Surrey woman billed thousands after city catches utilities error years later

A woman from Surrey is in shock after receiving a utility bill from the city for more than $7,000 at the end of last month.

Lina Azizi says she was stunned when she received the $7,168.77 bill on March 25 — far higher than she expected.

Azizi, who lives in a small duplex, thought the bill was a mistake or worse.

“I thought it was fraud at first, but the information matched,” Azizi said, explaining that she confirmed that the account details were accurate.

She says the bill was unexpected, originally believing that utility payments were handled annually through her property taxes.

In a letter, the City of Surrey said it became aware that the property had not been billed for water or sewer charges since 2008, saying the $7,168 needed to be paid by April 2 or Azizi would face a 5 per cent penalty charge on top of the bill.

Azizi says there was no negotiating with the city until 1130 NewsRadio reached out on her behalf.

“[A City of Surrey representative] called me, and basically it’s like a dead end. He’s like, ‘No, you have to pay.’ And I told him, ‘This is so unexpected, and I just paid my mortgage, and I, of course, have other expenses. This is such a big burden on me.’ And no, no remorse like, ‘Okay, it’s our fault. Let’s at least find other options.’ No. Just, ‘Pay this much now, and then, the rest we will decide how to pay it.'”

Now, the city has agreed to give her an extension on the charge, with the caveat that she pay over $2,700 Wednesday.

A statement from the city says Azizi’s is a “unique situation that involved the stratification of a duplex.”

“During this process, a flat water and sewer fee should have been added to the resident’s account, and the current owner should have been paying these fees since acquiring the property in 2019. During an internal review, it was discovered that the flat fee had not been applied. As a result, the current owner is now responsible for paying fees for 2025 (the current year) as well as for the last two years,” the City of Surrey explained.

It says Azizi hasn’t been charged since taking ownership in 2019 but admits that’s the city’s error, and policy only allows retroactively assessing fees for the current year plus the previous two years.

The city says it will not impose any penalties or interest as long as Azizi pays the outstanding amounts for 2025 on time.

“Additionally, the City has offered the resident an option to switch to a water meter, which could potentially reduce their bill for the current year.”

Azizi says the sudden bill has caused significant stress.

“It’s just overwhelming,” she said.

She’s imploring the city to improve communication and auditing processes to avoid similar situations in the future.