Billing blunder: 9,000 Amsterdam homes received the same water bill multiple times
More than 9,000 households in Amsterdam received duplicate water bills over the past months due to a technical glitch at Waternet, the city’s water utility, officials confirmed. Some 500 households were sent the same invoice more than ten times, though no one has been required to make multiple payments, according to AT5.
A Waternet spokesperson said the problem was caused by “a technical error with the billing system.” The utility received eight reports of duplicate bills through last Friday, and the issue has since been resolved.
This is not the first time Waternet has struggled with billing errors. In 2020, after switching to a new billing system, hundreds of thousands of payments were delayed, some customers received duplicate invoices, and the company withdrew hundreds of euros from over 300 accounts without prior notice.
A 2021 investigation by the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate found Waternet’s digital security lacking, placing the utility under intensified supervision until this year.
Waternet, currently a joint organization for the city of Amsterdam and the regional water authority, is scheduled to split into separate entities next year.
