You paid, but the payment has not been credited

Why this happens

Normal posting delay

Nothing is instantaneous. A payment made on a Friday evening at a counter may not reach the company's ledger until Tuesday, and that is functioning as designed.

A mistyped reference number

The single most common cause. The payment succeeded and the receipt is valid — it simply credited somebody else's account.

Reconciliation failure

The aggregator or bank took the money but the file to the company failed or was rejected. The consumer is holding a genuine receipt against an account that shows nothing.

Applied to arrears instead of the current month

Receipts are applied oldest-first. If arrears existed, your payment may have been fully consumed by them, leaving the current month showing as unpaid even though the money arrived.

What to do, in order

1. Check the reference number on the receipt itself. Compare it digit by digit against the bill. If they differ, this is a misdirected payment and the tracing route is different from a delayed one.
2. Wait out the channel's posting window. Wallets and bank apps: 48 hours. Branch counters: three working days. Chasing before that produces nothing except a queue.
3. Retrieve the transaction reference. Every channel issues one — a transaction ID on an app, a stamped receipt number at a counter. Without it neither the bank nor the company can trace anything.
4. Raise it with the payment channel first. The bank or wallet can confirm whether the money reached the company and against which reference. That answer determines which of the two organisations has to fix it.
5. Then apply in writing to the sub-division. Attach the receipt and the channel's confirmation. Where the credit went to a wrong reference, ask specifically for it to be transferred to your account.
6. Do not pay twice unless the due date forces it. If it does, keep both receipts — the duplicate payment becomes a credit balance that carries forward, not a loss, provided you can evidence both.

What to take with you

• The payment receipt with its transaction reference
• The bill
• Bank or wallet statement line

If it stalls, escalate in this order

1. The payment channel's own complaint line, with the transaction reference
2. Sub-divisional officer, in writing, with the channel's response
3. The channel's regulator route if the bank denies a transaction its own statement shows

Attach the earlier stamped applications at each rung. Starting the story again from the beginning at every level is the slowest possible way to escalate.

Frequently asked questions

Related problems

• You were charged a late payment surcharge despite paying on time — I paid before the due date but the next bill still charged me the surcharge.
• Arrears have appeared on a bill you always paid — There is a previous balance on my bill but I have every receipt.
• You have been billed twice, or hold two bills for one meter — Two different bills arrived for what I am certain is one connection.

Background reading

• Payment channels compared