Family Whose House Burnt Down Puzzled By Huge Eskom Bill

The Pienaar family whose home was gutted by a blaze in May last year said their ordeal was far from over.
After having to literally rebuild their lives, they were shocked to get a statement showing they owe Eskom R72 000.
How that amount was calculated remains a mystery to the family. But Abel Pienaar, 67, owner of the property said their ordeal could be attributed to Eskom.
Pienaar said no one has been willing to give them answers since their house was damaged by a fire they believe was caused by an electrical fault. Meanwhile his property has no power.
“We have been sent from pillar to post trying to resolve this issue but our efforts were fruitless,” Pienaar said.
“Even our insurance company said the cause was electricity-related; the claims department said the fire was caused by an open circuit, which simply means that the exposed wires somehow caught fire.”
After months, they’re still battling to get answers and get someone to explain such as huge electricity bill. Pienaar said he and his wife Gerda had made several efforts to get Eskom representatives to come out to their property, and if technicians do come out, they walk around his property and leave without giving any explanation.
“We are still waiting,” Pienaar added.
The Herald’s numerous attempts to reach Eskom were also futile.
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