City Power gives Public Protector the finger
The claim will be re-investigated by City Power.
An elderly widow of Florida Hills, Petra Loftie-Eaton is still waiting to move back into her home two years after a City Power contractor burned out her home’s entire electrical system.
After applying to City Power in February of 2013 and paying to have a pre-paid meter installed, a City Power contractor contacted Loftie-Eaton and organised a time and date to install the meter. Loftie-Eaton previously had a sub-meter installed and on arrival the electrician told her she would have to pay him extra to remove the sub-meter as he had only been paid to install the City Power pre-paid meter. Not suspecting anything untoward, Loftie–Eaton agreed and the job was done. Shortly after the contractor had left she left to go purchase pre-paid power and on her return she smelt something burned and immediately called City Power. The original electrician and several other people arrived during the day but they were unable to restore the power until a City Power employee sorted out the problem. Not having a functioning alarm system due to the incident Loftie-Eaton decide to stay over at her sister.
Her nightmare was not yet over. She returned the next day and was busy in the back garden when she heard a loud noise. On investigation she found men busy breaking down her front door. She sprayed insect killer in one suspect’s face and they fled. She called the police and in her statement said she had recognised one of the men as he was with the contractor on her property the previous day. Two years later and Loftie-Eaton says she never saw the police again and no arrests were ever made.
Having survived the traumatic ordeal and not having funds available to repair the alarm system or security cameras Loftien-Eaton decided to move in permanantly with her sister and submitted a claim to City Power for all the damage.
After numerous emails, telephone calls and the intervention of her local ward Councillor David Dewes, she got a reply from City Power insurers saying her claim had been repudiated as the City Power contractor had not been authorised to remove her sub meter.
Not having the financial resources to take on the City in a legal battle and not prepared to give up she approached the office of the Public Protector. Eventually she got a date for the hearing and together with Dewes they met with a representative from the Public Protectors office. The first meeting she says was a waste of time, as City Power had sent a junior official who had no knowledge of the case and got a roasting from the Public Protectors representative. The City Power official was told to make sure the correct official that the Public Protector had been corresponding with and that was responsible needed to appear before the Public Protector. Loftie-Eaton said she was encouraged by the handling of the hearing. She was told by the Public Protector representative that she “most defnitely” had a case and that City Power was liable because she had not contracted with the sub-contractor to install the pre-paid meter.
The official in question attended the next hearing and signed an agreement giving his full co-operation in making sure that the claim be re-investigated by City Power’s new insurer and a full report be sent to the Public Protector’s office to why the process had taken so long and how the claim was going to be settled.
Not only did he then fail to attend the next meeting but he also failed to submit the report and to date has not answered several attempts by the Public Protector’s office to get hold of him.
According to Dewes “It is a disgrace what City Power has put an elderly widow through. This is once again blatant proof that some arrogant officials have no concept of service delivery and they must pray the DA does not win the elections in 2016 because officials like these will most definitely be looking for a new job. I am confident the Public Protectors Office will get Loftie-Eaton some relief but I am appalled that an elderly citizen has had to go to these lengths, in an attempt to get some form of justice.”
City Power could not be reached for comment.
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