TELKOM - TERRIBLE SERVICE. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER CARE. *******!

**BEWARE OF TELKOM!!!! CAUTION TO THOSE CONSIDERING SIGNING UP FOR THEIR “SERVICES” **

I WANT TO GET LOUD ABOUT THIS. PLEASE SHARE IF YOU CAN. IT MAY HELP ANOTHER CONSUMER!

I need some big voices to start standing up against big corporations like Telkom who are milking consumers dry. I am just ONE, of what I imagine must be thousands of South Africans, who continue to be bled dry by Telkom with no help. I don't know what to do anymore.

I write this message in dire frustration with Telkom. I am a current Telkom customer who has had endless issues with Telkom since the start of my contract in July 2019. I am currently being “squeezed dry” by Telkom and held, against my will, in a contract whereby I pay monthly but receive NO service from Telkom. I make weekly follow up calls to Telkom on my open case numbers (yes, plural) and receive NO help whatsoever. I am told the same thing each time I call “We have escalated this matter” but to date (months down the line) NOTHING has been resolved. I have now opted to cancel my contract, forfeit the monies I am owed, pay the penalties I WILL suffer, and just be DONE with Telkom. But from what I have read online and been told by many, not even this will be a simple task, and I will likely continue to have my bank account depleted by them.

I required an “uncapped internet” type package for our home in July last year. I contacted Telkom early July for their specials. Before taking out any contract with them, it was checked by both myself and the sales agent, that my area had LTE signal for an LTE router. It was shown on their Website and confirmed by the agent that we DID have LTE signal. The contract was taken out online and over the phone early July. No contract documentation was sent to me, just the LTE router and sim which I connected myself. CONTRACT COMMENCED 8th JULY 2019 - Contract type is a 10mb line, uncapped/unlimited data for R899 per month. Billing was prorated for the month of July and added to my August debit (debited 15th of every Month). The first debit by TELKOM was on August 15th 2019.

In the course of July 2019, I noticed the internet speed was intermittent and gave us some issues. We found we were unable to stream anything (watch our tv) and could not connect to any other services such as Netflix. It was reported to Telkom in July 2019 but the case (as I have recently realised) was marked as “solved” soon after. Over the course of August the signal issues got progressively worse, and after a frustrating time of endless “fighting” with my router and TV, I physically went into Telkom’s South Coast branch in Shelly Centre and reported the issues again on the 25th August 2019. I requested something was done about this, properly this time, as I am paying R899 for a service I cannot make use of. Case number for 25th August 2019 - ***2

After waiting WEEKS for a response from Telkom regarding my issues and numerous phone calls later, a signal specialist / contractor was sent to my house, by Telkom, to test signal strength on the 25th September 2019. He tested signal for some +-30min and agreed the signal was awful. He let me know a report would be done and given to / handed to Telkom. He called on The Thursday / Friday of that same week to say the report was done and that I would need an antenna to boost our Telkom signal which could be installed, and that Telkom would assist within about 14 working days (2-3 weeks he said). I did not save his details. I had no idea I would need them MONTHS later.

To date, this case remains unsolved and I have spent months awaiting a resolution. I phone Telkom WEEKLY, if not daily, for assistance, and NOTHING is done. On asking that my contract be terminated and my monies refunded in October, I was told I had to wait for a resolution / answer to my case or I would be liable for PENALTY FEES if I cancelled my contract early (and the penalty fees are steep!!).

After MONTHS ****erally) of phoning Telkom on a weekly basis for a follow up on the antenna for signal OR a resolution to my case, I got absolutely annoyed and decided to just cancel this contract, as I was being billed R899 a month and not able to use the service, barely AT ALL! On 18th November I requested the cancellation of my contract and 1 day later an agent called requesting to know why I wanted to cancel – after my 700th detailed explanation of my situation to a Telkom agent, she informed me that if I cancel the contract without my case having been solved, that I would have to PAY to cancel the contract. She suggested that I downgrade to a 5gig line which would reduce my package to R60 a month. I agreed to this in hopes my case would be solved before year end.

I decided to take matter into my own hands and contacted a private contractor whom could assist with the antenna but quickly found this would be a nonsensical cost of R4500. Pieter was still wonderful enough to assist me with signal testing AND A REPORT that confirmed our lack of signal, and could potentially aid my case with TELKOM.

As of the 1st December 2019, my 5gig package kicked in. However, I was still debited the full R899 for the month. After numerous (and I mean numerous) calls notifying Telkom of the incorrect debit, I was in January, yet AGAIN, incorrectly debited (Case number ***2 AND ***8). R899 off my bank account and I cannot even use the service, not even for the 5gigs (never mind the UNLIMITED package), because we get very poor to NO LTE signal!!

To date, my August 2019 case number remains UNSOLVED and I cannot cancel this contract without suffering a monetary loss. I have now just opted to proceed with cancelling the contract because this has just gone on for far too long now! I call weekly (sometimes multiple times a week) to ask for assistance from Telkom – NOTHING is done, NO ONE gets back to me, TELKOM DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS AT ALL!!!

Surely this is *******? How can I, the consumer, protect myself? I have requested a copy of my Telkom contract, which to date I have not received. I can’t even get through to the TELKOM legal department. TELKOM will not assist me in any way, shape, or form?? What am I supposed to do from here?? I have now contacted a lawyer and will be sharing my story far and wide UNTIL SOMEONE WAKES UP AND ASSISTS ME!

Desperate consumer, Natasha Caple TELKOM ACC NO. *** TELKOM NUMBER: ***