ECG raises alarm on fraudsters, cautions customers

Correspondence from Eastern Region:

The Electricity Company of Ghana in the Eastern Region has raised alarm on the surging of fraudsters who are going round duping unsuspecting customers over sale of prepaid meters.

According to the company, even in areas that prepaid meters are not used, the fraudsters go there deceiving residents that the ECG wants to replace their meters for them and end up charging them huge amount of money.

The fraudsters charge customers from as high as GHC500.00 to GHC2,000.00 with the agreement of giving them a new meter, a separate meter or replacing a post-paid with a pre-paid meter. This the ECG says is way higher than what it charges its customers.

Speaking to Ghanaweb in Koforidua, Eastern Regional Public relations Officer (PRO) for the ECG, Mary Eshun-Oppong, cautioned customers in the region, especially in Koforidua, Akyem Oda, Akyem Tafo and Mpraeso to be extra alert on activities of such fraudsters.

The ECG PRO said though she could not provide the exact number of cases reported to them by their customers, they are worried about the increasing number of calls coming in with complaints that some unscrupulous persons are selling the meter to customers at unreasonable prices.

“We want to caution customers especially customers around Tafo, Mpraeso, Koforidua and the entire Eastern region. We should be very careful of such persons. They will come and say they will want to replace your meter for you.

“In areas that we don’t have even have prepaid meters, you will see persons going round telling customers that they will change their post-paid meters for them and then give them prepaid meters. ECG we don’t do that.

“when there is such a project, ECG will come round and educate customers on the need for the project. If we need to replace your post-paid meter to prepaid meter, we will come and explain it to you…to tell you the benefits of the prepaid meter.

“so, we don’t send people round to collect monies from customers…and we don’t deal with middle men or ‘gorro boys’,” the PRO told Ghanaweb.

She urged customers to always go themselves to the ECG office nearer to them to transact their businesses than using middlemen who end up defrauding them.

Ms. Eshun-Oppong indicated that a new meter should not cost more than GHC400.00 when the nearest pole is not more than 40 meters while a separate meter costs a total of GHC92.00.

She added that customers should not pay the ECG installers who come to install their meters for them as their pay has already been factored into the amounts stated.

“Customers are not supposed to pay money to the installer, the contractor who comes to install the meter. You are not supposed to pay anything to him because the contractor is being paid by ECG. He is not supposed to demand any payment.

“Whatever payment will be made in the office and then you get a receipt for paying any amount. Except designated bonded cashiers in some communities,” she said.