Old Contract stopping new contract. Unnecessary change of ownership

I was originally on Vodacom prepaid, and went onto a Vodacom 24 month contract, which came to the end of the contract term on 31 December 2018. I decided not to upgrade, and instead went back on to pre paid. All the while, keeping my same number. Now, in October 2019, I would like to take out a new Vodacom contract. I did the application online - and they called me back to say that my contract is still listed as ACTIVE and I need to call the accounts department to have this moved to SETTLED. (Why was this not done when my contract came to an end??) It took me 3 days to get this done, as I could never get hold of the accounts department, as the helpline says my number is not in arrears, and keeps transferring me back to customer care. Accounts then said to me, that once it has been changed, I must wait 3-5 hours, and then apply again online. Which i did. Vodacom online called me back to complete my applicaton, and then they say that they can see SETTLED - but now they first need to deal with Back of House, and do something else, before we can go any further... Another delay! This then gets done. We go through the application process, and immediately my application is denied, as the consultant (Zandile) says that it is still picking up my previous contract. Zandile was a pleasure to speak to, and tried to assist. She said that I will need to do a transfer of ownership - from myself, to myself, in order to be able to keep my number?? This doesnt make sense to me at all. I don't understand how my previous contract keeps linking to my new application, or why it has been such a difficult process to try to take out a new contract, keeping my current number. Vodacom is almost pushing me towards MTN or Telkom, both of which are happy for me to keep my number. I dont understand how I am currently with Vodacom, and why it is such a difficult process to apply for a new contract. Zandile said she would start the change of ownership, and get back to me, but I have not heard anything, and i really don't know what to do from here?? Who do i speak to? Trying to get assistance is proving impossible. Surely my old contract should be removed/deleted, and i should be able to apply for a new contract without the old one constaly coming up. And why can i not keep my current number without having to do a change of ownership from myself to myself?? I dont understand this at all, and this process is unacceptable! What on earth do i do??