UNSPEAKABLE SERVICE

I entered into a cell phone contract with Telkom just after the middle of November 2023 and a debit order was arranged for the last day of each month and the sales lady at Telkom, at the Pavillion informed me that payment will only be deducted at the end of December 2023.

End of December came and gone and no communication was received as a an invoice or statement, reminder or as a confirmation that payment was to made or received so I thought everything is fine.

At 02h00 in the morning of the 26th of January 2024 a mms message woke me up. It stated that my FNB Bank account was debited. At 08h00 that morning i called Telkom for assistance and was informed that my account was handed over to a collection agency because my my debit order returned.

I told them but I never received any communication from them letting me know that my account is in arrears. I was informed that my cell number was never registered as a means of communication and they never sent me an invoice or statement since they did not have my email address either.

This is all information that was provided to the sales lady at the Telkom sales office in the Pav but it seems that the person who did the capturing did not think that to be important.

The result is that my account is in arrears, then they tried to unsuccessfully debit my account on the 16 January 2024 when there is not sufficient funds in the account incurring a levy of R250 for each attempt and then handed it over to a collection agency who ALSO debit my account on the 26 January 2024 when there is no money in my account.

Then I went and paid the money due on the 27 Janauary 2024 and was told that it is too late ... my account will be suspended nonetheless and I will have to wait for the payment to be processed which can take 7 - 10 days.

I work from home due to a disability and need my phone to stay in contact with my office and I politely asked if there is a way to expedite the processing of the payment and was informed that that is not possible.

In addition to the mess up that their lack of communication has caused my account - the additional fees, the suspension of my line, I also have to brace myself for bank charges from my bank for debit order returns and my credit record that is now in tatters

In addition to that what is most alarming is that my BANK DETAILS was shared with this third party. That is absolutely a contravention of the PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION ACT. What and who gave them the right to do that because yes we do agree that if our account is in arrears for it to be handed over but personal details VERY SENSITIVE information like that was not agreed to.

I expect all these additional fees to be paid back to me and my phone suspension to be lifted immediately so i can connect to my office and assurance that the company that has my bank details have removed it from their data-base