In the dark about shocking bills
EARFUL they may be left without electricity and water, irate residents are lining up at the rent office to query their utility bills.
Pensioner Marlene Chetty said she was beside herself when she received a bill of R24 000.
“I was in total shock. I live with my two grandchildren. Our bill normally came to under R1 000.”
When the 67-year-old queried the amount with the electricity department, she was told that she had to pay it.
“When I asked for an explanation, no one could tell me a thing. I need to pay the full amount, or a portion, in order to have these services. I don’t know what to do. I cannot afford to pay this large amount.”
Another resident, Sadeck Ismail Ebrahim, said he was billed R13 128.67 this month.
“I came to the department to query this amount because it is ridiculous. I was told that I need to pay R4 000 first to keep my electricity and water connected, before they could do anything further.”
He said the department was not doing proper readings.
“They are estimating our readings instead of doing the readings themselves. This is causing our bills to escalate. No one can give us a proper answer as to what is going on. Is it the wrong estimates or is there a glitch in the new billing system?” he asked.
Ebrahim, 57, who is selfemployed, said his bill was normally R3 500 to R4 000 a month.
“My bill has doubled in the recent months and every month I am here making payment arrangements because I cannot afford to pay the entire amount.
“We are in constant fear that our electricity will be cut off.”
Verulam pensioner Anietha Harilall and her son Mayen spent last Thursday morning at the department trying to get answers about their bill.
This month his mother’s bill is sitting at R4 500. “Every other month it comes
Anietha Harilall, right, and her son Mayen to R1 500. We have been told that if we don’t pay up, the electricity will be cut. My mother is a pensioner who gets R1 500 monthly. We try to help her where we can. I don’t know how we are going to pay the R4 500.”
He said the department needed to provide some answers as to what was going on.
For 33-year-old Deon Naidoo, his attempts to get clarity on his bill have fallen on deaf ears.
“I normally pay under R1 200 and now it’s almost double to R2 800. I am getting no joy from the department and they cannot provide me with any answers. I have until this week to make a payment.” THE Overport pensioner who received an electricity bill of R4.7 million has not received any feedback from the municipality and she fears her electricity may be disconnected.
Kasturi Lachman, 67, said that in August, after not receiving a bill for a few months, she went to the department to get a printout of her bill.
“I would pay my normal amount without receiving a bill, but I needed to know what was happening. When I received my printout, I was totally shocked to see the amount of R4.7m. When I queried the large amount, no one could give me any answers.”
Since receiving the bill, Lachman has been paying R750 a month
“I was told it’s a technical problem but I still have to pay toward it. No one has said that they are going to review the bill or do a re-reading. I can’t understand how the department would let something like this happen.”
Lachman said she had tried every avenue to get help but nothing seemed to work out.
“I have a four-bedroom home and I am very careful about the amount of electricity I use, and I always pay my bill on time. I don’t want to be left in the dark.
“They can and will disconnect my electricity as they see fit.”