San Diego trash fee error led to overcharges and undercharges for many residents – NBC 7 San Diego

The city of San Diego says a billing data glitch involving its new trash fees resulted in incorrect charges on roughly 87,000 property tax statements, with some customers charged too much and others charged too little.

City leaders say the error has been fixed. Of the affected statements, about 44,000 showed an amount higher than the correct trash fee, while the remaining 43,000 showed a lower amount.

The billing problems come after the city settled a lawsuit regarding trash fees and agreed to pay customers money back.

San Diego resident Richard Ernst, who lives in Clairemont, said he is still unsure how much his trash bill will be.

“I’m supposed to get a discount refund rebate, something off this year’s but I don’t think that’s been done. But I haven’t verified just what gets charged for what and when,” Ernst said.

A city spokesperson said the billing error occurred when the city sent property information to the county. The mistakes were not concentrated in any particular community, according to the city.

However, updated information on the city’s website shows 18,400 people were affected in District 2, which includes communities such as Point Loma, Mission Beach and Clairemont.

Residents who were overcharged will receive a corrected statement, according to the city. Updated information will also be posted on the county tax collector’s website.

People who were undercharged should pay the amount currently shown on their statements. The city says it will contact those customers with information about how to pay the difference.

Ernst criticized the city’s handling of the trash fees.

“I think the city is just so out of touch with what the people of San Diego really want and I don’t understand it,” he said.

The county is currently printing property tax statements, which will be mailed in October. No payment is currently due, and the first installment of the property tax bill is due Nov. 1.

The city said it is meeting regularly with the county about the issue and has posted updated information on its website.

The billing issues will not affect regular trash, recycling or organic waste collection.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.