Vodacom – Services Disconnected Despite Regular Payments

I am extremely disappointed with the way Vodacom has handled our account and the complete lack of assistance we have received. We have had a Vodacom contract for approximately 4 years, and during this entire period we have never knowingly made a payment late. Our account is paid by debit order every month, and we have bank statements available to prove our payments. Recently, Vodacom disconnected our internet service, claiming that the account had not been paid. We contacted Vodacom immediately and explained that our payments are made by debit order. We asked them to provide us with details of the alleged missed payment, including the date and amount, so that we could investigate it. They could not tell us when this alleged non-payment occurred. We were simply told that it was apparently from "long ago." Despite being unable to tell us which payment was supposedly missed or when, our service was disconnected. Our internet was eventually restored, but we were never given a proper explanation as to what had happened. This is particularly serious because we work from home, and losing our internet connection directly affects our ability to work. More recently, Vodacom has disconnected our cellphone service as well. We have spent the last two days trying to resolve this. We have been dealing with both the Vodacom Kolonnade store and the call centre, going backwards and forwards trying to get our service restored. We were instructed to purchase a new SIM card, which we did at our own expense. We were then told to go home and wait for the service to be activated. We waited more than 24 hours, and the service was still not working. When we contacted Vodacom again, we were eventually told that they were unable to assist us any further. At this point, I explained that I am continuing to pay for services that Vodacom is refusing to provide. I therefore requested to terminate the contracts without being charged settlement or cancellation fees, as I do not believe we should be financially penalised for terminating a contract when the services we are paying for are not being provided. I was instead told that I would have to pay the full remaining amount of the contract. This is completely unacceptable. I am not refusing to pay for a service that I have received. I am disputing being required to continue paying for services that Vodacom has disconnected and is refusing to provide. If Vodacom believes that we have failed to make a payment, then I expect Vodacom to provide us with the specific payment they claim is outstanding, including the date, amount and account history. We are more than willing to provide our bank statements showing the debit orders