ALFRED BRABAZON writes:
After reading Kempton Express with regards to Ekurhuleni’s hogwash statement about final notices, supplying nothing but excuses for their ineptness, I concluded:
The due date is the date by which payments are expected to be made, provided an account has been received.
When one phones the call centre, one should not be purposely cut off, nor should the phone is picked up and immediately placed back on the cradle. If you are fortunate enough to have your call answered, the reluctance to assist becomes most apparent when they refer you to a website or you are blatantly told to go to the council offices.
Total disregard for an account not received – not for not one month but two, three and sometimes four months – is not acceptable.
Also read:
• Those dreaded final notices: all the facts you should know
I pay my account about the same time every month by taking an old account to Pick n Pay for such payment to be made, which is convenient. It must be taken into consideration that not all Kemptonians have the facility to drive around or stand in queues or have the facility of a computer especially among many pensioners, senior citizens and the poor.
I will not be hoodwinked by Mr Themba Gadebe’s statement. I have purposely paid my account after the due date on the occasions when I never received an account.
For years we have been given excuses, even the primary excuse of “it’s the post office’s fault”.
Ironically, when I pay later by a few days, namely later than the fifth of the month, I suddenly receive an account after three months, which always has one payment if not two payments not recorded.
In my books, this is known as fraud. Ekurhuleni needs to get its house in order. I automatically deduct the monies when I receive an account with any admin fees attached. I have decided these past six months that no accounts or late accounts will become my responsibility. I will continue to use outdated accounts from the past with an estimated payment.
I am not here to run after Ekurhuleni as in the past. Ekurhuleni, the sad news is, you either do your job as is expected of you or you will always receive late payments. The time has arrived to take responsibility.
