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GPL moving against Bill Direct Exec over massive $180M owed
– GT&T suspends payments’ arrangements
By Leonard Gildarie
Four months after the state-owned power company Guyana Power and Light Inc.
GT&T has suspended arrangements it had with Bill Direct.
dropped Bill Direct as one of their collections’ agencies over hundreds of millions of dollars, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) yesterday announced that consumers should not make payments there until further notice.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) yesterday also said it is currently battling with that Barbados-registered company to recover a staggering $180M which was reportedly collected from consumers and never handed over.
According to a notice yesterday in the Kaieteur News to its customers, GT&T said that “until further notice, no payment for telephone and internet bills can be paid to any Bill Direct agent.”
GT&T said that it will not be held responsible for any payments made during the period.
“Customers can continue to make payments at all of our other collection locations. GT&T regrets any inconvenience this may cause and will be working to have this payment option available to our customers again in the not too distant future.”
But while GT&T is harbouring hopes of a continued relationship with Bill Direct, GPL’s officials yesterday disclosed that it had moved to the court and struck an arrangement for the repayment of some $180M but the company does not have much in assets on which to levy.
GPL, in a release Friday, disclosed that it had terminated the payment collection arrangement it had with Bill Direct (Guyana) Inc. in September last year.
At that time, the monies involved was said to be around $700M.
However, according to one GPL official yesterday, “we were about to recover some of the monies.”
Back in September, GPL consumers were asked to utilise other agencies including Bill Express, Guyana Post Office Corporation, Republic Bank, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, Demerara Bank and Citizens Banks.
Bill Express had signed an agreement with GPL and other utility companies to collect payments for a fee and remit the proceeds to those respective agencies. The agencies include the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Guyana Water Inc, among others.
However, several months ago, GPL announced it was reviewing the arrangement.
Bill Direct operates several branches around the city and its environs.
Kaieteur News understands that the matter has seen lawyers becoming involved and Bill Direct agreeing to make payments.
At that time, lawyers had advised against GPL ending the arrangement.
However, GPL decided to pull the plug after no serious signs to pay was shown by Bill Direct.
Yesterday, a senior GPL official said that the power company is now examining the possibility of going after Dwayne Roach, a Barbadian national and the main principal behind Bill Direct.
“We are considering the possibilities of actually going after Mr. Roach personally. We understand that GPL is not the first company to which this was done. We understand that it has happened in another island.”
At its launch in 2007, Bill Direct established 42 agents and were aiming for 100 before the end of that year.
The former Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GOInvest), Geoffrey DaSilva, had disclosed, in 2007, during the official launch of Bill Direct’s Hadfield Street outlet that the company had started to eye the Guyana market since 2004.
Bill Direct (Guyana) Inc. is said to be a subsidiary of Bill Direct Holdings and Aruba Corporations which provide electronic commerce services and products to organisations in the Caribbean.
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