Blocked Credit Card - ABSA hopeless as ever.

My VM Credit Card will expire in July and Absa/Virgin Money initiated the replacement and it was delivered only 1 day late (good by Absa standards). I confirmed with the call center agent that the card will be activated on my first swipe and that I will not have to visit a branch. When I tried to use the card for the first time it did not work and now the original and replacement card is blocked. This is a major problem since I need a credit card for online shopping at the moment. I have not been able to get any response from Absa via any of the official channels or social media. Hopefully someone is monitoring Hellopeter so that my card can be unblocked and activated.