I am writing to you to ask for your assistance in a matter that I cannot get resolved with the metro council, Alberton cluster. For the past six years now the council keeps cutting the power to my house in Florentia, instead of that of my neighbour.
Every two months I must take a day off from work to try and resolve this matter. Vusi from the Alberton Town Council assures me my account is up to date, (latest account is due May 20, 2014) and was not on the list for disconnection everytime it has been disconnected in the past. It was also confirmed that my neighbour was on the list and was supposed to be disconnected. This happens every two months.
Wednesday February 12, upon returning home from work, I discovered that my house had no power again. I called the call centre, and was told to pay my account! What on earth, I have a file for the past ten years, with all my receipts and proof of payments, paid before the due date!
*Thursday I spent my day:
– trying to get a statement from the council, and no surprise the systems were off-line and they cannot help. I had to go to Swartkoppies,
– at Swartkoppies I get told the problem is not on their side but with the contractor,
– the contractors get paid irrespectively of the job being done correctly or not,
– back to Alberton to see Vusi,
– when eventually you do get to the front as it is your turn, the young man that is supposed to listen to my query, starts off by saying ‘I cannot help you as the system is offline
-After explaining to the rude young man I don’t want to speak to him but to Vusi, who never comes down to speak to me face to face, I am assured that my power will be on in the next 30 minutes’ and that the matter will be resolved with the contractor.
– Technician must come and mark my switch clearly so that this does not happen again,
– Technician shows up, no marker, does not know which pole, does not know which switch is for my house,
– He will report the matter and have someone come and mark it and needless to say I am still waiting for this to happen.
Fair enough, the contractor did come out, first trying to switch the power on at the wrong pole, then I had to show him which pole is mine and which house is mine.
Nobody other than myself is paying for all the losses I suffer every couple of months due to my neighbours not paying their bills on time, yet their power has not been cut once in the past six years.
I tried calling the call centre just to hold on for 56 minutes. Eventually a lady answered and said she will send a technician, who came out at 20:30 on Friday night, just to get told if the power was disconnected due to non-payment they won’t be able to switch it on. After explaining the situation for 35 minutes to two people they eventually switched it on.
This just proves to me the so-called contractors don’t know what they are doing, how they got the contract is beyond me. Then again it might be a family member of someone working for the council.
I’ve been trying to get hold of the council since 08:00 this morning, nobody answers the phones at all. What do I do if my power is cut again today instead of my neighbour’s? You cannot speak to anybody at the town council for assistance, so how do I get this matter resolved?
I’ve always been so proud of Alberton, but not anymore. Our town council is lacking morals and values, and what was once important, is now just another matter to be swept under the rug.
If my power is of again tonight when I return home, I will cut the pole off with a grinder, and dump it in my neighbour’s garden.
Alberton town council is an embarrassing disgrace.
Fed-up Florentia resident
