DURBAN North residents are raising the alarm over what they describe as an irregular and frustrating billing system by the eThekwini Municipality, which has resulted in inexplicably high water and electricity bills, despite consistent usage patterns.

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Three ratepayers have contacted the Northglen News with complaints about being billed on estimates for months on end, often without any actual meter readings being taken.

Sam Reddy, a resident of Durban North since 2008, said these irregularities have led to shockingly inflated amounts appearing on statements. He also sits on two residents’ and ratepayers’ associations.

“The February bill for one of the properties came to R7 998, March – R1 475, April – R13 824 and May – R13 075. Before this, our average bill was around R6 500 to R7 500. I own two properties in Durban North which are in different Wards and both have received escalated bills which I can’t explain. I send in readings through the City’s app but this does not seem to help,” he said.

After establishing this was not an isolated problem, Reddy took to the area’s WhatsApp groups to establish if other residents had experienced similar occurrences.

One of those residents was Coral Allorto who expressed similar frustration.

“A reading was done in August and the latest one was only read in May. The ridiculous thing is that I was credited for all the months which means I was being overcharged. My bill is normally around R4 200 a month but I now owe R8 600 for May, even where there are adjustments or credits applied. How is that even possible?” she asked.

Allorto added that she is confused by the billing structures and feels left in the dark about how charges are calculated.

Another homeowner, Grant Panagiotopoulos, said he has monitored his municipal bills over the last eight months and has noticed a few major discrepancies.

“For the first four of these months, and as was the long-term average prior to recent events, we averaged monthly water usage of approximately 32 000 litres, in the past four months, with absolutely no justification for any usage increase. With the most recent bills we have almost doubled this usage and now use 62 000 litres. Since the first spiked bill in February we have been making concerted efforts to reduce our water consumption but our bill just keeps climbing and climbing. There is absolutely no chance that we have increased our consumption by these amounts. We can not afford this and feel that we are just being taken advantage of by the municipality,” he said.

In October 2024, Panagiotopoulos was charged R8564.49. His bill for May is currently at R11 521.06.

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Commenting as the deputy chairperson of the Glen Hills/Glen Anil Ratepayers Association and the interim deputy chairperson of the Durban North Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association, Reddy reiterated that he was seeing a pattern.

“We’re seeing a pattern. Some accounts haven’t had actual readings since August last year. Instead, they keep estimating and estimating. We’re overpaying monthly based on these estimates and when you can’t pay, they just cut you off,” he said.

“There are some amazing people at the municipality trying to help, but the system beats them. There are issues with ISO compliance, and morale is down. You query it, and you’re told there’s a 21-day turnaround. Meanwhile, you’re disconnected.”

He added that there was also no clear explanation of how water readings are taken or what the billing tiers mean.

“They knock off 50% one day, charge a reconnection fee the next, and sometimes give a refund. How is the system allowed to fail so badly in the first place?” asked Reddy.

“We need a billing system that works and one that’s fair, accurate, and doesn’t punish people trying their best to stay compliant,” he added.

The City did not comment at the time of publishing.

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