Council has said the delayed delivery of printed municipal account statements is not reason enough for customers not to pay their accounts, or to pay them late.
It stated that the on-going interruption of postal services has resulted in frustrated customers either skipping payment or paying late.
The result of either one is that customers go into arrears on their accounts.
“We are aware of the strike by post office workers. However, it was in view of circumstances like these, among others, that the municipality introduced numerous options which only serve to make the accessibility of statements and payments easier.
“The non-receipt of a statement does not exempt any person from the liability to pay such an account,” said spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), Mr Themba Gadebe.
Residents are encouraged to pay similar amounts to the previous month’s statements should they not receive their current statements.
Residents who are not receiving their statements by post, or summary statements by SMS, are encouraged to visit their Customer Care Centre to update their contact details.
“The municipal basket of improved payment methods includes the online system which enables our customers to view and pay their accounts online. Therefore, residents are encouraged to register on www.e-siyakhokha.co.za to be able to view their statements online. Residents can also pay their accounts at the Customer Care Centres or outlets identified at the back of their statements,” said Mr Gadebe.
The online system also enables residents to predate payments, which means residents can set the system to pay their account on a set date with a set amount if they are on leave or holiday.
The system will immediately send out a notification of payment and it keeps records of accounts and payments from the time a user is registered.
“It is important to note that the due date for payment is fixed and it does not change from month to month, which helps not to miss your payment. When in doubt, customers may phone the numbers at the back of their previous statement,” said Mr Gadebe.
He added that alternatively, residents can email their account numbers including contact details to accontenquiries@ekurhuleni.gov.za
