JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The owner of Three Seasons Mobile Home Village — a mobile home community on the Westside where residents complained about receiving water bills as high as $1,700 for one month — was previously investigated by the Ohio Department of Commerce after tenants there also complained of outrageous water bills.
The Ohio Department of Commerce opened its investigation into Moore Investments in November of 2018, after tenants in the Green Meadows Mobile Home Park, located outside of Columbus, went to local media for help.
“It kind of aggravates me when you say how am I using this much water,” one resident said.
The residents spoke to ABC 6 after they got water bills of as much as $1,800.
The complaints from the Green Meadows Mobile Home Park are almost identical to the complaints at Three Seasons Mobile Home Village in Jacksonville that News4JAX learned about in recent weeks. The News4JAX I-TEAM confirmed Moore Enterprises based in Irving, Texas, owns and operates both properties.
RELATED | ‘Something is not right’: Mobile park home tenants demand answers after unusually high water bills
Kelley ONeil was the first to call News4JAX to ask for help with the big bill.
“When the water bill goes from $30 a month to $2,000 a month, something is wrong,” said Stanley ONeil, the father of one of the tenants at Three Seasons.
“So, when he saw the bill, I mean, I almost had a stroke,” Kelley ONeil said.
But lawyers for Three Seasons said Kelley ONeil admitted she had a leak in an email.
“I had no idea the water was leaking to cost this much. I found the leak, I think after you called me about it,” she wrote.
However, according to a bill from Roto-Rooter, which ONeil hired to look into the leak, that leak was found in the drain line from the kitchen sink which is not on the water supply side.
“Found leak coming from kitchen sink drain. Visibly nor physically saw any other possible leaks. Also checked water meter for continuous flow, checked out fine. Tested, no leaks,” the technician wrote.
The I-TEAM has learned Moore Enterprises and its related companies also own two other mobile home parks on Jacksonville’s westside: Orange Park North and Americana.
As far as the situation at the Ohio mobile home park in 2018, a spokesperson for Moore Enterprises told a reporter that an “employee hadn’t been reading the water meters correctly,” and the park would be fair and look at every issue.
Moore Enterprises also told Ohio authorities it was committed to conducting an internal audit.
News4JAX heard back from the Ohio Department of Commerce about the outcome of that 2018 investigation.
A spokesperson said that they didn’t have jurisdiction to take any action against the mobile home park.
But, as part of the investigation, they did check the infrastructure and found no leaks in the water system that would have led to the big bill.
Meanwhile, if you are in a dispute with your landlord or tenant about your water bill at one of Moore Enterprises’ properties in Jacksonville, Jacksonville Legal Aid is offering legal representation at reduced fees for low-income tenants.