Send us your Tshwane (Pretoria) municipal bill. We check it for estimated readings, wrong tariffs, outage charges and spikes, then write the dispute to Billing queries, City of Tshwane and follow it until the credit is on your account.
We're still confirming City of Tshwane's own deadlines, so the days below are the cautious working times we use. When we check your bill, we show the date that applies to you.
We aim to lodge within 30 days of the bill date, while the reading and the dates are fresh.
We email it to Billing queries, City of Tshwane for you, with your bill and meter photo attached and you copied in. Their replies come to us.
We record the reference number and give Tshwane 21 days to reply before we follow up.
No reply? We follow up, then escalate to the municipal manager. If it's still not resolved, we write your Public Protector complaint for you to lodge.
This is the letter we'd write for the example bill on our home page: a water reading that was estimated, and water billed while the supply was off. Yours is built from your own bill, and nothing is sent until you approve it.
It asks for the things that get a bill corrected: an actual reading, the outage days reversed, a corrected account and a reference number. It also says you'll keep paying the undisputed part.
When nobody reads your meter, the municipality bills a guess. A guess can run far above what you really use, month after month.
What we do: spot the "E" on your bill, compare the estimate with your real usage, and ask for a dated photo of your meter as proof.
A residential property billed as a business pays more for the same water and electricity, every month, until someone notices.
What we do: check your tariff against your property type, then claim back what you overpaid and get the lower rate applied from now on.
If the water or the power was off, you shouldn't be billed as if you used it.
What we do: match your billing period against outages reported in your suburb, and ask you to confirm the dates before we claim.
A bill far above your usual can mean a faulty meter, a misread or a leak on your side.
What we do: compare the bill with your own past usage, and ask you what changed before we call it an error.
Billed somewhere else? See Johannesburg or eThekwini .
It depends on your municipality. An eThekwini councillor advises disputing within 30 days of an incorrect bill, and other municipalities have their own rules. When we check your bill, we show the deadline that applies to you.
All 257 in South Africa: the 8 metros and every local and district municipality. We read your municipality from your bill and find where its account queries go, so you don't need to know.
Everyone pays as they go from prepaid credit: R15 to check a bill and R49 for a dispute, which covers emailing it, reading the replies, chasing and escalating. That goes for households, landlords, managing agents and businesses alike. There are no monthly or setup fees, and you always see the price before we start.
Keep paying the part of the bill you're not disputing, so your account stays in good standing. We work out that amount for you.
We follow up by email, then escalate to the municipal manager. If it still isn't resolved, we write your complaint to the Public Protector for you to lodge.
Usually not. Municipalities tend to correct the bill with a credit on your account. We read your next bills and tell you when the credit appears.
Every flag shows the figures behind it, and when we're not sure, we ask you first. If a flag is wrong, tell us in one tap and we won't count it.
We use it only to check it and build your dispute. You can delete it at any time, and we handle your personal information under POPIA.
Prepaid: R15 a bill, from credit you top up from R50. You'll see what's wrong, what it's worth and your deadline.
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