JW customers left to fend for themselves amid scam
There are people allegedly posing as municipal officials to solicit bribes, targeting customers with hefty water bills, and JW doesn't seem to care.
Johannesburg Water’s (JW) response to Lonehill resident Thea Swann, who feels her basic right for access to water has been violated, is a damning indictment of the city’s priorities.
After being left high and dry, literally, since February, and slapped with a R77 000 bill due to a suspected underground leak, which she reported multiple times to the water utility, Swann was further betrayed by an alleged scammer demanding a R9 500 bribe.
Swann disclosed screenshots of messages from the alleged municipal official demanding the bribe to Fourways Review, which asked JW how they plan to protect customer data and how the scammer obtained Swann’s correct information from their systems, a question that raises serious concerns about data security.
Also read: Lonehill resident targeted in water scam after months without access
The water utility was also asked what actions they are taking to prevent similar scams targeting residents, and what support can be offered to Swann to protect her from further extortion attempts.
Instead of providing answers and solutions, JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala chose to sidestep the issue. Rather than addressing the potential data breach, especially in Swann’s case, she advised residents at large to report scams anonymously and provided a hotline number and email.
Read more: Kisumu Park Playground hit by sewage spill again
Fourways Review did indicate to Shabalala that it is not only Swann who is dealing with the alleged scammers, but that information was seemingly not important. It seems JW is more interested in mitigating the symptoms than investigating the root cause of the problem.
“The account in question owes R77 000 on her water bill,” said Shabalala. “As a result, the account was disconnected because there is no payment arrangement made through the City of Johannesburg’s billing department. The customer can approach the city’s billing department to arrange a payment arrangement. JW urges customers to make payment arrangements early to avoid being disconnected. As soon as the customer makes the payment arrangement, the city will give instruction to JW to reconnect the customer.”
Also read: Johannesburg Water fails Marquise Place resident
Regarding the leak, Shabalala said that JW is not responsible for leaks and bursts that occur inside a customer’s property. “That is why we constantly urge customers to repair their on-property leaks, because these will inevitably add to the water bill and customers end up paying for water they are not using.”
Shabalala said that JW officials will, under no circumstances, ask customers for cash payments upfront for services rendered, nor will they ask for personal banking details for water supply services.
“Residents can report suspicious cases to our JW tip-offs anonymous hotline toll-free number: 0800 00 25 87, SMS: 32840, or email: anticorruption@tip-offs.com.”
Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We’d love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts!
