Scrutinise your water account carefully

At the end of August I received a water account from Ilembe District Municipality for the amount of R1410.83 – which made my eyes water. It might be good to alert fellow users of this incident, as it could very well happen to them as well.
Because of a water leak on my old meter, this was replaced in April. The following water reading was done on May 27 with a reading of 57kl. Since then no further readings were made, but in August I received an account for consumption of 73kl. And it was this reading which made me sit up and take notice, as it was charged as if it was only one month’s consumption.
There are three different water charges per month. The first 10 kilolitres are charged at R8.75 per kilolitre. From 11-30kl the cost is R12.59 per kilolitre and from 31kl upwards you are charged R20.89 per kilolitre.
According to my August statement I was charged for the usage of 73kl in one month instead of Ilembe dividing the consumption into three months. They therefore overcharged me by several hundred Rand! Had I not carefully checked my accounts, I would have had to pay the wrong amount.
My advice to fellow consumers is to keep your statements close at hand and to check them regularly.

VIC LOUIS
Zinkwazi