Q.C.-area residents feel cheated by Rural/Metro

Lightning may not strike the same place twice, but a Pinal County family says the billing department at Rural/Metro Fire Department has.

Garrett Turley, who lives just outside of Queen Creek, was struck by lightning last summer while changing the oil on his family's Suburban. Since that time he and his wife, Kelli, have been wrestling with Rural/Metro which they said promised to refund the $525 the couple paid once the Turleys' insurance company took care of the bill.

But Kelli Turley said they have yet to see any money after endless hours of being on the phone and sorting through paperwork. Bills provided by the Turleys show they paid $525 when Garrett was struck by lightning on Aug. 30.

"We were told that if we paid $525, that would take care of everything," Garrett Turley said.

But paperwork shows the Turleys' insurance company paid out more than $1,300.

So the Turleys believed, and say they were told by people with the company, they are due a refund. Now the young family with three children is struggling in the tough economy and wondering where their money is.

Rural/Metro officials said the Turleys paid for a fire truck response and the insurance company was properly billed for its share of the costs.

"We routinely send a fire engine with emergency medical personnel and equipment and an ambulance," said Rural/Metro spokeswoman Anne-Marie Braswell of emergency calls. "There are two services being rendered: There is a fire unit response and an ambulance response."

Braswell said the ambulance response and medical care were billed to his insurance, but the fire unit response would not be paid by medical insurance and was billed to the Turleys.

"Medical insurance takes care of billing through codes associated with the services. There are no billing codes for fire unit response," she said. "We explained that process to them."

Company officials said the Turleys don't owe Rural/Metro anything else.

But Garrett Turley said they've been told different things on the phone about the charges.

"Their story changes," he said. "We were told we would get a refund once our insurance was billed. Every time we call they say it's an additional charge."

Rural/Metro officials said the Turleys had not subscribed for fire service at the time of the event and said they would have been covered for the $525 charge had they paid subscription fees. Braswell said their situation is a reminder to residents outside of the town's limits to make sure they have a subscription.

"There are so many of us who think 'it won't happen to me' and then end up enduring a financial hardship," Braswell said.

Kelli Turley said her family has a subscription now but still feel like they've been misled on the charges they did pay, and they want their money back. She calls the situation frustrating, and despite asking, has not been provided a detailed invoice of Rural/Metro's charges.

"To a company, that's nothing. But to us, it's like a house payment," Garrett Turley said.

Turley, who was out of work for three months following the lightning strike, said he still experiences medical problems. He has irregular high blood pressure, heart palpitations and muscle inflammation and damage. Without medical insurance due to a change in his job, he goes without needed medication or buys the bare minimum to take during emergencies.

"It's been almost a year, and we're still trying to catch up," Turley said. "I'd like to see them give us the money they owe us."

The Turleys live outside town limits, but the situation was not a surprise to Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders who, along with Town Manager John Kross, is on a crusade to have the fire service provider pay refunds that company officials promised to town residents.

Rural/Metro provided fire service in town on a subscription basis. The refunds were promised as the town was working out a change in fire service. When the town decided against a municipal contract with Rural/Metro and began a municipal fire service of its own on Jan. 1, company officials said they would no longer reimburse residents for overpaid subscriptions.

Money owed to town residents for overpaid subscriptions totals $238,000, Kross has said. The town's own municipal contract was never reimbursed and the town is owed about $12,300.

Rural/Metro officials said due to company policy they would not be issuing refunds for anyone who renewed subscriptions prior to the town's fire department start in January. They've said promises for refunds were made by people who are no longer with the company.

Sanders said the town is looking into "every possible legal option" to recoup money for residents.

"I haven't forgotten that they still owe our people refunds," Sanders said. "This isn't right."