Telkom *****ing from old people.

My mother stays in Oudtshoorn. During September 2018 the Telkom cables were ******, leaving an area without landlines. Telkom decided not to replace the cables. Telkom continued to send monthly accounts. For landline rental. Of course no calls could be made, as there were no lines. I subsequently sent cancellation forms to Telkom. I did this again and again to all known Telkom addresses. Some smart operators rep**** and said I should cancel online. When I tried this I got the message that the service was suspended due to non payment. So we can not cancel the service, but there is no service as there are NO LINES. But she has to pay. She has now received a message that she has been handed over to a debt collection service. My mother is 82 years old, stays in a retirement village. She always paid to much on her Telkom account because she has never paid accounts late. She is now being bul**** by this large corporation to pay for services that she has never (and could not) received. This behaviour is scandalous to say the least and should be treated with the disdain it deserves. I wonder how many other people are bul**** and deceived in this manner? It appears that I have no other recourse than to elevate this matter. The issuance of invoices for services not rendered contains most of the elements of the definition of *****. The harassment endured by an elderly widow also forms grounds for civil proceedings. The individuals responsible for such actions should be held accountable and those charged with governance should be taken to task with the sorry state of internal controls. I trust this matter will be resolved in an effective and correct manner by Telkom. Six months without telephone cables and you want old people's money - you should be ashamed of yourselves.