OCALA, FL (352Today.com) – An Ocala resident told City Council on Tuesday that Ocala Electric Utility hit him with a $1,375 charge from accounts dating back 16 to 18 years, then shut off his power after he disputed the debt and asked for documentation the utility could not provide.

Sean Riley, who lives downtown, said he opened his current account about a year ago and has remained in good standing with no missed payments. When he opened the account, no one mentioned any prior unpaid balances.

Three weeks ago, he checked the utility’s usage app to make a payment and found the large negative balance. Staff at the downtown office attributed it to accounts from when he was 17 and 18 years old.

“I’ve had an account in good standing with the electric utility for almost a year now, and when I opened it, nobody said anything to me about any type of unpaid debts or old charges, nothing,” Riley said.

He said he had no memory of service interruptions from that period and that the utility could not produce a signed application, proof of service or other records.

“I had no recollection of ever being without power in those days,” he told council. “I don’t know how it accrued, how that would have accumulated, and they were unable to provide me with any type of proof of service, a signed application, just some legitimate way to uphold the debt,” he said.

“If they didn’t keep paperwork or hard copies of things before they digitized everything, that’s not my fault. That’s just business.”

Riley said the utility shut off power after he filed a formal dispute. Staff granted a one-week extension before disconnecting service. He has since been allocating about 20 percent of each payment toward the disputed amount to keep his power on.

He argued the debt is time-barred from legal collection under Florida’s statute of limitations, generally four to five years under Florida Statute 95.11, but that the municipal utility can still cut off service.

“My main position was that I knew they couldn’t pursue us in court legally for a fee that old,” Riley said. “But that doesn’t stop the company from just essentially just strongarming the situation.”

After filing the formal written dispute, which staff signed, Riley contacted the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Officials directed him to the city. He then reached out to former Mayor Kent Guinn and Mayor Ben Marciano before appearing at the August 4 meeting.

Riley asked council to pause collection of the charge and refund amounts already applied until the utility produces supporting records.

“I would have no problem paying a debt if it was done in a legitimate manner, but I’m not going to accept obligation for a debt just because someone tells them they owe them a certain amount of money,” he said.

“If they can’t provide you with documentation that proves that that debt exists legitimately, it’s ridiculous,” he continued.

Director of Finance and Customer Service for the city of Ocala, Peter Brill, told council the charge came from a recent audit matching current customers against prior accounts that left unpaid balances.

“The only parameters of the audit is if they are a current customer that left a past-due balance,” Brill said.

He offered to review Riley’s account and noted the utility is not pursuing formal legal collection.

Councilwoman Kristen Dreyer challenged the approach.

“When you’ve just done your audit, how far back are you charging people for these bills? It seems insane. I mean, at some point, isn’t this like on us that we haven’t gotten it paid? I mean, to go back 17 years sounds crazy,” Dreyer said.

Riley argued that requiring partial payment could restart the statute of limitations clock. Brill responded that the utility was not filing suit and was recovering for services it contends were previously provided but unpaid.

Council indicated staff would return with a more detailed report on the audit process and related collection policies.