BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Tenants at a Broomfield apartment complex are reaching out to Contact Denver7 after they say their utility bills fluctuated wildly.
Water and gas at the Bell Broomfield apartment complex are charged to tenants through the complex's management company. But they say management told them there is an issue with the utility submeters that read usage, and now the property manager is estimating their usage.
"The costs were going up. There were significant costs going up compared to typical usage," said Anthony Carlson, who has lived at Bell Broomfield for two years.
Other tenants describe their gas usage in the bill appearing as "0.00" and they received no charge. But a month later they would be charged around double their typical bill.
"If you're going off an estimate, who's to say you're getting charged the same amount? Like for myself, I'm a single resident here, I'm getting charged maybe the same amount as an apartment with [multiple] individuals in it," he said.
According to the tenant lease agreement, the gas will be billed by the service provider to the property manager before being charged to the tenant by using the formula of "Sub-metering of all water/gas/electric use."
While the meters aren't operational, residents say the property management company has provided no explanation as to how they are determining tenant utility usage before charging the total bill.
"Everybody's got high gas bills. I don't mind paying a high gas bill if I'm using it. I don't even know if I'm using it or not," said Don Cheid, who has lived in the complex for six years.
In some cases, tenants suspect the discrepancy between actual usage and what's being charged is unfair.
"You're hearing astronomical charges of $500 of gas for a two-bedroom apartment," said Carlson.
Bell Partners released the following statement to Denver7:
"Since assuming management of the property late last year, we have been installing new utility meters and transponders. As we make these updates, we have been working with a licensed third-party vendor to measure utility bills, and connecting directly with residents who have concerns about how their bills are measured."
Several tenants told Denver7 they feel like they've been left in the dark and want to see better from the management.
"How are the fees being calculated? What the rates were? Just give us transparency, so we can understand why we're getting charged these specific usages," said Carlson.
Editor's note: Denver7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need we can address or have a story idea for our consumer investigates team to pursue, please email us at contact7@denver7.com or or call (303) 832-7777. Find more Contact Denver7 stories here. You can also use the form below to request help from Jaclyn Allen and the Contact Denver7 Team.
