IN July, the Fourie household from Mayberry Park, will be without electricity for a year and now Carol Fourie is urging other residents with the same or similar experience to make contact with her and take the EMM to task through the Ombudsman.
According to Carol, the problems started when she wanted them to investigate the bill she was sent, as it seemed to her to be very high, and she refused to pay until they did so. As they have not done so, she has been without power for nearly a year.
“Since you published my complaint, I have had a huge response from residents with the same problems,” says Carol, writer of the initial letter published May 18 “Resident takes on Ekurhuleni‘.
Carol continued by saying: “We are an average house-hold, no swimming pool, no sprinkler system, no electric fence, no fish pond.
“My father in-law, who is 75 years old, stays with us in a built-on flat, attached to our house and he has become very ill due to no warm water to bathe. As mentioned before we have been running on a generator and this has caused massive damage to our appliances. Who will be responsible for this? I have my grandson (two) living with us, a daughter of 11, two sons (16 and 22). My husband has to keep the generator running 24/7 due to my father-in-law’s health. He has fallen, collapsed so many times because he cannot see where he is going because the lights are off. He has suffered six strokes already and can’t walk properly, so we have to hold him to help him up. We cook on a gas stove and have to boil water for everyone to bathe. This is truly not the way to live. I also received an email from the Ekurhuleni referring to myself as ‘She’. I have a name and the arrogance of replying to me by saying “she”, is the way the Ekurhuleni responds to a consumer. I consider it rude.
“Besides all this I have had Ekhurleni at my house to cut off power every second week. How ignorant can you be, you can’t switch power off when we don’t have any. On top of this I still get a final notice twice a month and a disconnection notice that I am being billed for.
“I am absolutely disgusted in what our country has become and I am not the only person who feels this way. I have received so many letters from others who are fed up. I will be taking all these letters and a petition put up that people can join me in this endless fight with Ekurhuleni. To think we asked for assistance and all you get are bills, bills and more bills and then even higher now than what is was before.
“I am speaking on behalf of all the people who contacted me and also asked for help but nothing has been done. This will not end here. I will continue my fight and I have the public to back me.
“The EMM don’t do any investigation, they simply sit at the computer and see who hasn’t paid and switch off the power.
“I want to thank all the people who contacted me and together we will continue this until something is done.”
Carol asks everyone who has any problems, complaints, or just want to help her in her fight, to please contact her on: 079 447 6900.
The EMM has not responded to the RECORD’s requests for comment on questions sent to them on several occasions, dating from May 12.
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