Telkom - a consumer nightmare

I am posting this e-mail (written by a friend of mine to a Telkom employee), who has since given up after struggling since November 2017 to have her internet reconnected (after Telkom incorrectly disconnected the service) and be refunded for faulty deductions. I have been witness to her struggle and I cannot comprehend how a business as large as Telkom can be so blatantly ******** to their own mistakes and their customer’s queries and complaints. It is not uncommon to have a bad experience with service once in a while with every business in South Africa, but to have every single person you spoke to (since November 2017) promising to help you resolve the issue and not doing so as well as promising to phone back and never doing so, is unheard of. It's like hitting a brick wall every time you pick up the phone to Telkom. While your telephone line or internet connection is working, consider yourself very lucky, but once that is no longer the case, you're in trouble. Expect no assistance whatsoever. If incorrect amounts were deducted for services never rendered, consider it lost forever. I am so angered by this as my "job security" solely depends on my consistent 100% (and often more) effort and nothing less. This is not the case with Telkom, where you earn a monthly salary for making promises you never keep and not being able to resolve customer issues. I feel sorry for my friend as I have little hope that her issue will be resolved any time soon as I also have little faith that Telkom will respond to this or at the least take responsibility for the worst service I have ever witnessed.

My friend's e-mail:

Good afternoon Temba

Further to our telephone conversation on Thursday last week when you confirmed that the use of my telephone line was restored and that you promised to phone me Friday morning regarding my internet connection.

In all honesty I thought you really meant it when you said you hate bad service yourself. Once again Telkom and its staff let me down. This has been ongoing since Nov 2017. The fact that Telkom restored the use of my telephone line is according to my attorney admission to guilt. I will now proceed with a claim against Telkom for having to pay my account without having the use of my internet as well as all costs involved in trying to get this problem resolved. I took a day's leave today to be home trying to sort this out only to hear that you are swamped but promise to phone me back.

Temba I am so disappointed in the lack of service. You and the rest of Telkom decided that you will make it your mission not to care about your customers. I will now make it my mission to go public and use every social platform to warn people against Telkom. Furthermore I will lay a formal complaint against each and every consultant I spoke to at all the different call centres since November 2017.

Apart from this I will open a ***** case against Telkom at the SAPD. You stole my money, changed my monthly package without delivering the service. I have got all the dates, names of Telkom consultants, unanswered e-mails as proof.

Thank you for nothing once again Temba. I can teach you and the rest of the Telkom staff a few things about service delivery. Why do we have to accept this level of service. I have a good idea why but would rather not voice my opinion.

I hope that, when you receive your salary on 25 April 2018, you will feel content knowing that you earned it by delivering your best. If it was not for people like us paying an arm and leg for Telkom's (non) service, you would probably have been unemployed.

You have yourself a good evening.

Kindest regards

Helmien Van Eeden