Loulé council has assured national newspaper Expresso that the local public-private water company Infralobo will stop charging the 'per bed' tax following recommendations from the Regulatory Authority for Water and Wastewater Services (ERSAR).
"The new tariff, which links water charges to the number of beds will be discussed at the Infralobo Board meeting on March 9th," according to Leonel Silva, the director of planning at the council who did not mention the two previous rulings from ERSAR in the past two years and the water company’s refusal to act on the regulator's observations.
"...and it shall come into force on 1 April 2016," added Silva, not realising that Infralobo’s customers simply will not believe his claim as they have heard it all before from a company that appears to many to have delighted in bullying it customers, cutting off their water and refusing to enter into sensible dialogue.
Since April 2014 anyone living at Vale do Lobo’s Vale Garrão, Vilas Alvas or Quinta Jacintina developments had a contract imposed on them by the water compnay. Refusal to agree to the additional 'per bed' tax resulted in disconnection, whether the customer was elderly or infirm, or in the peak of health.
Many have refused to pay the additional €19 per bed per month tax, but have been careful to continue to pay the water and sewage charges. The result has been disconnection.
Today’s online Resident news service summed up the situation and joins other media services that are highly critical of the mayor, Vítor Aleixo, who represents 51% of the Infralobo stock yet has done nothing to resolve this bitter struggle.
See ‘Loulé Mayor in hot seat after no-holds-barred attack on water authority Infralobo’
Before their water supply was cut off, a group of householders saw their legal claim kicked out of Loulé’s administrative court and civil court which said it was ‘not competent to review the case.’
ERSAR formally has disagreed with the per bed tax three times, the last one being on February 17th, 2016 following an audit of Infralobo and an evaluation of the contract between the council and Infralobo which is run by the mayor’s brother-in-law.
Infralobo’s response from its president Eng.º José Eduardo Rodrigues Miguel has been that the tariff (per bed tax) is suitable for the customers due to the quality of service Infralobo provides.
Vítor Aleixo said the 'fees' were due to be discussed and that the area "is prized for its water quality and its resorts that rival the best in the world."
ERSAR also has pointed out Infralobo’s "poor performance" as it manages to lose 25% of its water through a leaking pipe-work system.
Should the per bed tax indeed be scrapped at the next Infralobo board meeting, those customers who were bullied into paying the additional tax will demand repayment of the amounts already extorted, and will be on the lookout for substitute taxes, renamed to give a sheen of legality.
The last straw was last week's report that Infralobo had won an award for customer care
National and local media have highlighted this case as it outlines the bully-boy tactics and attitude of those involved in serving the public whose time would better be spent in other areas of endeavour.
