The following are the frequency asked questions aimed at guiding customers when requesting for a refund from the City of Johannesburg

Q: How can customers/transferring attorneys request for a refund?

A: Customers or transferring attorneys can log service tickets for refunds or credit transfers at their regional Customer Services Centre or via the Regional email work boxes. All interactions and documents must be recorded on the SAP system. The region is indicated on the monthly billing statement, and the service ticket number is needed for escalation. The relevant document should be attached to the service ticket.

Q: How to apply for a refund?

A: Customers can apply for refunds or credit transfers by submitting a request with the relevant documents to their regional Customer Services Centre or via the regional email address work boxes.

Customers are advised to use region-specific emails to channel their refund requests. Upon receipt of the refund request, a call is logged, necessary documents are attached, and a reference number is provided to the customer for updates.

The City's regional email addresses are most effective when used by residents in the corresponding regions. new regional email addresses work better when residents located in the City's allocated regions use the respective regions' email addresses.

The following are the email addresses for Regions A, B, C, D, E, F and G with the corresponding customer service centres:

 
Q: What are the processes that one needs to follow for a refund or credit balance transfer related to a property transfer?

A: Below are the processes explained in detail.

1. Refunds: All refunds triggered by a change of ownership must be refunded to the Transferring Attorneys. For a refund to be considered, the account must be fully finalized and a final account must have been billed. If the account is not finalized, a service ticket to Rates or Billing needs to be logged first to finalize the account, release the deposit, and produce the final bill. Once the account is fully finalized and the final billing has taken place, a Service Ticket must be logged and the relevant documents need to be attached to this Service ticket. A signed Attorney's letter will be required for all refund requests that have been triggered by the transfer of property. All refunds that have been triggered by the transfer of property will be payable to the Attorneys that applied for Clearance.
2. Credit Balance Transfer: The request for a credit balance transfer where a change of ownership is involved must be made by the Transferring attorneys on record by submitting a letter of request for the transfer. The Attorney's letter should include the property description, account number, date of the transfer, request details, and signature.
3. Proof of Payment: Proof of payments is required for all payments made after the date of registration as it is not clear whether the payments after registration were made by the current or previous property owner. The party that supplies the proof of payment will be entitled to the refund or payment transfer. Acceptable proofs of payment include a copy of the original bank statement, copy of receipts, and internet printout with a bank stamp. Internet printouts without a bank stamp and unclear receipts will not be accepted.
4. Clearance Proof of Payment: Clearance proof of payment will be required if the attorneys that applied for the Clearance do not match or correspond with the attorneys requesting the refund to prove that the correct attorneys are refunded. It should be accompanied by a clearance certificate.

Q: How to request for an overpayment/incorrect payment on a municipal account?

A: Before the refund can be processed, the below listed documentation must be provided:

1. Request Letter: A signed letter of request from the customer/s is required. If it's a joint account, the letter should specify who the refund should be made out to and must be signed by all parties of the joint account.
2. Identity Verification: Certified copies of ID document(s) of the person who made the incorrect payment and all parties of the joint account are required.
3. Banking Details: Proof of banking details is required. This can be an original bank statement, a letter from the bank confirming the banking details with a bank stamp, or a bank-stamped proof of payment. The document must include the name of the bank account holder, the bank account number, and the bank's logo. The information provided should be current; no information older than 6 months from the service ticket date will be accepted. The correctness of the banking details will be confirmed with the bank before releasing the refund.
4. Proof of Payment: Proof of payment (POP) is required for incorrect payments. All POPs printed from the internet need to be bank-stamped. If the incorrect payment was made by the account holder and the account holder owed the city, that payment cannot be refunded. If the incorrect payment was made on someone else's account who owes the city, an amount equal to the incorrect payment will be refunded. The refund will be made into the same bank account it was paid out of.
5. Acceptable Proofs of Payment: Copy of the original bank statement, copy of receipts, internet proof of payment with a bank stamp, and affidavits are accepted. Internet printouts without a bank stamp, unclear receipts, and EasyPay statements printed from the EasyPay system (original receipts are required in this instance) are not accepted.

Note that payments into wrong accounts/ transfer of incorrect payments/cash corrections procedures are all done by the Cash Collections department. Refund department only deals with credit balance transfers.

Q: Can a refund be done to a third party or to a different person to the municipal account holder?

A: Before the refund can be processed, the below listed documentation must be provided:

1. Relationship Documentation: Documentation proving the relationship between the account holder and the payee is required.
2. Registration Documents: If a refund or credit transfer request is made to anyone other than the company itself, registration documents are needed to verify the ownership of the company. For example, a CK document proving members of a close corporation or a trust document proving trustees of a trust is required before refunding a member or trustee directly.
3. Director's Approval: In instances where a refund is to be made to an individual rather than the company, all directors involved with the company must sign to this effect.
4. ID Documents: Certified copies of the ID documents of the persons involved are required.

Q: What is the process that needs to be followed when a refund or a credit balance transfer is due to a company?

A: Before the refund can be processed, the below listed documentation must be provided:

1. Company Request Letter: A letter of request from the company is required. This letter should be on a company letterhead and include the company registration number, names of directors, name of the account holder, the account number, the request details, and signatures.
2. Appointment or Proxy Letter: Corporate accounts, body corporates, and property development companies require a signed appointment or proxy letter from the account holder.

Proof of Banking Details: Proof of banking details is required. This can be an original bank statement, a letter from the bank confirming the banking details with a bank stamp, or a bank-stamped proof of payment. The document must include the name of the bank account holder, the bank account number, and the bank's logo

Important Note:

All refunds are done via EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) as Cheques are no longer used.​