Pocono News Section

Thousands of Homeowners Get Bogus Garbage Bill

Thousands of Homeowners Get Bogus Garbage Bill - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 5:35PM EST

PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY- 3,000 people were billed for outstanding garbage fees. But it was one big sham. Pittston Mayor Joe Keating called the city-wide billing by an Ohio company an embarrassment. Now there's an apology letter on the table.

Last week, some 3,000 Pittston homeowners all got the same bill. That's pretty much the entire city. Folks said they went scrambling to back-track their finances. Nobody knew what the bill as about.

Tek-Collect, an Ohio-based firm which had been contracted to do work for the City of Pittston, sent all 3,000 bills out, admittedly in error. Mayor Joe Keating said city offices were flooded with hundreds of phone calls. He said the problem paralyzed city hall services.

And in just the last 24 hours, homeowners began receiving apology letters from Tek-Collect. Keating says the city's had trouble with Tek-Collect before. But, he decided to give them a second chance.

We broke news to several people that the city-wide billing mistake was just that. Pittston city leaders say it's likely that bill collection agency will be fired.