Telkom Real-Time Restoration Lies.

So, as expected Telkom likes to talk the talk, but when it comes to executing the promises they make, they fail. So just to point out, everyone at one point or another slips up in making a payment online, this post is not about that. The post is about the fact that Telkom advertises Real-Time Restoration of a suspended account once payment is made via their Telkom Portal. First instance they state this on the Invoice, they also state this when you access the Chat Service and the people handling the Facebook Social Media confirms this too. However... this is not the case.

When my service was not restored an hour and a half after making payment via the Telkom Portal, I accessed the Chat Service for Billing Enquiries. And according to the chat agents (I had 2 chats), both explicitely stated that it is NOT real-time. That the system has to "wait" for the payment to reflect. One agent argued that it does not state immediate/real-time connection anywhere. The second agent appologized, but kept saying that the connection will only happen once payment reflects (so much for the promise of real time). Even more frustrating, no-one in Telkom can actually confirm how long this process can take, 1,2,5,12, 24, 48 hours... because they don't know...

So if DSTV is able to reconnect a suspended service within 5 minutes of making an EFT payment, why can Telkom not do the same thing?

More so, WHY WOULD TELKOM PROMISE 'Real-Time/Immediate Restoration' if this is obviously NOT the case.

Unfortunately, chatting to the agents leads to a dead end, and the customer in this case is simply left to wait for restoration of services, which can take several hours if not days... so bottom line, whether you pay your arrears via Telkom's so called "online secure payment - real-time restoration service" or simply via your Bank as an EFT... it makes no difference. You will still wait.

It's been 2 hours since I paid, and there's still no sign of this real-time connection they promote EVERYWHERE!