Pre-termination notices to wrong address
BRYANSTON - A resident of Bryanston was surprised to find four pre-termination notices from the City of Johannesburg posted on the front wall of his property, but none of them were addressed to him.
The notices were addressed to four different Bryanston residents. Their names and stand numbers (which are known to the Chronicle) appear on the forms, but not the properties’ street addresses. Each form states that an amount has been outstanding on their account for more than 30 days.
The forms read, “Where the account remains unpaid or an arrangement has not been concluded, settlement of the outstanding balance as indicated is required within 14 days hereof. Failure to do so may, without any further notice to yourself, result in the following actions: (a) Discontinuation or restriction of services; and/or (b) Legal action being instituted against yourself without any notice.” All the forms are dated 30 May.
It is further stated on the forms that, “We will not be held liable for any damages or claims as result of water restrictions/terminations as determined by legislation.”
The resident who received the notices, Ivan Meikle, said he had never heard of the individuals named on the forms. He said he had called Joburg Connect to report the error and he was informed that someone would be sent to his home to collect the forms, but a week later nobody had arrived.
The account numbers of the affected residents have been sent to a spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg, but they had not provided comment at the time of going to press.
