Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Having made 9 trips to the office to obtain 3 different months of water etc they have now increased the minimum charge to 30tl I did ask how the local people put up with these constant increases but got the usual shrug.

I assume you get 10 tonnes for your 30 tl - 3 tl per tonne?

I did see on someone elses posting a couple of months ago that the 'new turkish water supply' would be more expensive - about 3tl per tonne was the amount mentioned.

No need to visit the Lapta Belydere office every month. Make life easy for yourself!

Lapta Water now being charged 3TL per tonne across the board! There is no longer a scale of charges where you are charged a higher rate if you use more than 10 tonnes or 20 tonnes etc. 10 ton min charge - 30 TL.

You can purchase as much water credit as you want at 3TL a tonne and the credit will remain on your meter until the water is used whether that be 1 month or several months.

For other service charges such as street cleaning etc you can ask the pay desk to calculate what credit you need to pay for a specific period i.e. 3months, 6 months etc.

With respect, but I have to write in defence of Lapta Belediyesi on this issue.

The original methods of billing attempted to do too much, including (but not limited to) the incorporation of a standing charge for distribution (or "line rental" if you will) with a minimum monthly supply as well as graded payments upwards for greater supply. To further complicate matters the algorithm used to calculate billings differentiated between volumetric tonnes on one hand and currency units on the other over, as said, a graded scale. Add in VAT calculations and you needed to be a Professor of Mathematics to understand how the system worked.

In the face of their inability to explain how the system worked even to those who actually speak Turkish (let alone those among our foreign residents who appear to believe that instant accusations of underhand dealings, corruption and "RIP-OFF!" somehow substitute for a working knowledge of the local language and/or a desire for a better understanding of what is actually going on) the Belediye have - in the interests of transparency if not good policy - implemented a flat fee per tonne.

Well done to them in implementing a forward thinking system which should result in savings to the Belediye that can be used towards other essential services.

My posting today was a 'positive' posting for Lapta Belydere and 'positive' news and information for the end user who may not be aware of the new system and charges

There has has been a lot of confusion in recent months re the new Smart Water system and charges.

The new simplified system should make life easier for the Belydere admin staff and the end user -

My posting was in response to the original post above on this subject. Roman expressed frustration re the number of visits he/she had to make to the Belydere office in a month to top up card and pay other bills.

Pardon me for taking the trouble to keep my fellow Lapta Kibkomers informed!!!!!!!!!

Well said Acacia

... and my posting was a direct response to the title of this thread:

"Lapta "free" smart meters another con mk 2".

Trust that clears up any misunderstanding.

Could I suggest that posters either hit the 'Quote' button so that the post that they are addressing is displayed, or address the particular poster by name?

There have been several occasions where confusion (not to mention IRE ) has arisen because of the lack of clarity when posting a response...

I'll just get mi' coat...

Title of posting

I would support a change in title - How does the above grab you?

Acacia wrote:Title of posting

I would support a change in title - How does the above grab you?

Who are you asking?

REF Lambusa market post,Gordon mate please put that into plain ENGLISH .30Tl per month whether you want 10 tons of water or not,rubbish money collection is now finished till January and medical as they call it 8.34tl so total bill for every month until January should read 38.34TL correct or what?

Ref Acacia Post 9:

No, sorry, but I would not support that.

My post was motivated in two ways. Firstly, by a wish to inform: as I'd made enquiries as to how the meter charges worked. But also to challenge head-on this arbitrary, pavlovian conditioning that some ex-pats exhibit that so much in the TRNC is a con or some other rip-off; as evidenced by the original title of this post. Whilst certainly not all is perfect here and there are many things that need to be put right, wrongful accusations predicated on wilful ignorance must be guarded against as well. In fact the meters were installed "free" and the original poster offers no evidence of a "con mk2" other than being inconvenienced.

Acacia wrote:You can purchase as much water credit as you want at 3TL a tonne and the credit will remain on your meter until the water is used whether that be 1 month or several months.

Does the monthly standing charge come of credit you put on your card ? If I put 90TL on the card in day one and use less than 10 tons per month for three months will the card then be 'empty' at the end of the three months, or will it still have 90TL on it and I will still owe them 90TL for the standing charge ?

RE Leither Post 11: For the answer to your query please see Acacia Post 3.

As you will no doubt deduce from another reading my main Post (4) was not intended as a guide as to how Lapta calculates its charges but actually as an explanation as to why the tariffs have been changed; and therefore why the term "another con mk 2" was perhaps inappropriate.

Erol

My understanding is that there is no loss of credit so if you buy 30 tons of water credit and it takes you several months to use this credit so be it. If you do not use your meter for more a month if you are going away you may have to reset it on return with your smart water card to reopen the water valve, but your outstanding credit should still be available.

Re standing charge. I have not tested the system enough to know if there is still a standing charge of 30TL each month or not as I have used my 10 tons each month up to now anyway.

However some light at the end of the tunnel for householders paying 'builders water rates - it is my understanding that householders will no longer have to pay a higher rate for their water if they do not have their Kocan or their builder has not transferred the water account to them. All householders now pay the same 3tl per ton, min 30tl credit.

I paid my water bill this month and was told that I could purchase more than 10 tonne if I wanted. What I found from my bill is that you are still charged for a minimum of 10 tonne per month , so if you buy extra this remains on your meter for you to use, but let's say you do not go the office for 3 months, at that point you will be charged 3 * 30tl for the minimum monthly water for those months and receive a further 30 tonnes credit to go on to your meter.

laptatony wrote:I paid my water bill this month and was told that I could purchase more than 10 tonne if I wanted. What I found from my bill is that you are still charged for a minimum of 10 tonne per month , so if you buy extra this remains on your meter for you to use, but let's say you do not go the office for 3 months, at that point you will be charged 3 * 30tl for the minimum monthly water for those months and receive a further 30 tonnes credit to go on to your meter.

Are you saying that in Lapta, you have to buy a minimum of 10 tons of water a month, and if you don't use it, the credit just builds up?

As I understand it, you should now only be paying 8.34tl per month till the end of the year.
The standing charge for water has now been cancelled, you will not be charged for10 tons per month if you don't use it, the 25tl service charge has also been cancelled.
I got copies of my account the other day and asked for a copy of payments made too, I was asked don't you trust us, my reply was that as the money is paid by DD I just want to clarify what I was paying for, amusingly they discovered they had overcharged me for 1 months rubbish collection so had a 20tl credit, good job I asked...