Telkom nightmare

1. Breach of contract Telkom installed a 4Mbs line fixed ADSL line at my house. From the word go our relationship went sour. I never got 4 Mbs on my line, this line was intermittent and it fluctuated between 1 and 2,5 Mbs. I complaint numerous times to the service centre to no avail. This year my internet went off and Telkom stated that there were copper cables ****** in my area. On the 27 February 2019 I spoke to a lady called Nthabiseng who offered me a 200 Gig wireless connection which I was not happy with because my fixed line is an uncapped line to suite my needs. I believe that if Telkom can’t control cable theft, they must give me an uncapped wireless connection as per my original contract and data need. On the 27 February 2019 Telkom fixed my line and I was back on the copper line at between 3 and 4 Mbs. The next day 28 February 2019 I called the call centre and fortunately Nthabiseng took my call, I explained that my fixed line is up and running and I wish to cancel the 200 Gig wireless connection. She agreed that she would cancel the order and that if in future I need a wireless connection I would have to pay for a wireless handset. On the 8th of March 2019 a courier company delivered a parcel which I never opened. I called the call centre and a guy by the name of Wanda said that I must return the parcel to a Telkom shop. I drove to East London Telkom shop 720 km to and fro and a lady by the name of Liz accepted the parcel. When I called Telkom on the 26th of March 2019 to enquire about my contract a lady by the name of Carmel told me if I want to cancel a contract which was delivered by courier I am not allowed to hand it in at a Telkom shop. She stated that she can’t assist me, I must go back to East London and collect the parcel. What makes it worst is that you can’t call an agent at a Telkom shop. Now I am back where I started no internet from the 1st March 2019, but I know my statement will say otherwise. 2. Billing Department The billing Department needs staff capable to handle the demands of this organisation. Before I even started my contract, I agreed with the sales agent on the banking details and date of deduction of the monthly debit order. Only to find out later when my line was cut that this debit order was not enforced. They charged me reconnection fees I EFT the outstanding amount. We again agreed on the debit order details which I capped at R700,00, keep in mind my contract amount is R605,00 per month. Telkom somehow found that I was in arrears with my payment and then cut my line again, reconnecting it at a cost. This now caused a vicious circle of my account going into arrears, line being cut, reconnection fee charged and R700 deducted each month and the same status quo starts again. I did not get statements so I was not aware of this ****************.

3. Cancellation nightmare I was informed by the accounts consultant that if I want to cancel my contract there is a cancellation fee to be charged. However they cannot give me the cancellation fee amount, I need to cancel my line first then they will calculate the fee. Whatever this amount will be after the line has been cancelled I must just pay it because the line is already cancelled. In this case they can charge what they want. These are some ref. no. for this year, if it means anything:- ********** 1, ********** 2, ********** 9, ********** 3.

Be careful not to be lured into contracts offered by Telkom, unfortunately their offerings on data contracts are the best in the market, but in hindsight I would rather pay more for a better service. Make sure that your area has the infrastructure that will support the bandwidth Telkom offers you. There is a serious misunderstanding on procedures to be followed amongst the call centre staff. No one wants to get older, but to be honest I can’t wait for February 2020 when I can cancel my contract and open a contract like all other ex-Telkom data users in my area with a local service provider.