Lavis duo left with huge bills, no electricity
NO KRAG TO FIGHT: Lavona Adams of Lavis
A Bishop Lavis couple is kwaad at Eskom due to sky-high bills, empty promises of prepaid boxes and power cuts for the last six months that has nothing to do with loadshedding.
Lavona Adams said she and her husband Raymond, 54, have been waiting for a prepaid meter to be installed at their home in River Road since November 2019 after they started getting bills ranging from R3000 to R4000.
Lavona said: “We have been living here for seven years and our electricity was always supplied by Eskom, but when the bills started getting so high so I went to the Bellville offices to apply for a prepaid box and they said it will be installed by February 2020.
“They never came and then lockdown happened so they were closed.
“My husband then called when the restrictions were lifted a bit and then they said that they never got any application and that we must reapply.”
Lavona says when Raymond reapplied for the prepaid box last November, he was told that the contractors who install the boxes are busy and they must wait nine months.
Raymond said: “Our electricity has been off now since February. How can we live like this?
“We have to walk around the corner to my sister-in-law to use electricity, which we have to pay for otherwise her bill is too high again.”
Despite their electricity being off for nearly two months, the couple say that they received a bill for R1300 this month, while they have made a four-month arrangement with the energy supplier to pay off a R3900 bill they got last November.
“We do not own a pool or anything that uses a lot of electricity. We told Eskom this and they said the bill is an estimate, but they will send somebody to take a proper reading. We are still waiting.”
The couple approached community activist John Siljeur for help, who says there are a number of residents with the same issue.
“I have been messaging Eskom on behalf of all the people's complaints, but they hardly ever get back to me.
“When they do then they say they will send somebody to investigate, but mostly they do not come out.”
Despite emails sent to Eskom since 19 March, the Daily Voice has not received any response from the power utility.