Citizen’s R24000 water bill shock
Emett points to faulty BCM meter
‘BCM resident, Alan Emett's municipal account has been flagged by BCM after he refused to pay R24460.32’
BUFFALO City Metro (BCM) residents’ water woes continue as residents continually complain about high and incorrect water bills that are not being attended to.
BCM resident, Alan Emett’s municipal account has been flagged by BCM after he refused to pay the R24 460.32 he was charged for water in December.
In the same month, Emett reported to Buffalo City Metro Municipality (BCMM), that his water meter was leaking badly. The meter was not visible and could not be read due to the leak.
In the same month, Emett received an account stating that a reading was done on December 12. “How was this possible? They couldn't even see the meter because of the leak,” Emett said.
“Despite reporting the leak, once I returned from my holiday it still was not fixed, I then messaged my ward councillor.”
The meter was only seen to and repaired in January and upon talking to a municipal worker, Emett was told that his account had been flagged.
Fellow BCM resident Jill Atkin also indicated her frustration after being charged R5 000 for water. After querying the bill, she was told that there might be a leak.
Her meter was found to have no leak, but the readings continued to increase.
“I’ve tried to read my own meter and it’s impossible, the lid is difficult to lift up and there's always a thick layer of dust over the meter,” Atkin said.
“They are definitely not reading my meter so where are they getting the readings from?” Atkin asked.
When contacted, BCMM spokesperson, Sibusiso Cindi, indicated that BCMM was addressing problems raised by customers in respect of the billing system by reviewing the current meter reading system.
“The city is also looking at an integrated system to reduce human error,” said Cindi.