Bills. Bills. Bills.
Which would be paid, if they weren’t erroneous, inflated and based on thumb-sucked estimations.
Randburg resident Jane Beaver is currently fighting a rates and taxes bill of R 1 755 855.00 on a property she doesn’t even own.
Beaver sold the property in Noordhang in April 2011 and it was transferred to new ownership, for which she has written proof.
“In July 2012, I received an account showing that I owed an amount of R 1 704 195.04,” said Beaver. “I took this account to the Randburg walk-in centre and was assisted by a ‘lady’ that truly had no interest in my story. The one good thing that I was assured of, was that the account was in the name of the new owners.”
“I am still receiving these huge accounts with, I might add, three ‘Final Demand’ letters,” lamented a frustrated Beaver. “I am now at the end of my tether.”
And she’s not the only one.
Multiple complaints have arisen regarding irregular billing from the City of Joburg.
Another resident from Fontainebleau, who asked not to be named, used to pay on average, R1 500 per month on rates and taxes for his humble abode in which only two people reside, with one geyser.
In April, the resident was billed a staggering R17 723.00, which he duly paid because he considers himself a law-abiding citizen. In May, he was billed R3 262.00. In June he was charged a mere R1 659.00. Then in July, he was billed an additional R6 359.00.
City of Joburg cited the reason he was billed this much, was due to inaccurate “estimations”.
A lot of these residents who have complained have begun to rigorously check their meters and found that these supposed “estimations” are far higher than the actual reading.
They feel defrauded by the City of Joburg.
Ward councillors across Joburg North have voiced their concerns and banded together to hold the entity accountable.
“The City of Joburg has recently gone ahead and installed (changed) old conventional meters to the new smart meters in suburbs across the City,” explained Ward 102 councillor, David Potter.
“The roll out, except for the suburb of Blairgowrie, has been done ad hoc and without consultation with councillors.
As councillors, we form the basis of communication between the City and the residents – our constituents. One would have thought that City Power would have done this upfront.”
Potter states that further to the ad hoc installation of the new meters, the following is becoming evident:
N The signal in some areas is insufficient for the readings to be received from the units
N The City fails to bill the actual readings and hence bills estimated readings
N The estimated readings are extremely incorrect and inflated
N There has been talk that new meters are more “calibrated” hence, higher readings
“Again, if City Power would only give us the facts instead of hiding behind their offices in Reuven,” requested Potter. “As for a public meter reading schedule, again this hasn’t been communicated with councillors in a long time.”
