Bank charges after years of not using the bank account

Only giving it a star so I can write a review. I opened my bank account just before covid. I then lost my job. Never used the account since then. Fast forward to today, I want to start using discovery bank for my salary, because the service was good last time I used it. When calling g the contact centre I get told, I owe R8k+ in bank fees because I didn't call to close the account. They state that after 6 months your account is deactivate. So why do they still continue to charge bank fees for a deactivated account. I will definitely never use discovery bank ever again and strongly suggest that no one else use it. I will never recommend anyone to use this bank.