Bluff homeowner left in the dark about R40 000 electricity bill
To date, her bill stands at just over R40 000 and she is expected to pay it with interest out of her own pocket.
BLUFF resident, Nonhlanhla Langa is one of many ratepayers who have been issued with a hefty electricity bill which increases continuously with little to no explanation from the eThekwini Municipality.
To date, her bill stands at just over R40 000 and she is expected to pay it with interest out of her own pocket. “I don’t understand how my bill has been increasing so much month after month since December 2018 at a shockingly high rate even though there hasn’t been a change in how we utilise our electricity and no one is home during most of the day.
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She explained that during her mission in trying and resolve the matter, she learnt that her electricity meter was replaced with a new one on 15 May 2018 without her knowledge. “Workers from the municipality came to my home one day and my domestic worker let them in when I wasn’t home and they changed the meter without letting me know. I only found out about this recently. The explanation I was given was that the meter was faulty and ceased to register hence it wasn’t giving the correct reading. One would think that perhaps that was the reason behind the large bill and that the matter would be resolved thereafter, but no,” said a frustrated Nonhlanhla. Instead, her bill is higher and higher with each month and relevant parties continue to give her the run-around.
The mother of two explained that just last week Wednesday, a woman claimed to be sub-contracted by a company under eThekwini Municipality to record meter readings in the area, however, the woman did not go to Nonhlanhla’s neighbour to do the same job. “I don’t understand how the municipality works. Why don’t they communicate with residents about changes in the way that they operate or what on earth is the cause for these hefty utility bills?” she questioned after numerous reports, phone calls and emails that have left her with more questions than answers.
“I am an honest citizen who works daily to provide for my children. It is painful to be faced with such a monstrous financial issue while there are people living bill-free in townships and informal settlements due to illegal electricity bridging. It even makes one wonder if we are being made to suffer because of this and charged more to accommodate the freeloaders. I simply can’t afford what I am being charged. If there is an irregularity with my electricity then I ask that someone from the municipality be upfront and tell me what the issue. In this age of corruption, it is so difficult to trust certain processes and procedures. All I ask is that the municipality helps me rectify this instead of breaking my bank balance.”
Ward 66 councillor JP Prinsloo said it is important that residents make a query on their bills in person at the South Durban Basin Area Based Management (SDB ABM) offices on Bluff Road. “If I do not receive any further communication from a resident during the course of the query I presume that the problem has been resolved as it is difficult to track individual queries with the limited resources my office has available. If the query is not resolved residents should take the owners on themselves to follow up on their complaint either with the city or with me via email. We do our best to assist every resents that approaches my office or me directly for assistance,” he said.
He further advised that any residents who have issues with their utility bills are to do the following:
- Visit the SDB ABM office to query the utility bill.
- If the issue is not resolved after they had reported it to the SDB they must to go to the Martin West building to visit the customer care centre for further assistance.
- If officials at the contact centre were unable to resolve the issue residents can send a complaint to him in writing via email. Once he has received the information he can query and escalate the bill with the city.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Princess Nkabane acknowledged receipt of Nonhlanhla Langa’s claim and requested her account number for further inquiry within the relevant department.
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