JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Patrick Ellis (46) received a statement that he owed City Power R41 000 in 2012, when he thought all his bills were paid in time.
Unfortunately, not all his bills were paid in time, because City Power had made the mistake of forgetting to read his outside meter for a long time. Therefore all the bills he had been receiving were only a portion of the amounts that were supposed to be due.
However, Patrick realised that worrying about the situation would not solve the problem, which was clearly not his fault, and he decided to consult City Power to settle the debt.
“Although it was their fault, when I went to speak to them, I was forced to pay a certain portion of that R41 000, which was R12 000, imagine!
“In that time, I went to Standard Bank to loan the money and pay City Power immediately so that I could continue my life while I pay the remainder bit by bit.
“I paid them the R12 000 and then I started paying off the loan, and another R3 000 to City Power monthly to cut down the money I owed them.
“But doing all that as a good citizen did not stop them from causing me stress. City Power people kept coming to my house to try and cut my power, claiming I owed money and needed to make a payment.
“I had to always stop whatever I was doing so I could rush home to produce papers to prove that I was busy settling before they cut my lights,” said an angry Patrick.
Patrick said what makes him angry is that he is in the process of settling and has signed a letter of acknowledgement of debt, but he still has to worry about people coming to cut his power.
This has been going on for a while and it interferes with Patrick’s business, which is the source of the income he uses to pay City Power.
“I went to their offices, but I do not get help. I even missed a big business appointment, because I was called to rush home as men from the traffic department came to try and cut my power. You know what? I would understand if I was not paying. But I am paying them on time and every time,” Patrick added.
City Power’s spokesperson said: “If Mr Ellis has made an arrangement to settle his account, there should not be people trying to cut his power. I will personally make contact with Mr Ellis and ask the Head of Services to look into this matter and resolve it.”
In May the City of Johannesburg’s Mayor, Park Tau, was fined R50 000 due to the city’s failure to rectify an erroneous account by the South Gauteng High Court.
The COURIER still investigates.
#CityPowertariffs
