A couple from Randpark Ridge in Johannesburg say their electricity was cut off for nine days because they would not pay an incorrect R50 000 charge on their water bill. To make matters worse they claim a Joburg Water contractor offered to ‘remove the mistake’ for a bribe.

Matthew and Debby Dyball saw their monthly invoice increase ten-fold after a water meter leaked outside their property in February. These meters are the responsibility of Joburg Water, who told the couple they were not allowed to have a private plumber do the repair.

When the entity’s repair team arrived four days later, they demanded R1 000 for the work, which the couple paid although they suspected it should have been done for free. They did not receive a receipt.

After the R50 000 bill appeared in March, the couple tried to correct it by phoning, emailing, and visiting the city’s Region C office. It took them months to rectify the error.

They claim the same Joburg Water contractor who demanded the earlier money said he would sort the bill out in exchange for a ‘Coca-Cola’ which they refused to give.

“We still have the incorrect fee on our invoice, and I do not know how long it will take to sort it out, but Joburg Water and the city have been so hard to contact. Their phone just rings and rings and my email is still not responded to. It was only through the assistance of [Ward 134 councillor] Devon Steenkamp that we had our power returned at the end of May,” Debby says.

Her husband says even though he had been to the Region C offices a few times already, the city gave no indication they would follow up on the contractor who elicited the bribe and asked for another.

“It feels like they do not want to do their job, so this encourages you to just buy the coke for the guy,” Matthew says. “Even when the city employees came to turn our power on and I retold them the story, they said it would have all been resolved by now if I bought the coke.”

Steenkamp says this issue is not uncommon in his ward. “It also depends on the case as some are simply choosing to not pay their bills, and sometimes it is a contractor that does the error,” he says.

Questions were sent to Joburg Water spokesperson Nolwazi Dhlamini as to whether Joburg Water ever charges a resident to replace leaking water meters or for any other work, what residents should do when its employees or contractors ask for money for a job and whether this specific incident and the employee asking for money will be investigated.

No comment has been received at the time of publishing.