If anyone offers you a prepaid meter and you have not phoned the municipality for one, chances are it is a scam.

A gentleman, going by the name of Asmal, is out and about in Ladysmith targeting pensioners with a prepaid meter offer literally too good to be true.

A once-off payment of R1600 and you will get a prepaid meter with a R600 limit. In other words, no matter how much electricity you use, you will never pay more than R600 – which, in these cash-strapped times, seems like a bargain, especially to hard-hit senior citizens.

While all the details of the scam are not clear, the victims are phoned and later a representative appears. He knows the details of the homeowner when he arrives and uses documentation with a municipal letterhead.

He asks for a deposit and promises to return later to install the meter.

He has caught several people out already. Obviously the prepaid meter is never actually installed and he walks away with the pensioner’s hard-earned money.

The municipality have stressed that they have no one out selling prepaid meters and even if they did, you would never be asked to pay anyone money. They only accept money at their offices or a designated service provider (if anyone asks you for cash, it is therefore a scam).

The municipality will be releasing a full press release later.

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