Clients in queue outside GEBE to pay their bills on Wednesday.
PHILIPSBURG--Despite promising that clients will be able to make payment arrangements to settle their bills that have piled up as a result of the ransomware attack on March 17, it seems as though utilities company GEBE has backpedalled on this promise and is not offering payment arrangements to consumers.
GEBE officials told reporters at a press conference at its office in late May, while announcing its reopening, that customers would not be forced to settle the three bills they would have received at once and that payment arrangements could be made.
However, clients have not been able to make payment arrangements. A GEBE customer service representative told a customer on Wednesday that management had instructed them to not make any payment arrangements with clients and until customer service receives the green light from management, payment arrangements cannot be made.
The same client had attempted to make a payment arrangement in June shortly after GEBE reopened, but was told that this was not possible at that time.
The Daily Herald sent a number of questions on this matter to GEBE’s Temporary Manager Sharine Daniel via the company’s public relations official on Wednesday and is awaiting a response.
The questions included: Why are payment arrangements prohibited when this was initially promised? Payment arrangements were always an option even prior to the hack, why are they now discontinued? When will they be resumed? What will happen to clients who are unable to settle their entire balances at this time (there are many that have indicated that they simply cannot)?
What month specifically will GEBE be disconnecting for, as of tomorrow [today, Thursday, September 1]? From what district will the disconnections start? And are the disconnections still slated to start as of tomorrow, September 1 [today]? How far along is GEBE in terms of giving out the correct bills to clients, as many have indicated that they have still not received bills and still have issues with incorrect bills? What percentage of the clientele still have issues with bills?
