Question: I am a little embarrassed about this … There’s so much information about scams now that I might have overreacted. Anyway, I just hung up the phone when someone called about the water bill. I had not reported a leak or any problem and wasn’t expecting a call. So I hung up. But what if it wasn’t a scam?
Answer: The Honolulu Board of Water Supply has been warning about scams lately, so you probably did the right thing by hanging up. Don’t be embarrassed. Go ahead and call the BWS at 748-5030 to confirm your account’s status. Let the customer-service agent know about the previous call and that you aren’t sure if it was legitimate.
In general, the BWS advises that customers who receive unexpected or aggressive phone calls about their water bills should ask for the caller’s name and phone number and say they’ll call them back. They shouldn’t provide any information about their account. And they shouldn’t actually call them back. Instead, they should call the BWS number we mentioned.
Sometimes these scam callers threaten to disconnect water service if the customer doesn’t pay the bill right then. That’s not how the BWS operates. Here’s its usual process:
“The BWS does not call customers outside its regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. regarding payment, nor does the BWS attempt to make contact with a customer, demand payment, and collect payment all in the same phone call. When the BWS contacts a customer regarding overdue payment, he or she will be asked to call the BWS at 748-5030 to make a credit card or debit card payment,” the agency says on its website.
Q: Regarding the “auwe” in Monday’s newspaper about the right turn at Keahole Street and Kalanianaole Highway (https://808ne.ws/108kline), complaining about drivers who sit at the light, rather than turning right as is legal, is not the only “auwe” that applies to this intersection. Many if not most drivers fail to stop before turning right on red! When I get to that corner and stop first, most of the time the drivers behind me tailgate me very closely because they don’t expect me to stop first before turning on red. This can make it tough to stop without getting hit from behind. Sometimes they even beep their horn even though I only stop for a few seconds to comply with the law.
A: You are one of several readers who followed up to emphasize that stopping is required, and that not everyone does. As we specified in Monday’s column, it’s legal to turn right on red from the right-hand lane there, after stopping.
To be clear, the reader who submitted that “auwe” wasn’t complaining about drivers who stop-and-go, but about those who stop-and-don’t go.
We also heard from readers who said the sign doesn’t need to be bigger, as the original reader suggested. It’s plenty big. Their point was that drivers need to realize they are turning into a protected lane and shouldn’t be afraid to do so.
This is a hot topic for East Siders. All the more reason to attend Thursday’s town hall on the subject, which is to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Hahaione Elementary School’s cafeteria.
Auwe
Auwe to the driver of a tan pickup driving on the H2 freeway Friday, who was driving so erratically and dangerously that he almost sideswiped my car. Show some aloha and drive safely. — A.M.
Mahalo
Somehow, without me being aware of it, I dropped my ID lanyard when setting out walking from our private lane in Kailua last Thursday morning. Someone put it in my neighbor’s mailbox, for which I am extremely grateful! It was returned to me with everything it in — even a $10 bill — when I got back from my walk! Mahalo nui loa! — A grateful walker
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
