Following the directives from the Council of Ministers to increase the previously set reduction rate on electricity bills for the 'residential category' from 15 per cent to an impressive 30 per cent of the total bill value, it is now time to look into the water bills, which are always mixed up with wrong readings, and inflated figures that have left many customers baffled.
According to subscribers, the water bills are coming with unjustified and unreasonably inflated amounts – either by wrong meter readings or errors – leaving them furious. "The average monthly water bill amount jumped from around RO 20 to RO 275. There is a need to look into how such bills are inflated. I guess meter reading is not done correctly and sometimes generated based on average reading and not actual," Amour al Tauqi, Amerat resident, said.
For some, the bill has gone up to RO 850. "We had to complain after we got a bill of RO 850, but again, the process of registering a complaint is long. This is a regular issue. Something needs to be done," said Adnan Rasool, a Muscat resident.
Fuad al Farsi, an Amerat resident, said his average water bill used to be below RO10, but recent bills show the amount as RO 200. "For one year after I moved into my house, the bill was less than RO 10, and now my latest bill is RO 200. Even if that bill is for two months, I am sure my consumption can't be this high to warrant such a big bill," he said.
When contacted, officials from OIFC and Diam said subscribers with such problems need to visit the Diam office for rectification, and people are advised to visit Diam's head office with exact readings of the water meters.
Subscribers claimed registering complaints through the application never works. "I came to the head office, but here I was told to register the complaint through the application. I did that earlier, but no one contacted me until my water line was disconnected. I paid around RO 400 in May to change my water meter, but following that, the bill jumped to RO 750. Earlier, I used to pay around RO 30 per month. I do not know how the bill reached RO 750 for four months," said one of the subscribers who wished to remain anonymous.
Several subscribers claimed their problems began when Diam started issuing new water bills.
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