The bills have stacked up and money is tight, there is too much to pay and not enough money to pay it with.
You could not pay your water and lights account and the municipality has disconnected your water and electricity supply.
Is it legal for them to do so? And if so, what procedure must be followed prior to the municipality disconnecting your supply?
The Constitutional Court has ruled municipalities may, without a court order, terminate the supply of electricity to a property where the person responsible for the account has failed to pay their accounts for all levies charged on the property.
If your municipal account is in arrears, it is within the municipality’s rights to disconnect the services which are supplied to the property. However, before any disconnection takes place, there is a procedure the municipality will need to follow.
The municipality is legally obliged to give notice to the person responsible for the municipal account. A minimum of 14 days written notice of termination is required for water and electricity accounts which are in arrears and if short notice or no notice is given, then the disconnection is illegal.
The 14-day notice gives the person responsible for the account an opportunity to dispute or query any arrears on the account, as well as pay the arrears if possible.
If an arrears account is queried or disputed, the municipality may not disconnect services provided the amount being queried or disputed is equal to the amount in arrears.
Where the amount in dispute is less than the amount in arrears, then the services may be disconnected for the undisputed amount owing. If a query has been lodged with the municipality and the person responsible for the account does not make any form of payment towards the arrears, the services may still be disconnected.
In instances where the responsible person wishes to settle their arrears, that person must notify the municipality, in writing of the payments being made as well as to which account it should be allocated to.
This should be done before any payments are made as the municipality has the right in law to allocate the payment to any account it wishes.
If you are of the opinion your electricity or water supply has been illegally disconnected, we suggest you consult an attorney to assist you with the matter.
Article compiled by Tuckers.
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