Wendy Knowler offers solutions to Keri Miller’s municipal bill issues
Keri Miller was unexpectedly pushed into a tight budget this December after receiving a letter from the Municipality to settle a very big electricity bill, lest her lights are cut out by the 7th of December. This has been giving her sleepless nights and to get to the bottom of this, she enlisted the help of Consumerwatch's Wendy Knowler.
Whether it’s a computer glitch, a water leak, or the result of your meter finally being read after months of estimated consumption, getting unexpectedly high water or electricity bill from the municipality is a terrifying experience, especially this year, when so many of us are battling financially.
Following Keri's story about being slapped with a hefty electricity bill by the Municipality, many other people came forward with their own stories. Consumer Journalist, Wendy Knowler, decided to prioritise the matter by investigating the issue further and offering some solutions.
Listen to Keri explain her story in the podcast below.
Guys, my mom is a pensioner, and all of sudden she gets a water bill of R13 000.00. So I throw a tantrum and call the Municipal management in charge of Winklespruit South Coast KZN and threaten to go public with this issue because her bill is never more than R600 and she doesn't even a leak. GUESS WHAT? Bill was dropped to a surprising R2000. To me, this is an admission of "Corruption guilt ". Daylight robbery of pensioners.
We were slapped with an account that was double what we normally pay 2 months in a row - money we didn't have. My parents went to the Electricity office for our area and they managed to work out a payment plan agreement. They do charge interest and stuff, but it's better to be able to pay it off then pay all at once.
The billing system is totally off. We are home for less than 6hours a day with nothing but the TV being on and our bill is in access of R4700. Are they now charging us for the sunshine as well?
Consumer Journalist, Wendy Knowler, decided to prioritise the matter by investigating the issue further and offering some solutions.
"If you don’t pay, you go into arrears and that means the amount you owe shoots up with the addition of interest and costs. However, there is some relief for those in that situation," Wendy says.
Wendy adds that the eThekwini Municipality has offered a payment plan to those who are already in arrears. Residential customers are expected to pay between 10 and 25% of arrears and businesses to pay between 25 and 50% of their arrears. Customers with debt 90 days and older will see all accrued interest on their bills written off. But it will be reinstated if a customer defaults on the payment plan.
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The Covid-19 special payment relief incentive for customers in arrears expires at the end of this month. Therefore, one way to get around the unpredictability of bills due to the fact that the municipality doesn’t read meters every month is to do it yourself.
Electricity readings can be sent to SMS Code 30909 or email [email protected].
Listen to the full podcast for more of Wendy Knowler's expert advice.
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Listen to more podcasts from Wendy Knowler in the Consumerwatch channel below:
Contact Wendy
Get in touch with Wendy via her website or her Facebook page. Please note that Wendy is not able to personally respond to every email she receives. If she is able to take up your case, she will contact you directly. Here are other avenues for you to consider.
IMAGE CREDIT: Keri Miller