Pathetic customer service

<p>I am extremely frustrated with Telkom for numerous reasons! In January 2017, I had taken a contract with Telkom for the Huawei P9 lite and was quite excited about it as it seemed like a good deal, only to find out a few weeks later that it was the WORST mistake I had ever made in my ENTIRE life.Upon receiving my first statement of account I realised that the initial fee of R199 that had been deducted(from my bank account) the week after I had taken the contract, was NOT reflecting on the Telkom statement. I called Telkom to enquire, held on for 30 minutes before being transferred to an agent who advised that my payment was not reflecting on their side and I had to provide them with proof of payment. I then advised the agent that I was not in a position to go into a bank and requested her to investigate. The agent had a "don't care attitude" and came across as very unprofessional. I then followed up again, held on for a lengthy period and was then informed by another agent that my payment was now reflecting. I was relieved at that point, but my question is: if Telkom had a debit order in place and initially deducted the amount of R199, why was it not reflecting on my Telkom statement in the first place? I was perturbed when I encountered another problem with Telkom. I had received an sms stating that “due to non-payment my services will be interrupted“ I immediately called Telkom and was advised by an agent, whose telephone etiquette was appalling, that the debit order on my account was rejected. I did advise him that I had sufficient funds in my bank account and that Telkom should deduct the required payment. When I asked the agent to confirm my banking details, he quoted my CELL number. I was horrified at this point as *********** agent/s at Telkom had listed my Cell number as my Account number. The agent apologised and confirmed that this matter will be escalated to the Complaints department for investigation and within 7 days I would be contacted. NO ONE from the complaints department called me. I had to follow up again(after 7 days) as I wanted the matter to be resolved promptly, yet again I held on for a lengthy period. Eventually, I spoke to a team leader who requested for my correct bank account number. I did request for Telkom to now deduct the payment as I still had sufficient funds in my account - this clearly did not happen as it fell to deaf ears and I continued receiving “non-payment” sms’s that I did not appreciate. I rep**** 9 times to the sms’s but no one contacted me. My account has now been suspended due to non-payment, all because of Telkom’s *********** staff!!! This is preposterous!!! I immediately called Telkom, requested for a supervisor or manager and held on for 35minutes before being put through to Ms Nolotando Madela who advised that she will look into the matter but I did not get any feedback from her, therefore I decided to call one last time before engaging my Attorney. At this stage, I spoke to Noktula Ngcozo who was the only person who empathised with me and promised to forward an urgent email to rectify this problem. The complaints dept has not contacted me and I cannot be patient any longer, I’ve waited for 3 months already, how much longer must I wait for a response. I was previously with MTN service provider for 20 years and had NEVER called or complained once to them or about them. I regret porting my number from MTN to Telkom. I will be pursuing this matter further to my Attorney, to Wendy Knowler at Consumerwatch and to the local Newspaper. My desire is to terminate with immediate effect ALL services with Telkom. I do wish this matter be escalated to its highest authority as my past experiences with Telkom agents, supervisors and managers have proven highly *********** and incapable of executing their jobs.</p>