A Gauteng man who was charged for a refuse bin that was more than twice the capacity of the one he signed for, resulting in an overpayment of about R173 per month for more than 14 years, has been credited.
The public protector said the municipal account is in the black, with the credit put towards his household’s monthly consumption until it runs out.
The man approached the public protector in November 2020, alleging the City of Tshwane metropolitan municipality supplied him with an 85-litre refuse bin in 2006.
“However, the city had somehow been charging him for a bin that was more than twice the capacity of the one he signed for, resulting in an overpayment of about R173 per month over approximately 170 months,” the public protector said.
He told the public protector he brought the fact that he had been made to pay for a 240-litre bin to the attention of city officials on several occasions. However, all his complaints fell on deaf ears as the problem did not go away.
The public protector said in response to their queries, the city had acknowledged the error. Officials adjusted the charges from 2006 to 2021, giving the account a credit balance of R32,768.41.
The public protector said the relieved Tshwane man confirmed the municipality had made the necessary adjustments to his account.
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