Eddie and Anna von Kleist’s monthly municipality bill is usually between R600 and R800.
“We don’t even put on the lights at night,” Eddie said on 24 July in Westdene.
“We use candles, but only when we’re making coffee. We’ve always been up to date on our payments, we always pay our electricity before we even think of food. We’ve always been so careful with our electricity usage.”
Then their March 2014 bill reflected a charge of R15 000, and the Von Kleist’s are bewildered.
“We haven’t suddenly acquired a swimming pool,” Eddie said wryly. He has paid the bill, but the couple’s savings have now been depleted.
Since a new smart meter has been installed in their home, their bills have been escalating by more than R2 000 a month, and Eddie von Kleist said he cannot pay anymore.
“The meter readings on our bills do not match the readings on our meter. We have been monitoring it closely every day, and the readings are completely different,” he said.
“At this point I will go and sit in jail. I will not pay these bills anymore.”
Their daughter Leonie Gooch is outraged on her parent’s behalf. “My parents are not people who ever owe anyone anything,” she said.
“They are in their 80s. They are law-abiding citizens, and they don’t know what to do anymore.”
The Von Kleist’s have reported the matter to City Power; Eddie went as far as to go to the department and spent the day there, but nothing has been done yet.
