YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — When Karen Herd and her husband received a $2,500 bill for utilities while moving out of their off-base apartment last month, she reacted like any reasonable person.

She cried.

“I was never informed that there was an issue,” said Herd, a day before she flew back to the United States with her husband, three kids and a dog. “I just felt like it is a total shakedown.”

Similar miscommunications have left some servicemembers haggling over utility bills with angry landlords days before leaving South Korea. It’s resulted in forfeited deposits and bitter feelings, with some noting it contradicts South Korea as being an assignment of choice.

“We could really use that money,” said Herd’s husband, Capt. Bradley Herd, a military policeman.

And housing office officials said they also have noticed clear oddities in servicemembers’ apartments, such as power meters spinning when nothing is running. The housing department has dispatched South Korean utility officials to apartments for inspections and asked landlords to replace suspect meters, said Fred Moore, Yongsan’s deputy chief of housing.

Many servicemembers negotiate leases that set a cap on utilities, such as 400,000 won ($340) per month. If more than 400,000 won a month on utilities is used, the tenant must reimburse the landlord for the difference. Renters also may opt to pay their utilities separately from their rent but the housing department generally recommends utilities be incorporated into a lease, Moore said.

The housing office advises renters to get copies of utility bills monthly to ensure they know the charges. Landlords are supposed to provide bills, but often they don’t. Residents also have complained of discrepancies between what they were told by real estate agents and by landlords.

Judie Black lived with her husband and three children in an apartment near the Hyatt Hotel from September to November last year. When she moved out, her landlord said they owed about $900 for excess utilities.

Her utilities cap, included in the lease, was around $450 per month. Black said she never used the heat and only sparingly used the air conditioner. She obtained the electric bill and compared it to bills for the previous tenant and noticed hundreds of dollars in difference.

Black said she knew something was wrong, but couldn’t prove it: “They were ripping us off,” she said. “There’s no way our utilities were that high.”

Then the landlord said a $140 monthly security fee was included in the utilities. When they signed a lease, Black said, their real estate agent told her and her husband the fee would be “minimal.”

After some frustrating contact with the housing department and a desire to end the conflict, the Blacks just let the landlord keep their deposit. They lost about $1,400 of their own money since they had to pay the Army back.

“I think housing needs to crack down,” Black said.

If there’s a conflict over utilities, Moore said, a meeting can be called between the real estate agent, landlord and tenant. Moore said complaints number about one or two a month.

“The housing office is no more than a mediator when you start talking about trying to resolve issues between the residents and the landlords,” Moore said. “We’ve had some success and we’ve lost some battles based upon Realtors or landlords that were really hard to deal with.”

Soldiers who are going to find an off-post apartment should attend a briefing before they go house-hunting, Moore said. Servicemembers should know only utilities — gas, water, electricity, etc. — are allowed in the utilities portion, said John Burtch, chief of the Korea Region Office housing branch.

All other fees — which may be called management or security fees — should be included in the cost of the lease, Burtch said. All leases must be approved by the housing department, and Moore advises getting help early on to ensure there is no confusion.

Tenants, however, feel landlords and real estate agents frequently muddle issues to throw in a final bill. Herd said she and her husband were told they were under their utility allotment the first year.

They didn’t change their use habit and were stunned the next year when told how much they owed.

Because of the confusion, the Herds settled by splitting the bill in thirds between themselves, their landlord and real estate agent. But they were still out about $800, a significant amount for a family on the move with three children, the couple said.

“I have to say I feel like a lot of people view us \[Americans\] as deep pockets,” Herd said.

“I think most people are honest,” Burtch said. “I think our host nation leasers are really quality people, and I don’t think hardly any of them would ever attempt to shortchange an American soldier.”

If people have a problem with their utilities, they should call their housing office. If they don’t get a satisfactory answer, they may call Bradford Smith, KORO housing specialist, at DSN 768-8725.