Charles Lynn Bragg with Trump's Raw Deal Playing Cards at the L.A. Art Show

If Fred Pickel is supposed to be the public's Ratepayer Advocate against LADWP, he sure hasn't been acting like it.

LADWP ratepayers who were misbilled and overcharged will have to wait until mid-2017 to get their refunds, in yet another delay.

Consumer Watchdog has raised concerns that refunds owed ratepayers of Los Angeles DWP, many of whom have already made overpayments, will not be delivered for one year and a half under the best case scenario, while plaintiff attorneys will get paid $13 million in May.

Consumer Watchdog's problems with the settlement include the need for immediate refunds, no more threats of disconnections, no requirements for deposits for people who owe back bills, and the need for an impartial standard for whether ratepayers get paid, not whether DWP says so or not.

Randy Paige reports on how Consumer Watchdog and ratepayers today urged L.A. city leaders to fix or withdraw what they call a bad settlement over millions in overbilling by the LADWP.