After being in arrears of around R10 000 for more than three months with the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), an elderly couple were overjoyed when their account was credited.
“I was credited to the value of more than R6 000,” Marie Pretorius said on Tuesday (21 July).
“Going forward, my bills should reflect our correct usage — finally.”
In June the Record reported the Pretorius household had to pay R3 000 to be reconnected after Joburg Water cut them off for their account being in arrears. Meanwhile, the Pretoriuses received overestimated bills of up to 90 kilolitres per month where their actual usage is between 10 and 15 kilolitres a month. Their previous meter proved to be the problem, according to Kgamanyane Maphologela of Revenue Shared Services Centre.
“After investigation, it was found the meter had malfunctioned and stopped registering their usage, which unfortunately led to the account being billed on estimates,” Maphologela in a press release said.
“The City has since resolved the matter; a new meter was installed and the customer’s next invoice will reflect the reversals of the estimates,” he said.
“Often, customers come to CoJ about being charged higher for water usage when there could be other contributing reasons for a higher bill such as leaks from the meter.”
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Also read:Â Water estimates driving elderly resident crazy
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