MADADENI – Rates bill complaints are certainly not new for Newcastle.
Receiving a bill for R119 260 ‘out of the blue’ however, was enough to cause Madadeni homeowner, Paul Mbele to question if the municipality was punishing him.
His first port of call was to approach the municipality.
While the amount was ultimately deemed incorrect and Mr Mbele charged his actual rate, he has questioned how many pay amounts larger than they owed.
“They couldn’t explain it… How many people don’t fight this and end up paying?”
Mr Mbele’s post on social media has gained a large number of reactions and comments, with some claiming the municipality had estimated the reading and others claiming the amounts were fabricated.
Mayor, Makhosini Nkosi responded to the matter last week.
On the issues of bills, he said if a customer had received a ridiculous bill, they had to approach the municipality for the bill to be scrutinised.
If the amount was found to be inaccurate, it would be adjusted.
“Usually people complain about historically high bills from time to time. We are assured by the administration that meters are read monthly and actual consumption billed. We are monitoring this from now going forward,” he concluded.
Have you received an exorbitant rates bill recently?
The Newcastle Advertiser is interested in knowing more – email your contact information and the details of your billing to newed2@caxton.co.za and we’ll investigate.
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