ST. LOUIS – After a homeowner received a bill from the Metropolitan Sewer District for over $6,000 left over from the previous owner, he’s demanding answers.
Derrick Richardson purchased his house years ago but just moved in a couple months ago. After his water and other utilities were set up, he got a bill from MSD for $6,339.73.
It turned out the bill was from a previous owner.
“I should not have to pay anything because that bill was required with somebody else who had the property way before I did. I reached back out to MSD and see what they have to say.”
Richardson got increasingly frustrated with not being able to get answers.
“I’m not pleased with it at all…I feel I don’t deserve it,” he said.
MSD told FOX 2 that Richardson was caught in a complex situation.
The agency said that Richardson’s property was purchased at a tax sale, and MSD had previously written off account balances with such sales. But a 2021 court ruling gave MSD the green light to collect the money when the previous owner didn’t pay. Now, they no longer write off balances for properties purchased after the decision and attach a lien to the property.
“Because this gentleman’s property was purchased in 2016, we honored that sale and wrote off the balance,” Marian Gee, director of finance at MSD, said. “(Now), we collect the money if there’s liens much like it’s done with a tax sale.”
Gee confirmed that Richardson would not have to pay the bill.
MSD does warn homeowners to ensure that the property they buy at a tax sale does not have a lien on it.