Ongoing Billing Discrepancies (PURE ******ION) and Service Suspension. Urgent Resolution Required

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction and frustration regarding the handling of our mobile contract with Telkom, which has now become completely unacceptable. We have been loyal customers for almost five years, paying a premium of approximately R1,700 for two devices. For the first four years, we were satisfied with the service no issues, no complaints. Unfortunately, this year has been a stark contrast.

In February, an incident occurred that affected the account through which the contracts were originally managed my brother’s account. Due to unforeseen issues on his side, the debit order for that month failed, resulting in both SIM cards being blocked. We immediately took accountability and went to Telkom Clearwater for clarification. Upon being told the outstanding amount, we paid it in full the same day at Pep with no resistance or delay. At that point, my mother requested to change the account details to her own, and we were informed the new account would only be debited from the following month.

As advised, Telkom debited my brother’s account for the final time at the end of that month. The following month, they debited the full premium from my mother’s account as expected. However, a few days later, Telkom inexplicably debited an additional amount of over R500 with no explanation or prior communication. Out of concern, my mother went back to Telkom to update the banking details again, switching from her ABSA account to Capitec, which she does not actively use, specifically to isolate the Telkom debits. She also arranged a standing transfer of R1,800 from ABSA to Capitec each month to ensure funds would always be available.

Despite these precautions, Telkom continued to bill us erratically and inconsistently. From the beginning of May, our SIM cards were blocked again. When we followed up, we were told we owed “R500-something.” We contested this, especially since Telkom had already taken that exact amount. They asked for a bank statement as proof, which we provided at Telkom Dobsonville Mall on 8 June. We were told our service would be restored within 48 hours. It was only to be blocked again by 12 June.

In June, Telkom debited approximately R1,200. Again, we followed up at Telkom Fourways and were told yet again that we owed “R500-something.” This time, the SIM cards were entirely non-functional not even incoming calls or SMS could get through.

Then in July, Telkom debited another R500+ again without prior notice or clarity and we were informed that we now owed “R3,000-something.” This figure made no sense given our payment history and the fact that we had not even had access to the service for which we were being billed.

When we sought further clarity at Telkom Westgate, an agent informed us that the account had been handed over to debt collectors. He advised us to pay R170+ to have services restored within 72 hours, and that Telkom would “try to debit R1,200+” at the end of July. We comp**** and paid the amount immediately. Yet, nothing was restored.

Today, 25 July, we returned to the same branch and spoke to the same agent only to be told a completely different story. We were now informed that he had “meant to say the end of August,” and that we will need to pay R3,300+ to have the lines restored.

Let me be clear: We have not had proper access to our services since May. We have paid consistently and followed all instructions given to us. We have gone out of our way to provide statements, update banking details, and resolve the issue in good faith.

Yet Telkom has:

* Debited erratic amounts without justification or notice * Failed to communicate clearly or consistently * Blocked our services despite full payment * Handled our account with blatant disorganisation and lack of accountability

Why are we expected to pay such an excessive amount for a service we have been denied for months and due to issues Telkom itself failed to resolve transparently?

We demand:

1. A comprehensive and itemised billing breakdown from February to present. 2. A full explanation of how the so-called outstanding amount was calculated. 3. Immediate restoration of our services or a valid legal reason for continued suspension. 4. Compensation or credit for the months in which service was disrupted while payments were made in good faith.

Failure to resolve this we left with no choice but to escalate the matter.