Telkom self-help systems all broken

On 30 November 2017 I purchased and did the RICA for a Telkom mobile SIM card. I was assured that everything was done and all I had to do was install the SIM card in my device of choice and it would work.

I tried numerous devices and all I got was "No Service". I went on to Telkom's website to send a support request through their contact form. This form does not work and has not worked for the past couple of week. I then tried the Live Chat option which also does not work. I ended up going back to Pick n Pay where I bought the SIM card, but they could not help me because the problem needed to be fixed on a Telkom system that they did not have access to.

I hate the fact that I had no other option but to phone the Telkom call centre at my own expense from my Vodacom cellphone account (the Telkom SIM was not working at all) in order to try and resolve this issue. The call centre agent wasted my time telling me to try all the things I had already tried and then told me that the issue would be looked at by the technical team within 72 working hours and that I would receive an SMS with a reference number.

No reference number was received and 5 days later, still "No Service". Again, I had to drive to a Telkom store at my own expense. The only glimmer of goodness and hope in this story was Winnie at the Telkom shop at the Nicolway Shopping Centre. She was incredibly helpful and got the SIM activated and tried to assist me with linking the SIM to my existing Telkom account.

This is yet another system that does not work. I tried logging in to my Telkom account on the Telkom website, selected "Link Personal Accounts", entered the relevant details and receive an error message that the ID and phone number combination are invalid. Winnie checked on the Telkom system and the phone number was correctly associated with my ID number.

I later tried to use the Login Instantly with SIM card option. This worked and I was asked if I wanted to link the SIM to an existing account or login to the account separately. I had a moment of optimism but again, disappointment greeted me with another form on Telkom's site that does not work. It seems the form is linked to an old 8ta system which no longer exists. PLEASE Telkom, for the love of anything good could you review your self-help systems and fix all the bugs!!!