Total Disregard for Circumstances

My debit order with Telkom was always set for the 31st, and always went off then, so there was never an issue with it going off. However, last month, I had a completely unforeseen incident - I had a few rands of bank charges go off my account on the 2nd. So 2 things apply here: 1. Telkom should have already debited my account (as there was more than enough in the account until the bank charges and other debit order went off on the 2nd) 2. My other debit order should have returned, not Telkom Anyway, when I raised this with Telkom (via the chat), because I really did not want to pay the R211 for a returned debit, they said that that this is a standard and the debit can go off between 30th-2nd of the month. They also said that I did not need to worry as the funds reflect in the system, and if it was rejected, it would have appeared by then. Again, although I did not know for sure that it was Telkom's debit order that did not go through but assumed it must have been, I contacted them again on the 4th to avoid this fee. They again said it reflected and I did not need to worry. I immediately made payment anyway to avoid this fee.

So today, when my statement arrived, and I contacted Telkom again, explained this, and that I had the chats, bank statements, etc to verify this, they said it was rejected so I must be charged. When I said this was out of my control, that there were funds in the account, and could they not see that I did everything in my power to avoid this? The response was, "Apologies for the inconvenience" - if you know you are causing an inconvenience to a client, do you not do everything you can to help your client remove the inconvenience?? So when I said, "So I have to pay R211 now because a few rands were deducted from my account that I could not control????" she rep**** "Yes you have to pay" and promptly closed the chat.

Which companies debit tell their clients they could be charged over a matter of 3-4 days? Which companies charge for a returned debit order (I personally do not know of any)?

In my experience with Telkom and the CONSTANT issues, it is like they just see you as a number, you have money to give them for anything and everything you want, and THEY are doing you a favor by taking your money, while providing as little service as possible. I could not believe the unreasonableness, apathy, and general disregard for any circumstances. It's like they cannot fathom that situations like this or unforeseen circumstances could possibly happen.