eThekwini councillors raise alarm on billing inaccuracies and grossly inflated bills
Councillors in eThekwini Municipality are raising concerns over persistent billing inaccuracies and inflated utility bills.
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The eThekwini Municipality is coming under fire over billing crises that have saddled consumers with high “fictitious” bills, raising fears that it could hamper embattled ratepayers from benefiting from a Special Debt Relief Programme.
Councillors in the city have raised concerns that residents are still faced with incorrect billing.
They revealed that in some cases, they have had to intervene to resolve a ratepayer’s debt of R132 000 and another of R120 000 respectively, which were sources of system failures in the city.
DA councillor Mxolisi Khubisa said: “The mounting frustration among ratepayers stems from a pervasive issue of erroneous municipal billing and the resultant burden of protracted, unresolved disputes. This growing discontent poses a significant challenge to the municipality’s administrative credibility and its relationship with residents and business owners.
“For several years, the Revenue Management System (RMS) has produced incorrect, estimated, and highly inflated bills, often without verified meter readings. These errors are causing severe financial strain on households and businesses and undermining public confidence in the municipality’s ability to manage its own revenue processes,” he said.
He added that residents and small businesses are unfairly excluded from municipal programmes – such as the Special Debt Relief Programme – because they cannot afford to pay 50% of a disputed and inaccurate debt.
IFP councillor Jonathan Annipen said he recently had to intervene to assist residents, some of whom have been faced with thousands of rand in inaccurate billing that they have battled to resolve for more than a year. In one case, he mentioned a resident who was left reeling after receiving a shocking municipal bill of R132 000.
“It appears that over a period of time, estimates were used to bill the consumer instead of actual meter readings. Thereafter, an actual reading was captured, and the system automatically adjusted the difference between estimates and the actual consumption.
“The result is that the account now reflects the total amount of usage over a longer period, charged at the current rate, which is significantly higher than previous tariff rates. This is not only unfair but also inaccurate, as it penalises the consumer for the municipality’s failure to take regular readings.” Annipen said many residents across Phoenix are experiencing incorrect and inflated billing – not because of their own actions, but because of systemic failures within the municipality.
In another case, he mentioned an elderly couple on a social grant who qualified for services under the indigent policy but faced a blocking debt that had grown to R120 000, which they battled over the past two years. “The system itself is broken,” he said. “Residents who qualify for indigent support are often left stranded because applications take far too long to be processed.”
The municipality said in a statement it is committed to resolving the billing challenges.
“The Municipality has implemented several control systems and operational processes to ensure the accuracy of utility bills. Cases where residents may experience unusually high bills can stem from several factors, including high consumption, incorrect readings, invisible underground leaks, faulty meters, or prolonged estimations. Once the underlying cause is identified and corrected, estimates are reversed and customer accounts adjusted accordingly. Revenue Management continues to improve internal controls and enhance billing processes as part of its commitment to operational excellence.”
Residents may dispute their bills at walk-in centres or via the call centre, the e-correspondence platform, or the e-services portal.
Service turnaround targets are in place, and complex cases are escalated for technical investigation. Depending on the complexity of the matter, standard billing disputes are resolved within 30 days, in line with the Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy. If a formal dispute has been logged and acknowledged, disconnections are typically placed on hold until the issue is resolved.