Telkom *****, despicable service and theft to the poor consumer

Never in my entire existence have I found such a level of corporate ***** and defunct of consumers. I wish I had never signed up with Telkom and will make it my fundamental pledge and mission to encourage every single person I know to boycott and spread the word of a company that is a law unto themselves and that has zero response or customer service.

I signed up for an LTE contract with Telkom as there was only wifi coverage for this in my residence and not surprisingly the Telkom line was faulty and I could not obtain ADSL. Nevertheless eventually our area received fibre and the most cost effective and uncapped provider was most certainly not Telkom. Having switched over I requested via the online platform (this is what was requested of me to do when I called in) the cancellation of my contract, where I was willing to pay any cancellation fee (this for a router which is worth absolutely nothing).

This cancellation request was requested in JUNE of this year - Reference number ********** 3 and confirmation was sent (the LTE number in question is ********** 451). One person contacted me way back and much later after my online request (tried once on the phone without success) and then emailed me, to which I rep**** and requested her to make contact again. This individual never responded to me (I assume she just left Telkom and my case was never passed on). And so the saga ensued. Numerous calls to 180, managers promising to cancel, emails, visits to the Telkom store etc. Telkom continued to bill me. There was an early termination fee which I gladly agreed to pay. They just never get back to me or respond to me. I have exhausted all avenues and the merely keep debiting me. I also have a cellphone contract with them so here is where it got tricky for me. I now recently cancelled my debit order, and made a manual EFT to Telkom for my cellphone contract fees only.

Telkom sent me an automated voice call (really slack and no attention to customer service) to inform me that my account is in arrears and that my cell phone line, which I use for my business will but cut-off and my account handed over to attorneys!!! Even though I made the exact payment via EFT for the cost of my cellphone contract. I REFUSE and REFUTE the fact that I must pay for a service that I have requested to be cancelled in JUNE of this year. This is theft at its greatest corporate level. I have never ever been so frustrated having tried all avenues for recourse (including now a pending CCMA application that I have submitted).

I think my only recourse is to walk into a TELKOM store and demand that everything be cancelled my cellphone contract included, and not leave until it is done and I have it in writing. I will pay the massive penalty for my cellphone contract too if need be and switch over to another network provider. This is despicable.

When I have the energy and the means, I will go as far as to involve an attorney to expedite this matter and seek damages. As small as this may seem to Telkom, it is these smalls battles that add up that will be the result of their business failure. I too will encourage my community to do the same. All in all a sad state of affairs.