Vodacom Unfair Service

I have a contract with Vodacom for over 20 years and in September 2017 I had financial problems which led my phone line to be soft locked which is understandable as I was behind with payments. In January 2018 I managed to pay all the outstanding amount and my phone account was up to date, my phone line was supposed to be unlocked as my account was up to date but that never happened. I was advised by Vodacom consultants to buy a new sim card and sim swap for my line to be unlocked, I followed every step they mentioned but unfortunately, they couldn't unlock my line so i continued to use the line just to receive calls as its my business line.

End of February 2018 I received an invoice of R600 which I paid but my line still remained unlocked, I kept calling customer center all these months but no one was able to assist. Two days ago I received a call from Vodacom consultant demanding me to pay R10 000 for my phone account, I disputed that because the line has been unlocked for months and was only used to receive calls even after so many attempts trying to get them to unlock my phone line. The Vodacom consultant advised that the line will be terminated and my name will be blacklisted if I don't make a payment of R10 000. I tried to explain my situation with them and asked them to refer my case to someone who will be able to assist but their response was "you have no choice but to pay R10 000 as bound by contract". I have indicated to them that I understand that its a contract but both parties have to benefit from the contract, and I don't see how they can expect me to pay the stipulated amount while my line has been soft locked and after I have tried to contact them several times for them to unlock my phone line.

Hopefully, this review will get Vodacom's relevant department to investigate my matter as I cant afford for them to bad list my record unfairly.