To the editor:

I sympathize with the frustration felt by Kelly Elsten in trying to get some satisfaction from the Lawrence utilities department. I experienced the identical situation.

I also find it strange that Ed Mullins appeared to be unaware of the situation. I sent a letter to Dave Wagner, director of water and wastewater, regarding the same problem in September 2010 and received a subsequent telephone call from his office. The young lady told me that they were aware of the issue, were unable to do anything about it at that time, but were working on a solution.

She then informed me that payments were received by Bank of America and it took a day or two for the utility department to be notified of the payment, thus the delay in posting to the individual account. When I asked her if they were not able to identify the actual date that Bank of America received the payment, she said they may be able to do that, but it wouldn’t change the posting date.

When I asked her why their bill didn’t at least identify a late charge as opposed to an “adjustment,” she replied that the current software did not allow them to make that change. I suggested they buy a large red stamp and mark late charge on the bill.

In discussing this with friends, I discovered that most people do what I do: pay the total amount of the bill and get it there by the “due date.”

Sounds like a lot of people are due a refund!