Municipal ‘meter readers message’ gets residents irate
With consumers already feeling the pinch of these tough economical times, the concluding line of the sms dealt a blow that many may have seen as the last straw, a sentence no longer than twenty words, that probably read more like a threat than a request...
RESIDENTS of AbaQulusi have responded with shock and apparent outrage on social media to a recent sms that did the rounds to consumers in the region.
The message was sent out en masse, informing consumers that “meter readers are denied access to read electricity”.
“But I was home the whole day…”some have said and, “Nobody came to check our meter…” Some were even surprised at the sudden dilemma, considering that their meters have always been easily accessible to the municipal meter readers and there has never been any problem with meter reading prior to the receipt of the perplexing text.
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With consumers already feeling the pinch of these tough economical times, the concluding line of the sms dealt a blow that many may have seen as the last straw, a sentence no longer than twenty words, that probably read more like a threat than a request…
“Should this persist, you will be required to move the meter to the boundary of your property at your cost.”
According to a source at AbaQulusi Municipality, despite the apparent panic, this message does not apply to everyone who received it, which will surely come as a great relief to many.
“The message was sent out as a bulk sms,”they stated. “We were unable to select the specific numbers on our mailing list to send it to and so, everyone received it…”
Consumers who are certain that the message does not apply to them are advised to ignore it. If you’re not sure, contact the municipality on 034 982 2133 to confirm.
A popular solution that has been adopted by many residents is to email or phone in their meter readings, thereby saving the municipality the hassle of trying to gain access to their property and ensuring that the consumer is aware that their reading is done accurately every month.
