A dissatisfied resident was frustrated after receiving an outrageous water bill. Benjamin Philips, a resident from Promosa had an account that jumped from about R280 to R 944,20 for July.
This was a big concern for him and he went straight to the water meter and noticed that readings on the statement and on the meter were different. According to the statement, the reading of 8885 was taken on 6 July. On 13 August – more than a month later – Philips checked his meter to find that it was 8858.
Philips then decided to just pay R 815, which is more or less the amount he usually pays.
He called the municipality to enquire, but the telephones at the accounts department kept on ringing. He then decided to call the executive mayor, Kgotso Khumalo, to help him with the direct contact number of a relevant respective official who would be able to assist him with his predicament.
After laying his complaint, he received no response or assistance.
Days went by and Philips had to buy electricity on Wednesday, 2 September, as they had run out. When he went to the shop for the coupon, he found out that his account had been blocked. “I couldn’t even buy a coupon worth R20. I was furious and went to different shops,” he said.
Philips thought the system was possibly offline but learnt that his account was indeed blocked.
He tried to call several people to put him through to the officials concerned, but to no avail. All the landline numbers he called just kept on ringing.
“We stayed the whole day with no electricity,” said Philips.
Around 05:40, the following day, he went to the main municipal offices to be first in line. As soon the offices opened, he managed to meet the right official and was assisted.
As the two analysed the matter, the official realised that there was, indeed, a problem with the water readings.
For August, the water reading on his statement were 8920. When he checked the water meter on last Wednesday, 2 September it read 8874.
Philips’ matter has been attended to and his account was unblocked and he was able to purchase electricity.
