Opening Rates Account [JHB]

S

S1ght

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,301
Hey all,

I've just moved into a new apartment and I need to go sort out my Rates account with the City of Johannesburg. According to my Lawyers, they sent me a letter stating the transfer had been taking place and they said I need to take it with me to assist me in opening a rates account.

According to the COJ website

Rates accounts will automatically be created in your name, as the new property owner, as soon as transfer is registered at the Deeds Office. It may take up to 10 weeks to receive and update new owner records.
Click to expand...

http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?...k=view&id=741&Itemid=168&limit=1&limitstart=1

So now I'm a little confused. Do I believe the COJ website and hope my account was created when the transfer went through to the deeds office? Or do I just put aside 1 morning and go through to the Council place and query it there?

Anyone got any advice for me here before I go through and waste a morning trying to sort this out? :)

Thanks in advance,
S1ght
 
I

insom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
85
Hi,
I don't know what the "official" way is meant to be, I can only tell you what we went through.

It's taken 3 visits to them so far, and its still not 100% over 2 years later.

We took a day off work to go stand in the queues. Got there early to be near the front, and managed to eventually get a "consultant".

Visit 1: We took ID books and all lawyer letters... basically all documentation to do with the purchase. Depending who you get, they may, or may not want various documents. Also take cash, they didn't accept credit cards, but expect a deposit to open an account of 3-6 months of something... rates/water+elec ... based on the previous 6 months. (Depending which consultant you get.) They opened an account for us for water and electricity, with the promise the rates account would follow automatically. The rates account ended up being a new account, except still for the previous owners.

Many follow up calls.

Visit 2: The "consultant" told us the back office was still busy with it, and there is nothing we can do.

Many follow up calls.

Visit 3: The call center had gone and strike, and were all suspended. So someone from the back office helped me. She actually greeted me when I sat down at the desk and apologised for the wait. She sorted out the entire mess in 10 minutes, and took me upstairs to someone who could sort out the refund/transfer for all our paid amounts to be moved onto the new account she had created.

Where we stand now is that all the new monthly amounts are on the new account. The "outstanding" rates from before are still somewhere in the ether, and we don't know when that's going to come bite us.

That's our story so far. If you can get someone who cares, you may be fine. It does also depend on the deeds office though. We found out afterwords that the reason the rates had gone back into the old owners name is because the deeds office still had their info as the owners, and hadn't "processed" the lawyer stuff. Or something like that.

A note for parking: If you get their early, you can park on the street. The meter lady will expect some cash up front if she's there already, or will want payment when you leave. There is also free(?) parking in the building, but they will not let you in before 7am, at which point the line of people at the door was already out the door and around the corner when we were there. To be near the front, I took a book and got there by 6. I don't know if it gets better in the afternoons.

There are satellite offices, but everyone I spoke to advised me to avoid them, and just go straight to the head office.

Good luck.
 
S

S1ght

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,301
Thanks for the response insom.

Sounds like it's going to be 1 of those endless painful things and I should just start putting emergency money aside in preparation for a surprised bill from them >.< Where is their head office? I was planning on going through to the office in Randburg.
 
surface

surface

Honorary Master
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
26,679
I

insom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
85
The actual entrance for the "customer care" is on Stiemens Street.

On a side note, does anyone know how to make a marker and get a clicky-linky from Google Maps now days?
 
S

S1ght

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,301
raoul said:
Main office in Jorissen street (went there 2 weeks ago just to get form, office is busy)
http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=30&limitstart=7
Thuso House Customer Service Centre
61 Jorissen Street

Randburg (REGION B Randburg, Claremont and Auckland Park)
Randburg Customer Service Centre
cnr Bram Fischer Drive and Jan Smuts Avenue
http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=30&limitstart=3
Click to expand...

Thanks :) I've really gotta stop procrastinating with this and maybe just take a day of leave to sort it all out. Waiting in queues or going to any government building is the bane of my existence :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top