A water meter into which unsuspecting visitors can drive, an uneven driveway and missing paving bricks were what a resident was left with, after the installation of a new water meter just outside his property.
“Why do we have to accept substandard workmanship?” Ralph Schulz asked.
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“I arrived home and now need a 4×4 vehicle to enter my property – and all because the municipality decided to replace the old underground water meter with a newer, hideous plastic version.”
To access the older water meter, contractors had to dig up the driveway paving. The paving was found on the grass next to the driveway and a hole where the old meter used to be, forcing Schulz to take evasive action to be able to drive into his property.
“When the work was (in their minds) completed, they filled the hole with the dug up dirt, but didn’t replace the paving; instead, they left it on the grass,” he said.
”The filled hole was not level with the remaining driveway, which I discovered as I drove into my property, due a sharp crack-and-thud sound from my front suspension (not good for a BMW).”
Schulz logged a complaint with the call centre and received a reference number.
“I have tried numerous follow-up calls, to attempt to get an answer as to when they will come and complete their work,” he said.
In the meantime, out of frustration, he picked up a casual labourer in the street to try to fix his driveway.
“We have now also discovered that there are insufficient paving bricks remaining to close the affected area, so maybe they discarded a few,” he added.
“The part-time labourer cost me R150; I want this to be reimbursed by the municipality.”
The Kempton Express referred the complaint to the metro, but had not received a reply at the time of going to print.
