Landlords held at ransom
published: Thursday | October 14, 2004

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE NATIONAL Water Commission (NWC) continues to wrongfully use their monopolistic position to their benefit, at the expense of landlords in Jamaica. When a tenant occupies a location, and purchases goods and services in that location, for consumption or for the purpose of reselling, the tenant enters into an arrangement with the vendor of those goods and services.

So why does the NWC continue to hold the landlord responsible for something he has nothing to do with? If the tenant continues to owe the NWC, connection is not terminated, and herein lays the major problem. In the end, when the tenant disappears, the landlord is held for ransom. If he does not pay the NWC for the service used by his former tenant, he will have difficulty restoring water for or on behalf of his new tenant, and hence future revenue for him is at stake.

It seems to me that any business that chooses to offer credit to their customers should do so at their own risk and expense. However, the reality seems to be that if you are in a monopolistic position you can do otherwise.

I am, etc.,

MANOJ RAMCHANDANI

manojramchandani@

hotmail.com