This must be an issue for many other Sui gas users as well.
KARACHI: As a chartered accountant qualified from England, I have come across some creative accounting methods used by organisations. However, the following, from my own experience, is worth mentioning in some detail.
I recently received a monthly Sui gas bill of around Rs10,000. Normally in my office the bill comes to around a few hundred rupees, so this was quite a shock. I sent people from my staff to the Sui Southern office on Khayaban-i-Ittehad in DHA and they were told that the accounts department had debited an entry in our account for ‘low usage’. Upon further investigation, it transpired that the utility provider actually penalises users whose consumption is low by presuming — I don’t know what other reason there could be — that the meters installed on their premises are faulty.
My point is that the company has every right to inspect meters but should not resort to this kind of method. My staff was also told that any adjustment to the bill is made in later billing months. Surely, this is unethical and, in all likelihood, against the law as well.
Between me and my staff, we have visited the SSGC offices several times and have submitted our application challenging the bills. In this country, a person spends so much time on such petty issues. I don’t understand why the company has to resort to this. And this must be an issue for many other Sui gas users as well.
Imran Khalil
Published in The Express Tribune, April 6th, 2011.
