Municipal by-laws vary from municipality to municipality. With this in mind, the collection of debts (and the policy around such collection) in respect of services rendered by a municipality are specifically connected to the by-laws of that municipality.
When Can Municipal Services Be Disconnected?
Generally speaking, a municipality is entitled, as one would expect, to charge its consumers for services rendered including rates, water, electricity, refuse removal, and so-on. In addition, municipalities are entitled to consolidate these separate invoices so that the consumer receives only one invoice rather than multiple invoices.
The general rule is that if the consumer does not pay the amount claimed in the consolidated invoice, the municipality is entitled to terminate the services rendered to the consumer.
The consequence of this is if a consumer was to pay the consolidated amount claimed less the amount disputed by the consumer (for instance, in respect of the water invoice claimed by the municipality in the consolidated account), the consumer may find itself in the position that all services are terminated by the municipality because of the incomplete payment by the consumer.
Fortunately, there is provision in our law (the Systems Act 32 of 2000) for a consumer to lodge a dispute regarding a specific amount claimed by the municipality (say, for water consumed). In terms of the Systems Act, where a dispute is lodged by the consumer, the municipality is obliged to follow various procedures and may not, until such procedures have been complied with, terminate the supply in respect of both the disputed charge nor any other service.
This protection, however, is only granted in those instances where the consumer pays in full the amounts claimed by the municipality in respect of those services which are not disputed by the consumer.
PRACTICALITY?
This may be all very well and fine in those instances where disputes involve large amounts of money (i.e., corporate use), and although our law provides relief for all consumers, in practice, for the man in the street, the administration involved in negotiating their dispute and resolving it with the municipality by means of the Systems Act is both time consuming and cumbersome, and may even require the services of an attorney.