Reclaim Your Association’s Past Paid Utility Dollars! 

Reclaim Your Association’s Past Paid Utility Dollars!

Ever hear of spending the same dollar twice? 

How would you like to go back in time, get hold of the money your association already spent and spend it again this year?

Hundreds of associations on the West Coast are doing it!

Your Money is in Your Past, Paid Utility Bills:

Best of all, your association does not have to commit any of your operating budget to get this money! While every association depends on electricity, refuse pickup, telephone, gas and water to make its common areas functional, most associations believe that there is little they can do to lower the cost of these services.  Reclaim Your Association’s Past Paid Utility Dollars – Legally!

Some associations manage to lower utility consumption by improving conservation practices; others control costs by limiting the range of common-area services they use; most pass the costs on to their homeowners.  Yet… all associations simply pay their utility bills without challenge!

Few boards of directors or property managers understand the details that make up an association’s utility expenses.  Utility bills are confusing and cryptic.  And, they are getting more complex, which means that they are more prone to billing errors, whether by computer systems or human-induced.  If any association is paying more than it should for the utilities that it uses, that money is coming straight out of its reserve monies, which ultimately come straight our of the homeowners’ pocketbooks.

A utility audit can help end this waste!  A utility audit is not a classic audit where accountants scour your books looking for errors, then charge you regardless of whether or not they find anything.  The utility auditor has one goal in mind:  to save your money!  They make sure that their customers are being billed correctly by the utility companies, for meters and equipment actually located on their property, at the lowest rates available!

DIY Utility Audit Checklist:

You can audit these utility billings yourself.  It is your money taken wrongfully through over billing – it is your right to get it back!  You just need to know what to look for and where to look.  How about a checkup of your functional knowledge of utility auditing?

• • What is electrical load factor analysis?

• • How many baseline units do you have?

• • Are you eligible for any sewer separation rates?

• • Did you pay for any SEQUIX charges this month?

• • Are your water meters registering in CCF or gallons or HCF?

• • Are you eligible for special refuse rates?

If you have trouble answering these questions, why  not use an expert?  An expert with no upfront fees, who only charges if they get your money back, or reduce your utility costs?  Reclaim Your Association’s Past Paid Utility Dollars!

There is a big difference between CPA-style auditing and utility auditing!  The utility companies use a language of their own.  If you do not know the language, understanding what they are doing or charging you is impossible.  Is the utility auditor’s responsibility to understand their language and be your association’s interpreter – and to uncover billing errors and overcharges, as well as obtain the least expensive utility rates for your association!

Utility auditing services are rendered on a contingency basis.  This simply means that if your association receives no refund, credit adjustment, or per-unit utility cost reduction, there is no fee. 

This is a win-win situation for any association.  If the utility auditor finds no utility billing errors, you win, knowing that all is well and your utility billing is correct.  Best of all, this peace of mind will cost your association nothing!  If the utility auditor finds utility billing errors and obtains refund checks, retroactive credit adjustments and/or actual utility cost reductions, your association wins, because these are recaptured monies that would have been lost!

Utility Auditor Checklist

Look for the following criteria when choosing a utility auditor:

• • On-site inspection of association’s property is a must.  This is where most errors are discovered.

• • Years in business – experience is invaluable.

• • No upfront costs.

• • Fees contingent on actual monies found for association.

• • No legal costs if litigation with the utility companies or city-operated utilities becomes necessary.

• • Follow-up and written documentation of utility audit results, whether or not errors are discovered.

With a successful utility audit, your association can spend the same dollar twice!

Reclaim Your Association’s Past Paid Utility Dollars!