****MERS

TELKOM, PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW THIS IS ACCEPTABLE?

I recently app**** for a home loan and was informed by the finance officer that, according to my credit record, I am apparently R1,099,000 in debt to Telkom Mobile.

Yes, R1.099 MILLION.

The reality is that my Telkom mobile contract instalment is around R1,099 per month.

Somehow, an amount of approximately R1,099 appears to have been reported as R1,099,000, and this has now affected my credit profile badly enough that my home loan application could not proceed normally.

Since discovering this, I have spent time and airtime phoning Telkom and TransUnion, only to be sent backwards and forwards between them while trying to get the incorrect information fixed.

I then decided to put my complaint in writing and emailed ***.

And guess what?

THE EMAIL BOUNCED BACK BECAUSE TELKOM’S CUSTOMER SERVICE MAILBOX IS FULL.

So not only am I dealing with an incorrect credit record that is affecting my ability to buy a home, I cannot even successfully email customer service to complain about it.

I have screenshots and documentation showing everything, including the R1,099,000 credit entry and the email rejection stating that Telkom’s mailbox cannot accept new messages.

I am posting this publicly because I have tried resolving it through the normal channels and I need someone at Telkom SA to actually take ownership of this and get it corrected with the credit bureaus urgently.

I am not asking for special treatment. I simply want incorrect information reported under my name to be corrected.

If anyone from Telkom, TransUnion, consumer media or the relevant consumer authorities sees this, I would really appreciate assistance getting this escalated to someone who can actually resolve it.

How many other consumers could have incorrect information sitting on their credit profiles without even knowing about it?

Please share if you think companies should be held accountable when incorrect credit information can affect someone’s ability to obtain finance.