Vumatel / Brightlink support failure

Vumatel has been advertising that our neighbourhood is "fibre ready".

When our fibre connection was finally installed on 26 October, the Brightlink technicians informed us that their job is done, but that the fibre feed/pole outside the house is "f***ed up" and not activated. They said they will report the fault, but also gave me the number for Brightlink maintenance to follow up myself. They said the fault will be repaired in 24 to 48 hours. Phoning the Brightlink maintenance number I discovered that there is no answer, even after holding and listening to elevator music for 20 minutes and up. I finally phoned Vumatel support who logged a ticket with Brightlink, and told me again the issue will be addressed in 24 to 48 hours.

On Friday 27 October, Brightlink maintenance still weren't answering their number, and I was told by Vumatel that a technician will come to fix the problem on Saturday or Sunday, and will also contact me telephonically when he does so.

By 07:00 Monday 30 October (now nearly 96 hours after the fault was reported), no technician had arrived or phoned, and the fibre internet was still non-functional. Having given up on the Brightlink number by now, I followed up with Vumatel support, who addressed the query and said that a technician will come the same day and will phone me. By the end of Monday: no technician, no phone call.

At 08:00 Tuesday 31 October (nearly five days after the fault was reported) Vumatel was able to only "write a note" on the ticket to ask Brightlink to prioritise the issue. There was no form of recourse, no escalation, no assurances, just "hopefully Brightlink will let you know". Tuesday draws to a close and the promised "fibre ready" service remains non-functional, 124 hours after the fault was logged (rather longer than the promised 24-48 hours).

It's annoying enough that the fibre wasn't as ready as advertised, but that Brightlink is doing nothing (an apparently not accepting calls) and Vumatel can only shrug their shoulders is really a problem. Very disappointing service from both companies.