I wish EG Brandt luck in getting back his property transfer credit from the City of Johannesburg (Pay it back, Joburg, January 18). When selling a commercial property in Johannesburg in 2012, we were presented with a thumb-suck prepayment clearance amount, which we had no option but to pay, leaving a substantial sum in credit after the transfer. Only after employing lawyers and just prior to issuing summons did we manage to get most back, with the exception of R40,000, which we wrote off. To add insult to injury, we have been billed monthly for electricity and refuse removal at the property for five years since transfer and are bombarded with threats from collection entities for these post-transfer charges. It is difficult to believe that Johannesburg’s audited accounts reflect its true financial position when its debtors must include more than a few nondebts such as the one I describe, to say nothing about the credits it owes in respect of clearance fees. Sydney KayeCape Town
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