All I Wanted Was My Money

I’m in charge of collecting the electricity bills in our house. We are three tenants in all. The last person to join us moved in alone at first. She introduced herself to us as Linda. Later, she brought her two children to join her. When I saw the kids, I hoped she had taught them about managing water.

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I was worried because the house uses a water pump. We don’t have a water tank or reservoir. So whenever anyone turns on the tap, the machine automatically starts running. This directly affects our electricity bills. And as the person in charge of collecting and paying the bills, I feel responsible for managing the water as well.

That’s why when I saw Linda’s children playing with the water pump, I politely spoke to them about how to use it properly. I let them understand that if the machine gets damaged, we’ll all suffer the consequences. The next thing I knew, their mother’s boyfriend was giving me an earful about controlling these children.

It all started when Linda didn’t pay last month’s water and electricity bills. The cost was 40 cedis and 70 cedis respectively. Usually, I use my own money to buy the prepaid credit for electricity and my co-tenants refund me with their parts. So the money Linda hadn’t paid was my money.

In the middle of the month, I was down financially. I was also tired of asking Linda for my money. So I texted her boyfriend. He is the one who rented the room for her. All I did was remind him that I hadn’t received a payment for the utility bills.

He said he forgot and that he would be at the house over the weekend with the money. The weekend passed, and he didn’t show up. When I saw Linda’s eldest child playing around, I asked her to remind her mother that the bills were still unpaid.

Within minutes, I received a phone call from Linda’s boyfriend. He sounded so angry.

“Why did you tell the child we owe you?”

I felt very bad because I wasn’t looking for trouble. I just wanted my money back. It doesn’t seem like a lot of money but I was down to nothing.

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While he was ranting he said, “When I am not around, you control the children whenever they’re using the water. But you are disturbing us to pay the bill.”

That statement hurt me deeply. I didn’t mean any harm. Was I supposed to let the children play with the machine carelessly?

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Before they moved in, we spent over 4,000 cedis to fix that machine. All they have to do is pay 40 cedis a month but it turned into a problem.

Although I apologised to the man for involving the kids, I don’t like the way he spoke to me. I only did what I believed was right. I’ve never disturbed anyone for payment before. They usually bring it at their own convenience. Was I wrong to send Linda and her man constant reminders when they delayed payment?

—Diana 

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