Trudie Scheepers, caretaker of the metro housing complex, says she is certain some of the water meter readings have been switched.
She is one of six residents who have been complaining to the metro about high water usage and says the accuracy of water meter readings is a common concern to the residents.
“When you receive an unusually large water account, the first thought in many people’s mind is that it is impossible,” she says.
When the residents approached her to query their sudden high water accounts, she noticed the water meter numbers on the accounts and on the actual meters are different.
Scheepers says the confusion started when the metro replaced the old water meters with new ones.
She claims she is now responsible for paying for the water usage of her neighbour.
Read: Water meters mess
“I couldn’t have used that much water per month as I am living alone,” she says.
It has taken more than six months for Scheepers to try and solve the problem at the metro offices.
She claims she was informed by several metro employees at the accounts department that the meter accounts are wrong.
“To suddenly budget for a higher water account is difficult when you only receive a government pension,” she says.
The other five residents are experiencing the same problem and claim they cannot be held liable for the high amounts due to the mistake made by the metro.
Read: Metro dealing with water meter issues
Gert Els claims the metro recently realised they have made a mistake on the accounts and are busy rectifying their mistake.
Themba Gadebe, metro spokesman says they are investigating the complaints.
“Corrective adjustment journals have been done on all the affected accounts.
“We are now trying to established what led to this mix up,” he says.
