Avoid Telkom at All Costs – A Frustrating, Draining Experience

If you are considering getting a contract phone, I strongly advise against choosing Telkom. Their billing department is beyond inefficient, and their customer service team lacks urgency, accountability, and basic courtesy. Instead of resolving issues, they hide behind excuses like “the system is down.” After years of loyalty to Telkom, I have reached my breaking point. Let me explain why.

In March, I visited the Telkom Bayside branch to confirm when my contract ends, when the final debit order would be processed, and how to cancel the contract. A consultant told me that the final debit would go off on 25th March , and I should return on 6th April to formally cancel. I had already informed their customer care that I didn’t want the contract renewed, but I went in person to avoid any miscommunication.

When I returned on 6th April, I was told by Davidene Vlotman that the contract had still not been cancelled and, unsurprisingly, “the system is down.” I insisted she email me to confirm our conversation so I would have something in writing. She agreed and informed me I would be billed R239 at the end of April because the system had already issued the bundle for that month. Though I wasn’t happy, I accepted it and agreed to pay the R239.

Then, around 17th April, a Telkom consultant called me. I explained the issue again and asked him to ensure the cancellation was done properly. He assured me everything had been sorted.

On 23rd April, I received another email from Davidene confirming that I would be billed one final time — R239.

But on 25th April, Telkom debited R1099 from my account.

After trying — and failing — to get help from customer service, I reversed the debit because I refuse to pay for Telkom’s mistakes. Since then, I have been trying to pay the correct amount (R239) and resolve the issue, but no one has helped me.

On 2nd May, I finally spoke to Lithole Pfunzo. I explained everything (again), and after a long, unproductive conversation where he blamed the system being down, he promised the matter had been escalated and I would receive a call from management that same day. He also said he would call me at 12:00. It’s now 5th May — no call, no follow-up, nothing.

What’s worse is that despite being a loyal, paying customer for years, Telkom now threatens to blacklist me — even though I have been upfront and proactive about wanting to pay the R239. And to top it off, they now want to charge me a fee for reversing the debit that they overcharged in the first place.

This whole ordeal has been mentally and emotionally draining. Telkom has proven to be disorganised, careless, and disrespectful toward customers. I want absolutely nothing more to do with Telkom, and I strongly warn anyone looking for value and accountability to stay far away.

They have completely lost the plot.