​City forms interest adjustment committee to assist customers

Customers who have previously battled to get interest reversed on unfairly charged amounts have been enjoying recourse through the Interest Adjustment Committee that was established last year.

According to the City's director responsible for Revenue Management Siphiwe Shabangu, the Committee has been busy adjudicating a number of applications made by customers who felt they had a case for reversing the interest charges on their account. Customers begin to incur interest on their account as soon as the payment due date has passed.

The Committee review's applications on a case by base basis and can instruct the reversal of interest and sundry charges if warranted, Shabangu says. "The City tries to assist customers at every opportunity and this is just one of the many ways is which we are doing this. This is an added incentive for customers to rectify accounts that are in arrears."

"But I must stress that this is not a committee where customers can apply carte blanche for the reversal of interest. We only consider genuine cases where there is cause to reverse interest – for example when we have over-charged a customer and assigned interest to that over-charged amount. Or, for example, if an account is considerably in arrears and a customer wishes to settle the outstanding balance, they may apply to have the interest on the account reversed," he says.

Applications to the Committee can only be made by the person whose name is on the account. Applications can only be done in writing.

"Our customers must motivate the reason for their application and must include their contact details and all the relevant account numbers in the letter," Shabangu says.

These letters can be hand delivered or posted to:

By Hand:
Attention - Director: Revenue Management
Interest Adjustment Committee
Revenue Management Directorate
2nd Floor Thuso House
61 Jorissen Street
Braamfontein
2192

By Post:
Attention - Director: Revenue Management
Interest Adjustment Committee
Revenue Management Directorate
PO Box 5000
Johannesburg
2000

"The process may take up to 30 days to complete, from the date of application to the time that customers receive the outcome of the application in a letter from the Revenue Management Department conveying the decision of the Committee to them," Shabangu says.

For more information, customers can contact Joburg Connect at (011) 375 5555 or by email at joburgconnect@joburg.org.za.

ENDS

Issued by:
Mandy Jean Woods
Acting Director
Customer Communications
Phone: 082 553 4211 (please send sms if urgent)