THE electricity supply business is rife with fraudsters according to Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
Gadebe requested customers to be vigilant and to remember to never pay money to a municipal official unless the payment takes place over the counter at the EMM’s rates hall and a legitimate receipt is given to show the recorded transaction.
“There is no instance where a cash amount must be paid on the spot, even to a legitimate employee of the council or service provider to the council,” Gadebe said.
Scams that have been identified include:
n A letter with the EMM logo is hand delivered to a property. The letter is reportedly poorly written and informs the resident that their meter has been tampered with and an immediate fine must be paid before the power is reinstated.
Any letter from the municipality will be compiled in a professional manner with the EMM Energy Department’s office contact details that will be answered when a call is placed. Please call the office to confirm or contact the EMM Call Centre on 086 054 3000.
n Private individuals or businesses are approached by a private “company” to install a prepaid meter and are told that the meter will be cheaper than the credit meter. They claim that a fee is payable; not to the municipality but to the private company.
This scam is often perpetrated with prepaid electricity meters stolen from another municipality. Residents are unlikely to detect an error and will be able to purchase prepaid electricity tokens. The payment amounts will be electronically allocated to the municipality that owns the unique meter. Since that municipality is often not Ekurhuleni, once EMM auditors find the illegal meter, the meter will be confiscated and the person’s electricity supply will be terminated. The resident will then receive backdated billing.
Contact a legitimate EMM official to assist you with a prepaid meter. When a meter is replaced by the municipality, there is no cost involved to the customer. An application must be made at any of the EMM’s Customer Care Centres.
n Residents are approached and told that an expert will adjust their electricity meters so that they pay less for their bills.
The scam can cause many problems for customers as meter auditors will discover the tampering. The electricity supply will be disconnected, a reinstatement fee of R2 118.60 plus VAT and a backdated account will be levied. The municipality could also instate criminal charges in these cases.
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