Telkom: Where communication goes to die

<p>Our phone lines and internet went down on Friday afternoon, 2 September, at 2PM. We reported the fault right away (using a cell phone, since there was no landline). We were given the reference number and I mentioned that since we work from home, this was extremely urgent. On Monday I called again, and they assured me nothing whatsoever had been done, and there was a small chance they would be able to start investigating the problem sometime during the course of this week. Today, when I tested the landline, I was told by a female voice a good deal calmer than my own that my number does not exist. When I called to investigate (from someone else's house -I have no landline!), I was told that they have no information, but maybe the techs were testing the line when I got that message. Considering that I tested the line at 3AM, and again at 6AM, I seriously doubt that was the problem. They need to test the line to see if there is a problem (I HAVE NO INTERNET!!) and then they will see if they can find a technician to go and investigate the problem further.</p> <p>They have no information and can't tell me when it might be resolved, while I let down my clients and lose thousands of rands every day. I can't go and work at my colleague's house because her internet has been down for almost a month! Same story.</p> <p>I don't care that there is a Telkom strike, or that the technicians are sabotaging the exchanges and costing businesses thousands of rands. I care that they aren't telling me that, or fixing my problem, or paying back my lost revenue. And I care that there are no alternatives. We are enslaved to this *********** monolith and it seems our only option for reliable internet is to move ourselves (and our business, and its income) to another country.</p>