Unexplained Data Depletion & Poor Customer Service from Telkom Mobile

I am extremely frustrated with the service I received from Telkom Mobile today.

This morning, I purchased a 1GB + 750MB Night Surfer data bundle. Within less than 5 minutes, I received an SMS stating that I only had 505MB remaining. Shortly thereafter, I received another notification that my data had been completely depleted.

This is highly concerning and unacceptable. I purchase similar bundles daily, and I have never experienced such rapid data depletion before. On my device, I have disabled background app refresh, restricted mobile data usage to only WhatsApp and Safari, and turned off automatic system updates. Even if other apps were using data, it is unreasonable for over 800MB to be consumed in under 10 minutes.

I contacted Telkom customer service and initially spoke to Lunga Ngcobo. Unfortunately, the service I received was extremely disappointing. He was rude, dismissive, and lacked empathy for my situation. Despite explaining the issue clearly, he simply advised me to purchase more data, which is not a solution. When I requested to speak to a supervisor, I was told that none were available, which I find highly questionable. I also had to repeatedly insist before he agreed to log a complaint.

I then called again and spoke to another agent, Deempho, who was professional and helpful. Although she could not resolve the issue directly, she escalated the matter to her Team Leader, Percy Zulu, who was understanding and supportive. I appreciate their professionalism.

However, after following their advice, I purchased the same amount of data again and experienced the exact same issue, with my data being depleted almost immediately. I called back once more, but my issue remains unresolved.

As a result, I have now lost a full day of work, as I rely on mobile data to do my job. I have also been informed that this matter will only be attended to on Tuesday, which means I will lose two full days of work due to this ongoing issue.

I am extremely frustrated and unhappy with this service. As a loyal customer, I deserve reimbur*****t or some form of compensation for the repeated loss of data and the impact this has had on my work.

@Telkom