Telkom keeps taking money from my bank account when my account is not in arrears!

<p>I'm getting TERRIBLE service from Telkom regarding an issue which has been going on since May. It's now July and Telkom has STILL not resolved the issue despite several calls which I've made to the call centre! </p> <p>The issue started when I made the mistake of not leaving enough money in my bank account for my Telkom debit order. On 2 May Telkom tried to debit my account, but because of my error, the debit order obviously didn't go through. When i received an SMS from Telkom saying that they had not received my payment, I realised my mistake and immediately called Telkom's call centre to get Telkom's banking details. I paid my instalment of R350,10 and the missed debit order fee of R201, making it a total of R551,10 which I paid in May.</p> <p> </p> <p>I was then surprised to see that Telkom deducted R549,93 from my bank account on 15 May. When I called the call centere to query it, I was told that it was a system error as the cash I had paid had not yet reflected on Telkom's system and Telkom would have to refund me. I told the call centre agent that I would just reverse the debit order at my bank as it would be much quicker than going through a lengthy refund process. So I thought that the issue was sorted out as at this point I did not owe Telkom any money.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then on 2 June Telkom debited my accoiunt with the wrong amount - my instalment is R350, but Telkom deducted R298. When I phoned to query it, the call centre agents could provide me with no reason as to why Telkom undercharged me by R52. So at this point I owed Telkom R52 through no error of my own - Telkom had deducted the wrong amount from my account.</p> <p> </p> <p>A few days later on 15 June imagine my shock when Telkom deducted R699,43 from my account! I was horrified and when i called the call centre, I was told that I owed Telkom R699,43! When I asked the agent to explain how Telkom had arrived at that figure, she gave me a lengthy explanation which made no sense! She insisted that I owed Telkom that money when I knew that I didn't. I thought I'd rather call back and hopefully would get through to someone who would make mlore sense. Luckily, I did. The second call I made that day, I got through to a woman who at first said that it showed on the system that I owed Telkom R699,43. But when I asked her what that debt was for, she couldn't figure it out. She asked me if I would mind going on hold while she contacted the accounts department. When she got back on the phone she said that the accounts department had informed her that it was an error on Telkom's part and that they would have to refund me. I told her that I would just reverse the debit order at my bank, which I did.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then on 2 July Telkom deducted R387,56 from my account. It was R38 more than normal (my instalment is R350 per month) but that was fine by me as I knew that Telkom had mysteriously undercharged me by R52 in June. So at this point I would have owed Telkom about R14 - the R52 which Telkom did not deduct on 2 June, minus the extra R38 which Telkom deducted in July makes it R14 which I owed Telkom.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then on 11 July I received an SMS from Telkom stating that my account was in arrears of R400 and if I did not pay within 2 days my account would be suspended. I was shocked and immediately called the call centre. I got through to a very rude woman who literally shouted at me on the phone! She demanded to know why I had underpaid Telkom in June. She wanted to know why I had only paid R298 when I knew that my instalment was R350. I told her that it was Telkom who had deducetd R298 from my account and that I had not chosen to pay R298. She angrily told me that she could see that I had made a cash payment of R298. I was shocked at this as I had my bank statement showing that Telkom had deducted that amount from my account and when I tried to explain that to her, she insisted that I had made an incorrect cash payment! I then asked why Telkom sent the SMS stating that I owe R400. She told me that it was because I had not paid in March. When I told her that I had paid in March, then she said that I didn't pay in April. I told her that I had made April's payment via EFF. She said that I had not as there was no cash payment on Telkom's system. I was sick of her rudeness by this point so I eventually ended the call as I could see that she was not understanding me when I told her that I had not missed any payments since 2 May.</p> <p> </p> <p>I decided to call back later to hopefully get through to a more intelligent, well-mannered person who could understand that I did not owe Telkom R400. The next woman who I got through to insisted that I did owe Tellkom R400 but when I asked her to explain why, she gave me en extremely lengthy explanation which I did not understand. She explained 3 times and I still did not understand how I owed Telkom R400. I explained to her that January - April's debit orders had all gone through and that it was only in May when I missed the debit order, but I had paid May's instalment cash. I then told her that June and July's debit orders had gone thorugh, so how could I owe Telkom R400? </p> <p> </p> <p>I had enough of Telkom's useless call centre by this point so I went into a Telkom store with my proof of payment from May as well as a 3 month bank statement to prove that I did not owe Telkom R400. The very helpful woman in store was surprised and she could npot figure out why my account was in arrears. She even asked one of the other agents in the store for advice. The other woman also could not figure out why Telkom insists that I owe them money. She put in a complaint with the accounts department and said they would get back to me today.</p> <p> </p> <p>BUT I JUST RECEIVED AN SMS FROM MY BANK RIGHT NOW SAYING THAT TELKOM HAS TAKEN R755,49 FROM MY ACCOUNT TODAY! I am furious as this issue has been dragging on since May and despite MANY calls to the call centre it has never been resolved. This is ridiculous that it has now happened 3 times that Telkom is taking money from my bank account on my payday! And what makes it more ridiculous is that I only owe Telkom R14 but they are deducting huge amounts from my account. CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME?! I cannot find any email address to send complaints to on Telkom's website, which is why I have taken this complaint to Hello Peter. I cannot keep going to the bank every month to reverse debit orders which Telkom should not be taking. It's like theft on Telkom's part!</p>