Roommates in Ont. student housing complex left with no explanation for $1.6k utility bill for a month their unit was vacant

Tatum Gastis, right, says an email from a Wyse Meter inspector says water could've been running at the time indicating high water usage at their Foundry Lofts apartment. Gastis says no one was living there since May. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)Social SharingFor many university students, the beginning of a new academic year is an exciting time. But roommates Tatum Gastis and Lily Soubliere, who live at Foundry Lofts in Thorold, Ont., are feeling something closer to wariness after being charged $1,600 for one month of utilities at the student residence in June.

Gastis, Soubliere and a third roommate had already left Foundry Lofts, a student housing complex in Thorold, Ont., for the summer when they received a bill from Wyse Meter that broke down to $534.26 each.

"A $500 bill is crazy," Soubliere told CBC News, noting no one has been living in the apartment since May.

The month before, they paid about $250 in utilities, or $85 each.

A big chunk of the apartment’s high bill in June was related to wastewater use, costing $926.33.

“I can’t think of any explanation for that,” said Soubliere.

“Especially with no one there, no one flushing,” Gastis added.

When Gastis’s mother, Kelli Gastis, looked over the bill, she noticed 361,000 litres of water usage — enough to fill about 1,600 bathtubs.

“That can’t be consumed in a month,” said Kelli.

“Unless there’s flooding for the whole building from our apartment,” Gastis added.

Foundry Lofts, a student residence in Thorold, Ont., has been subject to negative reviews online and media coverage of complaints from former students who lived there about their utility bills. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)No leak or plumbing issue: utility companyIn an email to CBC Niagara, Wyse Meter said they alerted Foundry Lofts of a “potential leaking fixture” on July 20 when they began noticing Gastis and Soubliere’s high water usage.

Days after CBC Niagara reached out to the company, in September, a Wyse technician came to inspect their water meter, Gastis said. The technician told the students the meter was “operating and recording usage accurately,” Wyse Meter said in an email to CBC Niagara.

“No leak or plumbing issue has been identified,” Wyse Meter said.

Gastis says the utility company never gave the roommates a reason for the high water bill except a follow-up email from the Wyse technician which reads that water was possibly “running.”

“We are positive this isn’t the case,” said Gastis, who insisted no one has been staying at the suite during the summer.

Kelli says she partially covered her daughter's bill and that Wyse Meter told her it would put Gastis's account on hold while they investigate. But instead, she saw the company charging the account late fees.

"If you pay late ... it's more expensive," said Gastis. "I would have probably been scared to not pay [or fought] against it."

CBC Niagara reached out to Foundry Lofts and Integris Student Living, which operates the building, for comment, but did not get a response, despite following up.

Wyse Meter told CBC Niagara it has "absorbed" Gastis and Soubliere’s July and August bills — which was about $2,386.53 caused by "unusually high water and wastewater usage."

While reviewing her daughter and Soubliere's bill, Kelli saw there was no indication of the students' gas consumption.

According to Ontario Energy Board, utility companies are required to show “units of consumption, estimated or actual, by billing period.”

CBC Niagara reached out to Wyse Meter on how they track gas consumption use, but did not hear back in time of publication.

As a mother, Kelli hoped these companies would be more helpful to students who are living on their own for the first time.

Instead, she was dismayed to find other residents of Foundry Lofts also complain of Wyse Meter billing issues, including duplicate charges, back in 2019, according to a Global News investigation.

The students say they already face cost-of-living challenges without accounting for such unexpected charges.

“University is expensive. Housing is expensive. Finding jobs is hard right now," said Gastis. "I just think it’s a low blow.”

The roommates say moving out of Foundry Lofts wasn’t an option, having not enough time to find housing before the next semester began.

“There’s not very much housing around here,” said Soubliere, who started looking at rental listings on Facebook Marketplace after the incident. “It gets filled up pretty fast.”

“If things like this were to keep happening, we wouldn’t stay here," she added.

Diona Macalinga is a St. Catharines-based CBC reporter covering communities in the Niagara region. Before that, she was a video journalist reporting on Quebec legislature, culture and community news in Montreal. You can email story ideas and tips to her at diona.macalinga@cbc.ca.