Letter Notices in 2025

In this day and age, it is unacceptable that the City of Cape Town still communicates with customers by simply leaving a notice letter wedged between a gate and a wall.

When I arrived home yesterday, I discovered that my property had no electricity. Assuming it was a local outage, I checked community whatsapp groups and with my neighbours, only to learn that the problem was limited to my home. I then logged a call with the City of Cape Town and within an hour a representative arrived.

This representative showed me a folded letter left between my gate and wall, and informed me that my electricity had been disconnected because the City of Cape Town had allegedly been “trying” to contact me since the 4th August to arrange access to my property to inspect my electricity meter box. However, the only attempt made was leaving this letter. No phone call, no SMS, no email—yet I receive an email without fail every single month with my municipal account. Why then was the same communication channel not used for this notice?

Despite being a paying customer who settles my account in full every month, my electricity was cut off without any reasonable attempt to contact me directly. My family, including a 1-year-old child, was left without power because the City of Cape Town re**** on a flimsy piece of paper that could easily have blown away or been damaged by the weather.

To make matters worse, the representative who was sent within an hour could have easily completed the inspection on the spot, as I was at home and available. Instead, I was told I now need to call the City’s offices to arrange a date and time—something that should have been done from the start through a simple phone call or email.

This process is inefficient, inconsiderate and fails the very customers who dutifully pay their bills. The City of Cape Town can and should do better!

Please review this outdated approach and implement a process that ensures proper communication and respect for paying residents.