Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — Many people have expressed their despair over the shockingly high water bills they have been receiving in the past few months.
Some said they received bills in excess of SR10,000 over their previous bills, forcing many of them to cancel subscriptions to the National Water Company (NWC) and buy truck water from the distribution centers, Albilad Arabic newspaper reported.
Najm Andijani, a Saudi, talked about his experience with the NWC bills. His problem started when he received a bill of SR38,126, which was for the entire year. He said the bill was not only unbelievable, but he also felt that it was totally unfair and visited the NWC headquarters to complain.
He said, “Each time I visited the office, they gave me an unreasonable justification for the high bill. Finally I lodged a formal complaint with the NWC management, but I did not receive any response. I objected to this bill as well as the treatment I received from the company's staff and refused to pay the bill. NWC technicians came and closed the meter in front of my house and I was denied water supply. Since I cannot live without water, I went again to the NWC branch office and there I was advised by a bill collection employee to pay part of the amount at least to get the service restored. I received a message from the NWC saying the service was restored, but it did not. They made a mistake and restored the service to my neighbor instead, who was facing the same problem. I went to the company to complain again but with no luck. For one year now, I do not get water from the company.”
Hamid Sobhi, another Saudi, said there was no reason or justification whatsoever for the huge bills, which he described as illogical.
He said he received a bill of SR73,000. Before this high bill, he received bills ranging from SR5,000 to SR8,000. Despite visiting the NWC office many times, he could not find any help to resolve the problem.
Hamid Al-Harbi said he used to pay his water bills regularly through the online billing service without waiting for the company to send a notification. He said he was trying to avoid receiving a high bill like his friends. However, he could not avoid the inevitable NWC bill. He said, “I received a bill of SR18,000 one day. I wondered how could they bill people such huge amounts without reading the meter.”
Women also have their share of the problem. Shadia Ghazali said she closed her house and went abroad to spend a two-month vacation. Only her house guard lived at the place during the period.
Ghazali said she was keen on paying all her bills in advance. She added, “When I returned home, I was shocked to see a SR7,000 water bill. I went to the company to complain but they did not look into the problem. Many people in Makkah are suffering because of exorbitant water bills. This is harming us financially. Sadly these high bills come on short notice and there is no way that they could be paid within such limited periods. When we complain to the water company, we do not get a reasonable explanation and nobody is out there to help us. At the end of the day, we are left with no choice but to pay the bill. This is gross injustice.”
Zakiya Abdul Ghani said she received an SR18,000 water bill even though she lived alone in her house.
"The company billed me this high amount without giving any explanation," she said.
The bill that Abdul Ghani received does not match her actual consumption. She added, "Thinking that there might be a leak in the underground water tank, I hired a company to clean and maintain the tank. It cost me nearly SR4,000. However, after a month, I received a bill of SR2,000. Then I knew that the problem was not in my water tank, but in the company's billing system itself.”
Citizen Talal Al-Qahtani said many people canceled the services of NWC and were meeting their water needs by buying water trucks from distribution centers to avoid the hefty bills. "The bills are unjustifiable and many people have complained but without any success in getting justice," he said.
Muhammad Al-Mutairi said he had a limited income as his monthly salary was SR3,000. He received a water bill that was triple the amount of his previous bill. He said he was caught by surprise and he could not pay the bill until now.
He also received a huge electricity bill, which is another pain in the neck. “The company should take into consideration the fact that these bills are unaffordable to a large number of people, especially those in the low and middle income groups. I was left with no choice but to shutdown the water meter and buy water trucks from the distribution center,” said Al-Mutairi.
