Imagine getting letters of demand, month after month, saying you owe thousands on your municipal bill.
That is what *Aligna Sepe, a resident from Bruma, has experienced for years and despite her interactions with the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), she has not succeeded in clearing up the matter.
“To make matters worse, every other week the people from the meter reading companies come here, they threaten and harass me; sometimes they break my locks and put on their own locks,” she said.
“In 2004 the plot was rezoned. I think they made an incorrect address entry or there was a mix-up because that is when my problems started. I received a bill addressed to the CoJ instead of my name.”
Ms Sepe said she gets two invoices, one addressed to her and one addressed to the CoJ.
The only connection she has with the incorrect bill is her address because the account number, name, and the meter number on the bill are not hers.
The plot was bought from the council in 1988 and they started living there in 1991.
The EXPRESS has seen the invoices addressed to her, bearing the correct meter number, and the invoices made out to the CoJ, with a different meter number.
Ms Sepe said this problem has been continuing for years and when she started getting the incorrect bill, the amount was for R4 000. Over the years, it has increased to R225 425.
“I have gone to their offices and sat there, I have sent emails and faxes but I don’t get any joy. I refuse to go and sit there again,” she said.
“The meter is somewhere out there. I wish I knew where because even the meter reading companies that have been coming here don’t seem to have a clue where it is. All they have is my address, but when they get here they can’t find it because it is only my meter numbers that they see, but the harassment doesn’t stop. All they do is they keep changing meter reading companies and that is why I decided to go to the newspaper”, she added.
Ms Sepe’s ward councillor, Clr Mike Spadino, said he has escalated the matter to the city officials and will be meeting with them. He will then inform Ms Sepe of the outcome.
A request for comment was sent to the CoJ. At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.
*Victim’s name changed to protect her identity.
