Vodacom Customer Care - Really?

I have a 082 contract number and a 076 pre-paid number, both RICA’ed. I have had the pre-paid number now for 9 years and I mainly use it in a different handset as a spare for when my 082 number has no signal, etc. Up to now I have had no problems with the pre-paid service, but on 11/04/2016 when I put the phone on, I realized the number was suspended. I went to a Chatz Cellular (nearest to me) and they helped me contact Vodacom Customer Care where a gentleman told me that he had unlocked it and that I had to recharge asap. Later the same day, I recharged with R29 via online banking. Later the same evening (16/04/2016) I realized that the number no longer existed. So the next day I phoned Customer Care where a gentleman told me that the number had been recycled and that he would put in a query to have it released back to me and my current sim – this were to take two days with constant feedback on my 082 number. It’s been a week now and still no feedback. I have phoned customer care again and a lady put in a request for someone to contact me, yet here I am.