This investigation will air Thursday night at 5 and 10 p.m. Video will be added here after the stories air. SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. -- Many of you have contacted your news leader about your frustrations with your high utility bill. WREG Investigators started digging deeper and found similar problems among customers — their bill didn't come for months, and when it finally did, the calculations didn't seem right. Courtney Jones and her business partner, Amy Bingham, own Oh Grate!. They moved their flagship store to Collierville in late 2022. "We never got a bill after September 2023. Our accounts online just had a red line at the top that said under review," Bingham said. They did what a MLGW customer representative told them to do. Until MLGW could figure it out, they averaged their monthly usage and paid $943 for the next 11 months. In late August, a backlog of utility bills finally showed up. On top of what they'd been paying, MLGW said they owed another $8,000. "This is where I think it gets interesting. Those usage statements are nearly double what we had estimated. That's where we got ourselves into this huge bill," Bingham said. They say the past tenant ran a different type of business, so they didn't have much to compare their bills to. They're just certain they had been consistent in their usage. "If we owe it, we owe it. I guess what gets me is if I operated my business like this, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Jones said. They stressed that, if they told their customers to guess on a bill for 11 months, their customers would go somewhere else. But MLGW is their only utility option. Woman told she owes MLGW nearly $25k They wondered if the usage was correct and why it was so far off. "How do I know that this increase wasn't a mechanical issue that I could have had the opportunity to resolve? Here's another kicker. A couple months ago, we had 10 gas leaks. MLGW locked our gas up," Jones said. "Those gas leaks aren't reflected in our gas usage." They say MLGW blamed increasing costs and weather. In a statement, MLGW told WREG an advocate went over the bills with Bingham and Jones. They didn't answer our questions as to why the bill was so high and the impact that the delayed billing has had. They stated they removed late fees from their bill, and the balance has been set up on a payment plan. "Cash flow was up. We were making other investments, because we are a new business," Jones said. She stressed businesses can't last if they can't properly budget, and they have "no clue" how to budget their utilities moving forward. MLGW says delayed bills caused by faulty smart meters Other businesses told WREG Investigators similar stories. They averaged their bills and made payments but still owed thousands. "She couldn't give me a reason why my bill was so high," MLGW customer Hoza Brent stated in March. For months, many of you have called or emailed WREG with concerns stemming from delayed billing. No one with MLGW agreed to an on-camera interview. In 2013, MLGW started rolling out smart meters as they vowed accuracy and reliability. In February 2023, the utility company announced a "manufacturer related" malfunction. They state "the rotating part inside the gas meter that turns the numbers of the register" failed in some smart meters, and the manufacturer couldn't deliver parts fast enough. The register showed zero usage, so bills were delayed. Some customers didn't get a bill for months then were hit with multiple bills at once. MLGW said it would send affected customers bill with estimated usage as they continued to update the Memphis City Council for months. At one point, the number of affected customers rose to nearly 40,000. It wasn't until September when MGLW told council members they had brought in extra crews to fix the root cause, and things were finally getting back to normal. They admitted the customers impacted by delayed billing could experience "sticker shock." MLGW says delayed bills getting back to ‘normal’ "Our customer accounts and records folks are very good. We have an advocate who will dig in and work with you," MLGW's President and CEO Doug McGowen told a WREG crew after the meeting. MLGW stated a majority of customers impacted were residential. Laurence Plummer was one of them. He said he had issues with high utility bills at two properties. First, at his home he put on the market. "Once I moved out, I was anticipating that my bill was going to start decreasing, because nobody's there," Plummer said. But he said the bills nearly doubled. After going back and forth, MLGW agreed to meet him and his plumber. They found a running toilet. MLGW blamed that, while the plumber disagreed. "He said, 'No. That's not what's wrong. That's something minor,'" Plummer said. He was even more confused when problems also popped up at his new home around the same time between 2022 and 2024. "It was really odd," he said. "There was a period where I didn't get any bills. They sent a letter out saying they were having a problem." MLGW sends customer $17,000 utility bill with 2 days to pay MLGW also stated in a letter that the water meter stopped communicating readings in March 2022. When they replaced his meter six months later, they said the usage was higher than they thought. It wasn't until March 2023 that the utility company tacked on those "underestimated charges." They cited a delay due to a "high demand of bills" needing review. His bill was delayed again for high water usage, but MLGW never found any leaks. When he finally got his statements, it showed his water consumption totaled $39 one month then nearly $500 three months later. "Then the next month, it's $1,192.70 just for water," Plummer said. He told us the bills aren't consistent and are "all over the place." "Back in April when I lost my dad, I wasn't in this house for almost two weeks. My bill that month was higher than the normal month," he said. We asked MLGW the average amount of time bills were delayed, how many customers are now on a payment plan as a result, and how much money the utility company is now owed. MLGW didn't directly answer, or stated "the information is not available." They did say the number of affected customers had dropped to under 3,000 as of mid-October. We also asked the utility company about a promise made in March. "Once we have a solution for your account for that service, gas or water, you will be treated like a new connection," a company representative stated in a You Tube video. "What does that mean? If we underestimated your bill, we would not try to collect the difference or back bill you." But that's exactly what happened to Plummer. He was back billed six months. MLGW told us in a statement, "Unfortunately, the consumption was billed on February 19, before the video was published." "This is not fair. It's wrong. I can't imagine some of the people that are paycheck to paycheck that are having the same issue. They might not have a $15,000 bill, but some have a $1,500 bill," Plummer said. "They're home now trying to figure out if they pay their light bill or their car note." Plummer said he spent hours on the phone and agreed to go through MLGW's billing dispute process that the company and president have told us in the past was a way customers could get a fair hearing. It didn't go in Plummer's favor. While he says the usage doesn't make sense, MLGW told us while they adjusted his bill a couple hundred bucks, their calculations are "accurate." They blamed the "fluctuations in usage" with his "irrigation system" at his new property. Plummer's combined total has reached more than $15,000. "What now is I have to keep paying these bills that they send me. Otherwise they cut you off," Plummer said. "What concerns me the most is next month's bill. I wonder what that is going to be." Plummer said he's still thinks something is wrong as his bill keeps fluctuating, but his routine doesn't change. He's asked for a new meter. MLGW stated they gave him one in 2022, and there are no signs it's failing or there are any defects. Get the latest from the WREG Investigators in your inbox What to do if you have a delayed bill? MLGW said to contact them within 30 days of receiving your utility bill if you need to make a payment arrangement. You can call (901) 544-6549 or chat with them on the web at mlgw.com/webchat. They can work out a payment arrangement, and you may be eligible to apply for available funding. ► DO YOU NEED A STORY INVESTIGATED? WREG Investigators want to hear from you! Call our tip line at 901-543-2378. You can also send an email to [email protected].