The City of Joburg's (COJ's) new SMS billing system is only in its pilot phase, with eventual roll-out being completely optional to residents.
COJ revenue department spokesperson Stan Maphologela says residents should not pay attention to false media reports stating that if they receive an MMS informing them of the new system and do not opt out, it will be assumed they accept this new method of receiving municipal bills.
"The pilot campaign kicked off at the beginning of June 2013 and will end in July, reaching customers with active cellphone numbers," says Maphologela. "The manner in which these customers were selected was by use of the city's customer database."
Maphologela says 700 customers have already received information MMSes notifying them of the new system, but roll-out will only start in phases from August. "It should be noted that the statement distribution campaign manner is an informative notification and not a marketing tool."
He explains that residents who choose to use the SMS billing system will receive their municipal bills by SMS every month and by post every three months.
"A key advantage of mobile bill presentment is that it reduces administration and helps ensure that people don't default simply because they either don't know how much to pay due to non-receipt of statement via post. This increases convenience for customers and reduces time delay in postage bills," notes Maphologela.
He says sending bills to ratepayers on their cellphones will go a long way to increasing collections and decreasing the cost of revenue collection, as well as being beneficial towards the environment.
"In addition, it is easier to track who is not receiving electronic communication, thanks to non-delivery reports."
Opting out
Talk of customers automatically being switched to the SMS billing system if they do not reply to the MMS at R1/SMS, are also incorrect. Receiving bills by SMS will be an additional option alongside traditional post and e-mail, says Maphologela.
Customers can simply opt out of receiving notifications via mobile. "The National Consumer Act advises that customers should be afforded the opportunity to opt out of a marketing tool at a minimum set cost, and that the service provider has the right to inform its customers of business developments concerning its clients," he says.
"Should customers want to opt out without responding to the MMS number, active customers with the city are requested to contact the city and inform of their non-interest in the MMS option and the option will be opted out on their behalf."
Chantelle Gladwin, partner at Schindlers Attorneys, echoes Maphologela's statement, noting that in terms of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), consumers are not allowed to be automatically signed up for a service should they not explicitly reject it.
"In addition, although there is no law on it as of yet, the principle that the consumer has to pay to reject an offer that the consumer did not solicit, is clearly in contravention of the spirit of the CPA and especially section 31," says Gladwin. "Section 51 of the Act expressly provides that any term - or purported term - of an agreement that attempts to contravene the spirit and purpose of the Act, is void."
The COJ is subject to the CPA, as it is a high-level metropolitan municipality and has never been exempted from the application of its provisions, she says.
Share
