Donaldson said Joburg Water replaced her water meter on 23 December, 2013 after she noticed it had been stolen.
“We left for Cape Town on 22 Dec and the house sitter told me the meter had been fixed but seemed to be leaking,” explained Donaldson.
After returning home, Donaldson said she tried to report the leak, but for days she received no assistance from the call centre.
She said, “My husband phoned the general call centre several times this morning [6 January] and got through – but they hung up before he could report the problem.
“I then tried the 688 numbers which Amanda Forsy, the ward councillor, posted on twitter.
“With my first call, I actually spoke to a lady who said she’s transferring me. The transferred call got picked up, I could hear the line was open but then the phone was put down on me.
“I phoned back and this time it rang for about four minutes, then was picked up and put down again.”
She explained how she went through the same process another eight times with the same outcome.
“I could actually hear people talking to one another in call centre but no one spoke to me.”
She finally got help on her 11th try.
Joburg Water spokesperson Millicent Kabwe apologised that the resident had a problem getting through to the call centre.
However she said there were various other means residents could use to report any water and sewer queries.
Details: SMS line 082 653 2143 and Joburg Connect 011 375 5555.
