By Samson X Horne
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
LOWER VALLEY, Pa. — A nonprofit emergency service organization has been receiving money it didn’t intend to solicit from Penn Hills and Plum residents outside an area it recently was contracted to serve.
To be proactive after securing a contract from Verona on Oct. 1, Lower Valley Ambulance Service sent letters to all homes in the 15147 ZIP code, requesting subscription payments. The problem is that ZIP code includes homes in northern Penn Hills and the western portion of Plum.
Officials at the Cheswick-based service are quick to apologize for the “honest mistake” and are even quicker to say they aren’t keeping the cash they receive.
“We sent out memberships for Verona, not realizing the ZIP code was in Penn Hills and Plum, too,” said Vickie Carlson, general manager of Lower Valley. “I feel so bad. It honestly was not intentional.”
The company in the letter asked residents for $55 to offset operating costs. And some residents outside of Verona responded.
Lower Valley, which has served as a backup emergency service for Penn Hills, either is destroying or sending checks back to those outside of Verona who responded to the mistaken request for payment, Carlson said. Those who mistakenly received the letter are not receiving follow-up notices explaining the glitch, she said.
Those who live outside of Verona and have sent money to Lower Valley as a result of the subscription request can call the service at 724-274-4155.
Carlson added that Lower Valley is set to receive the official mailing list of Verona residents to avoid similar problems in the future.
Officials at Penn Hills EMS, which is a department of the municipality funded by its taxpayers, are taking the ZIP code mistake in stride.
“We’ve had quite a few calls on this,” said Diane Fitzhenry, supervisor for Penn Hills EMS. “We believe it was a legitimate mistake.”
Copyright 2016 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review