Madam – Dear Municipality:
I read with great interest on social media that over 40 households had their electricity erroneously disconnected yesterday due to a Municipal glitch. The Municipality then corrected the glitch and even sent an SMS apologising.
For me it was not the disconnection per se but the manner in which they conducted themselves. I thus proceeded to send them an email which I give permission for you to use.
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The email reads as follows:
1. My husband and I were one of those unfortunate residents who had our electricity disconnected by the Municipality yesterday on the allegation that our account was in arrears.
2. The Municipality thereafter acknowledged an error on their part and re-instated the connection.
3. However, my complaint refers to the following:
4. We live in a townhouse complex. Someone from the municipality therefore had to gain access to our unit via another resident since neither I nor my husband were home at the time that the notice of disconnection was delivered.
5. The notice was not delivered in an envelope and could be read by anyone including the person who opened the remote controlled access gate.
6. This we believe is a gross violation of our right to privacy as well as our right to dignity and must be condemned. You have our telephone contact details as well as our email. The correct procedure would have been to call the client and ascertain whether you had a genuine case for disconnection. You send SMS reminders with our account balances on a monthly basis, why not send a courtesy SMS informing us of the intended disconnection? You further send our account via email, why not pop us an email? We are registered with your e-portal. You entered our private residential space and left a notice which anyone could read because you did not even have the courtesy to place such notice in an envelope and to treat the matter with the confidentiality it deserved. The matter is between me (the ratepayer/taxpayer) and you (the Municipality), and not between you and my neighbours.
7. I hope you will review and address your policy so that you do not repeat this practice in future and infringe on another’s human rights.
Irate Customer
Response from the Editor:
The letter above was sent to the Newcastle Municipality Communications Department for response. To date, the email has not been acknowledged by the relevant authorities.
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