescue.

Because of that secrecy, Garner had no idea that her father had been paying the Detroit water department two hundred and fifty dollars a month by automatic withdrawal. "Why that amount of money, I really have no idea!"

Payments Add Up

After her father's death Pat, and her husband Jay Garner, realized all of those payments had added up to a credit of more than $4,300 dollars.

As they tried to receive the balance Pat says they kept getting the run-around. Customer service reps would ask for one piece of documentation, then another and another.

"I really was upset because I couldn't figure out why I keep coming back, keep coming back. And, every time I cam back I was told something different." explained Garner.

She was told it would take six to eight weeks, but for what she didn't know. That's when her husband contacted Ruth to the Rescue. The consumer unit contacted the Detroit Water and Sewage Department and started to work with the department on Garner's behalf.

Within two weeks Pat Garner received a check from the City of Detroit for more than $4,400 dollars.

"If Ruth to the Rescue hadn't stepped in, this wouldn't have happened. I'd still be going around in circles. Like I said, Thank you Ruth, You are the greatest!" said Pat Garner of Southfield.

Department in Transition

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is in the middle of a big transition. Emergency Manager Kevin Orr just handed the reins of the department to Mayor Mike Duggan yesterday. The city could not make anyone available to talk about what went wrong in this case. The Ruth to the Rescue unit thanks
the city for making things right.