The custodians of a community hall in Bakerton are up in arms over their water bill.
Lennie Pillay, one of the custodians, says he was presented with the rates bill for January for the building that is Honeysuckle.
“We went from paying for an average of about two kilolitres to 170 kilolitres, making them owe upwards of R8 000, without any explanation.”
Pillay says they barely use the water as they only meet a few times a month.
“We don’t even use the water to water the grass so it shocks me that our bill has come to this,” says Pillay.
Pillay says he enquired at the municipal offices in Springs and was sent from pillar to post.
“I was sent to a gentleman who deals with meters and I was advised to change my meter if I feel it’s faulty.”
He says they have always paid on time as law-abiding residents and now he feels like the system is against them.
“It feels like nothing is being done and we have never made a late payment. We would always pay ahead so that there was always a positive balance on our statements.”
Spokesperson for the metro Zweli Dlamini says there could be any number of reasons why they could be presented with such a high bill.
“It might be one of the following or all of them: irregular use of water, meter incorrectly read and meter malfunctioning.”
Dlamini said that there are avenues to report readings should residents feel that they have been over-billed and can’t pay.
“We have [an] enquiries desk where customers can enquire about the status of their account and we have a billing section where account disputes are scrutinised for accuracy if the dispute is not resolved at that point. “The customer will be referred to the service department for further assistance and investigation,” he says.
