LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Thousands of people in Louisville got their water bill late, with only days to make their payments.

Amy Jo Lasley is one of them.

"I thought it was a mistake," said Lasley.

She got her Louisville Water bill on Monday.

"I knew I was getting a couple more bills in the mail this week, so you know, just take them all, sit down Friday morning do them all at once online," Lasley said.

Since she pays her bills at the same time, she didn't open the letter until Friday morning, but her bill was due Thursday.

Thinking it was a mistake, she called Louisville Water.

"A very unfriendly and unsympathetic girl answered the phone and told me yes indeed it was due," Lasley said.

Turns out, she wasn't alone.

Louisville Water said around 15,000 customers are dealing with the same issue. The company said its print and mail processor had an issue that delayed some bills from going out in the normal timeframe. They also said those impacted don't have to worry about losing water service or a late fee.

"I am very financially responsible," said Lasley. "I pay all of my bills. I pay all of my bills on time, and this just makes me feel, it makes me feel like a bad person." 

In a statement, Louisville Water said:

"In early January, Louisville Water’s bill print and mail processor had an issue that delayed a group of customer bills going out in the normal timeframe. This means that some customers received their Louisville Water bill a few days before it was due. This is not normal, and customers do not need to worry about losing water service or a late fee. If you received a bill shortly before it’s due, go ahead and pay your bill in the normal way.  

"We’re not sure how this happened with our vendor – we’re working with them to learn more. We believe this impacted around 15,000 customers whose bills were processed in early January. (This is about 5% of our customers)

"I know this has created some undue concern and questions – and we apologize for that. We pride ourselves on good customer service and we’ll do our best to fix this situation."

"I hope that everybody this happened to they get their late payment back," Lasley said. "It's not much, but again it's just not fair."

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