Man's typo costs him thousands on power bill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A New Mexico man says he made an error while paying his electric bill that led him to overpay by thousands of dollars.

The Public Service Company of New Mexico says it could take weeks to get him his money back.

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, lawyer Ira Karmiol overpaid a $278 bill online earlier this month when he inadvertently hit a fourth digit.

He says he paid $2,787 because of the typo he didn't catch.

When he noticed the error a few days later, Karmiol says he contacted the utility company, which said its policy required three to four weeks to process a refund request.

A utility spokesman says he can't discuss problems with specific customers, but that issues like these are ordinarily resolved "as quickly as possible."