Ali Majeed, an executive member of the Working Peoples’ Alliance (WPA), yesterday staged a one-man protest outside the Vlissengen Road offices of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to settle a three-year-old billing complaint.
Majeed told Stabroek News that after being on the road in front of the GWI offices for some time, the company’s Public Relations Officer Timothy Austin approached him and offered to take him to Customer Service Manager Jeanette Thomas, who later looked into his complaints and the matter was subsequently resolved.
Majeed said he was being overcharged by GWI since 2011 and he had written to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in July 2013 about the issue. He added that an official attached to the commission said to him on numerous occasions that they had not received a reply from GWI.
Austin said Majeed was never overcharged but refused to go into further details, citing a customer confidentiality policy which GWI holds. He added that the company had to conduct investigations into Majeed’s claim when they received the letter from PUC. As a result, it was only able to respond to the PUC a few weeks ago. He said a copy of its response to PUC was given to Majeed, who should now have a clear understanding of what precisely transpired.
Majeed said he decided to stage the one-man protest after water supply to his Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara home was disconnected on February 14. He said from mid-2011, his water bill started to increase. He said the increase was not justified since his water consumption did not increase.
He added that after he reported the matter to GWI, his water meter was changed by a GWI official during mid-2012. He said he was told that his water bill was being estimated, hence the steep charges. However, while he was under the assumption that the water bill would have been reduced to the previous level, it never happened.
Meanwhile, Austin said that to show customer appreciation to Majeed, GWI did not require him to pay a fee in order for his water supply to be reconnected.
