I’ve just read the letter from Leonie Hayes I will not pay, which featured in the 16 May edition of the news. This seems to be a problem at the council.
I too had a query about the charges on my account. Firstly I do not receive an account as I rent and the account is in the owner’s name, so I phone and request the amount due. But this month I asked for them to email the print-out to me.
To my absolute horror they claim I owe R2 040,55 and the most I’ve paid was R650. I did have a late payment note charge, which I have not received but I was guilty so I paid R750.
But on the print-out I have two admin fees of R142,30 and I have not received any notices delivered to my address. I got them for the people next door but never for me. If I had received a note I could have seen there was a problem but nothing, only the charges.
And that’s not all, I’ve been charged a whopping R793,44 admin fee for the reconnection of my lights, which never were turned off.
On 9 May I phoned and spoke to Poppy in the accounts department who told me it’s the council’s right to charge me that for late payment.
When I asked how they could charge reconnection fees for a late payment that I’ve already paid, she politely asked if I have a postbox at my gate, if not the council is not responsible if we don’t get our notices.
If I’m not happy with my account I must email a letter to Piet Tebjane, which I did the same day and up to now have had no reply. It is very wrong to be charged reconnection fees when electricity was never cut off, and if the notice is signed for by the resident there would be no misunderstanding.
