Jon Diboll, Table View
I read with interest the article regarding Eskom leaving clients in the dark.
I too have had my share of being switched off in the Table View area. In March, I was autocratically switched off on a Thursday afternoon. I tried at 4pm to get their assistance from their call centre.
On Friday, I was informed that the account was in arrears, and I would have to pay R5 000 to have the electricity reconnected. My accounts weren’t actual readings and their subcontractor had breached their reading contract. Over this time period, four of my prize koi fish perished, which seemed of no concern to the operator.
Due to the number of reconnections by their subcontractor, he only got around to me late on Friday and I was charged an excessive after hours R1 060 fee.
From the beginning of March till last week, I have never received an invoice or SMS reminder and have increased my regular monthly payments to
R2 000 per month which is ridiculous for a person living on their own.
Last week, another demand from them of R5 000. When I remonstrated about it via email, I received a printed circular to inform me that an “audit reading” would be taken some time between July 20 to August 20 for homes in the Table View, Parklands and surrounding areas.
I have been informed by one of their subcontractors that their accounting department is in a huge mess due to them outsourcing the readers of meters – obviously they aren’t good with numbers.
Eskom, please get both your power stations and your accounts departments in order. When I request invoices from March to July, don’t ignore the request, unless you have something to hide.
Eskom responds: Eskom can confirm that electricity supply to the customer was disconnected on Tuesday July 7 due to the non-payment of arrears. This is the second time that the customer was disconnected due to non-payment this year. On Wednesday March 4, electricity supply was also disconnected. The customer’s account was estimated for 12 months from November 2018 to December 2019. When the actual reading was taken, the account was adjusted and rebilled as shown on the December 2019 invoice amounting to R8 400.40.
The arrears accumulated as indicated on the subsequent invoices that were issued to the customer. The customer continued to make regular monthly payments. However, this was not sufficient to cover the outstanding amount as stipulated on the monthly invoices.
The disconnection could have been prevented if the customer had requested a payment arrangement for the overdue amount.
The disconnection notice was printed on the invoice dated July 1, with an overdue amount of R5 850.91.
The invoice clearly stated that the overdue amount must be paid immediately, otherwise the supply may be subject to disconnection without further notice.
The customer is on the print and post bill delivery option.
If the customer does not receive his bill by post then he may request Eskom to change delivery option from post to email.
Customers may submit their own readings where the meter is on their own property and only if it is safe to do so.
Customers should send a clear photo of the readings via WhatsApp to 063 645 2901. For further enquiries, the customer may contact the Eskom Share Call number at 086 003 7566 or email customerservices@eskom.co.za. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days. a week.