Telkom's abusive treatment of my sick, elderly mother

It's been over two, desperate months and my 74-year-old mother is still without her phone and internet as a result of Telkom's abusive and inhumane treatment.

In December my mother got extremely sick and spent over a month in hospital (including ICU) where she was treated for osteoporotic fractures in her spine and a pulmonary embolism. Once she was released she was unable to live by herself, which is when the abuse from Telkom began.

She had to move from her flat in Diep River, Cape Town to an assisted living retirement home in Thornton, which meant we needed to transfer her line.

On Tuesday, 13 March I app**** for her phone and ADSL line to be transferred from her Diep River flat to the retirement centre. I requested that the Diep River line be disconnected on Tuesday, 20 March because she moved on Monday, 19 March and was told it would take 7 to 10 working days for her line to be reconnected in her room at her new retirement home.

About two hours after I called Telkom, her line in Diep River went dead - a week earlier than I'd requested!! I panicked because she couldn't live alone without a phone for a week - she was still recovering and desperately needed to be in phone contact so she could call for medical help if she needed it.

I called Telkom immediately to tell them what had happened and asked them to reconnect it. The first consultant told me it was impossible and I freaked. My resources were already so low after almost losing her and I was VERY anguished by the consultant's dismissive attitude towards the situation.

I calmed myself down and phoned back and the second consultant said it was possible. Within a few minutes her phone was connected again and it lasted for two days. It went dead on the Thursday (15 March) and she hasn't had a working phone since, despite my continued pleas with Telkom over the phone and my plea at my local Telkom branch in Kenilworth Centre.

Once she moved into her retirement centre, she did get a phone BUT not hers!! Telkom arrived about a week after she moved in and installed a line BUT it wasn't her line - it was a line for a plastics business which kept ringing and RINGING with clients asking questions about the business.

This went on for weeks, during which time my mother had a fall and the incessant calls became too much.

She was in bed trying to recover and the phone kept ringing and ringing. Eventually her best friend managed to get Telkom to cut it off so it would stop. The Telkom consultant said that the actual line would be installed the day after but it wasn't. It's been over a week again and she's still without a phone and her internet.

In between all this I went into my local Telkom branch at Kenilworth Centre - I was crying in frustration and asked them to help. They said they couldn't because they didn't have access to the system to get a status update on the order. They took my number and said someone would call me the following day.

They didn't. They called almost four weeks later!!! And then wouldn't help. A consultant from Telkom called saying they were asked to call and when I told them my problem they said they couldn't help and I had to call the Sales department - the place I've been calling for months!!

I'm beside myself because I don't know what to do or where to turn to get her line installed. I called again this Friday (18 May) and was told that the technician couldn't find her address so I asked if I could get the technician's number to direct him to her place - and next thing the consultant said that a technician hasn't been assigned to it!! How can a non-existent technician not find her place?!! It's total and utter madness, there is NO reason involved with any of it. The consultant said she was escalating the case, which is a problem for two reasons:

1. Why has NO-ONE suggested doing this previously?? 2. What possible difference will it make considering the treatment we've received so far? I don't believe it's going to do anything except PROLONG the process.

Whenever I used to hear people complain about Telkom I always said that my experience was okay but now I see EXACTLY why it's garnered the name HELLKOM because it is. Evil, inefficient beyond insanity and truly inhumane.