Telkom bills me for R1 [Archive]

Debbie

27-09-2005, 08:06 AM

I cancelled my Telkom line in the first week of August. So imagine my shock yesterday when I recieved a bill from Telkom. I opened it up to find that I owed them the grand total of... wait for it..... R1.

What follows is the letter I will be posting to Telkom today.

Dear Telkom

Today I received a bill from Telkom for the amount of R1.00. As I had cancelled my telephone line in August, I was very surprised.

On examining the receipt for my previous bill, it appears that the teller made a mistake and entered an amount R1,00 short. I thus consent that I am in debt to your fine company for the total amount of R1,00.

In the 12 months my line was operational I paid your company a total of R4806,62. I am now broke.

It is my sincerest hope that we can arrange a monthly payment plan, so that I may be able to pay my debt in a manner which is affordable to me. I will pay Telkom 1 cent a month for 117 months, making a total of R1,17 over the next 10 years. The extra 17 cents includes interest for 1 year only, not compounded monthly. I think this is fair for two reasons.

Firstly, I feel that if the interest on this R1,00 owing were to be compounded monthly over the next 10 years, as is standard Telkom practice, then I may be entrapped into a cycle of debt and poverty forever. And as our esteemed President maintains, poverty causes Aids. I do not wish to get Aids over failure to pay my Telkom bill.

Secondly, I feel that a 10 year payment plan is appropriate, given the recent revelations in a Mail & Guardian article. The article stated that many South Africans were paying more for their telephone and Internet costs than they were paying on the bonds on their houses. As telecommunication costs are thus as expensive as houses, I see no reason why I should not be allowed to repay my Telkom debt in a similar manner to which people repay their bonds.

Telkom will be pleased to hear that this month’s payment of 1 cent as already been deposited. I ask that you continue to send me a bill so that I may be able to track my monthly payments to you.

With good faith,
Debbie Love

Just think of the costs to Telkom in the paperwork alone....

The big victories will take a long time. In the meantime, we need to jab, jab, jab and take what small victories we can :D

Scooby_Doo

27-09-2005, 08:16 AM

ROFL... What a way to get up in the morning...

stoke

27-09-2005, 08:18 AM

Beautiful.
*wipes tear from eye*

tibby.dude

27-09-2005, 08:30 AM

I pity your boyfriend :).

mbs

27-09-2005, 08:32 AM

*chuckle* - a fine move, worthy of heaps of accolades and should be sent to a consumer activist Smithsonian...

MFour

27-09-2005, 08:33 AM

Oh that rocks! Lovely lovely

SkrewbalL

27-09-2005, 08:40 AM

lol thats the funiest thing ive read, ever

Debbie

27-09-2005, 08:41 AM

I just went to the Post Office at Wits and paid my 1c for the month. I made sure I got a receipt (in case Telkom accuses me of not being up to date with my payments).

I have a bit of a relationship with the Post Office staff already, since every time I go in there to pay my Telkom bill I make a point of telling them how bad Telkom is. Needless to say, when I went in there this morning and asked to pay my 1c, they were more than happy to oblige :)

dominic

27-09-2005, 08:57 AM

brilliant

you would think by now that all telkom offices have a picture of you on their walls with a note to avoid this woman at all costs

Debbie2 - We have seen the Enemy and We are Afraid

Slinky511nx7

27-09-2005, 09:16 AM

nice :D

stoke

27-09-2005, 09:17 AM

*stoke wonders how you'd actually pay the 1c to the post office ?*
Seriously - isn't 1c illegal tender ?

justinct

27-09-2005, 09:21 AM

Would like to know to whom you sent the initial letter, cos if some stupid person gets it, they will not understand your point and throw the letter away and summons you to pay etc.

If telkom made the mistake thats their problem, i would have just chucked the bill in the bin, if they are going to force me to pay R1, then let it cost them more money than its worth.

J

dominic

27-09-2005, 09:30 AM

they will never sue for R1

ettubrute

27-09-2005, 09:30 AM

Again great work Debz! Was, IMO, the best thread I read this morning! Thanks a mill for sharing it!

Farquaon

27-09-2005, 09:41 AM

This is definately a good thraed to read so early in the morning, great work!

stoke

27-09-2005, 09:45 AM

They won't sue for R1 - but they will blacklist for R1. Watch out.

Slip

27-09-2005, 10:10 AM

Lol

MaryJane

27-09-2005, 10:43 AM

I thought that the 1 and 2 cent coins were discontinued? If so, you better save all your coins Debs. Great job btw, made my morning.

mozez

27-09-2005, 11:27 AM

This is brilliant... imagine Debbie2's letter to Telkom being published in the M&G or some other newspaper.

Telkom's reply??? Something like, "Maintaining the local loop is rather expensive and our shareholders need to be compensated for investing in the infrastructure Telkom has been building over the past several years. It is our view that Debbie2's R1 will go a long way in helping us recover our investment." :)

stoke

27-09-2005, 11:30 AM

Lol @ mozez - aktually, tekom will say that they will fire the person responsible for such a silly and unfortunate occurence of events.

Moederloos

27-09-2005, 11:39 AM

They won't sue for R1 - but they will blacklist for R1. Watch out.

Out of interest:

Legislation, in the form of the new credit bill, will prohibit the listing of debtors for trivial amounts.

Anyway, Good On Ye - I am printing that for my office wall!

Albereth

27-09-2005, 12:50 PM

I thought that the 1 and 2 cent coins were discontinued? If so, you better save all your coins Debs. Great job btw, made my morning.

South Africa has never removed any of its notes or coins as legal tender. (This could be since 1961 but I am sure someone could validate that). They may have stopped pressing/printing certain types but they are still legal tender. Some retail outlets have moved to a system where they round to the lowest 5c because it is cheaper for them to not have to deal with the 1c and 2c pieces.

Perhaps you could try paying 1c to Telkom at a Pick and Pay. If they round down to the nearest 5c you could pay nothing - okay that was wishful thinking.

I had an issue with Telkom where I owed them some money for a final bill but they charged too much because someone else had used the phone after it was to be disconnected. I had been telling them that I owed them about R175 of a R300 bill (1988 prices). They knew that they had been informed about the disconnect but couldn't determine exactly how much my final bill should be. Eventually the Telkom persons said pay half and we'll call it quits. Fine by me.

ettubrute

27-09-2005, 12:52 PM

LOL So Debz, you'll only be paying for 5 years, not 10!

stoke

27-09-2005, 01:05 PM

/me has massive packet of 1c and 2c coins that nobody will take from me.
Debz - you want it, ask, i'll deliver it.

Peter7

27-09-2005, 01:17 PM

Debbie2 -> the role model activist for South Africans against Telkom. Waaay to lead by example!!!

Albereth

27-09-2005, 01:35 PM

I can see where is is going to go. Someone at Telkom will wake up to the fact that there is a 1c transaction happening every month and will write off the balance. Continue to pay and insist that the accounts department send you a telkom statement every month too

MaD

27-09-2005, 01:42 PM

Shame the paper, ink and postage of that bill probably cost them 2 or 3 bucks at the most.. so each month D2 pays 1c, Telkom spends R2.99.

100 months later - Debbie has paid R1, Telkom has spent R300, and the intereste has built up so now D2 has to pay for another 100 months.. :)

Doges

27-09-2005, 02:23 PM

Exactly what I would have done.....
Just think what it cost them to send you the bill for R1 in postage alone!
Great one Debbie2!

VQuest

27-09-2005, 03:32 PM

Absolutely brilliant idea Debbie! Well done.

TheRoDent

27-09-2005, 04:49 PM

Do you have any idea how much it's going to cost them to keep that R1 bill open, even just for a year? rofl.

P0tenc

27-09-2005, 06:21 PM

Roflmao...good job :p

Debbie

28-09-2005, 10:28 AM

Perhaps you could try paying 1c to Telkom at a Pick and Pay. If they round down to the nearest 5c you could pay nothing - okay that was wishful thinking.

Actually that is exactly what happened when I went to pay my 1 cent yesterday morning. I paid it through the Post Office, which automatically rounds down to the nearest 5c. I gave my 5c to the teller, who gave me change in the amount of.... 5c. I received a till slip saying that I have paid 1c of my Telkom bill.

So my bill is going to be paid off for free! Yay, I score R1!

Only thing now is for me to change my sig... cos it seems I may be tied to Telkom for the next 10 years. Horror! At least I'll still be able to call myself a "Telkom customer" when making complaints about Telkom :D

mbs

28-09-2005, 10:50 AM

krycor

28-09-2005, 11:01 AM

This reminds me of the guy whom after recieving a speeding ticket with a black and white copy of the photo taken of him speeding sent them a photocopy of the money he was ment to pay.

Debbie

28-09-2005, 11:19 AM

MWAHAHAHAA!!! This is classic - so... if you give the Post Office teller a genuine 1c piece to remit 1c, how will their system handle it? Does the rounding imply that the system will show that you are now owed 4c (being the difference between the lowest system 'change' currency and that actually tendered)? If so, the teller will have to give you a 5c piece as change, meaning you score 4c? Or am I just being subject to the Whacky Wednesday ethos?

I don't know what will happen in that case. But when I go to pay my next payment to Telkom next month, I will use a 1c piece and see what happens.

The till slip I got yesterday reflects 1c paid on Telkom bill,
....and 5c tendered,
....and 5c change returned.

DragonLogos

06-11-2005, 07:44 PM

I was just thinking, if you deposit the money into the banking account, they might just have to pay a cash deposit fee... In fact if we all did it - Could end up costing them a fortune

Person

06-11-2005, 08:41 PM

Debbie2 1Point : Telkom 0Points

Cube

06-11-2005, 10:45 PM

Absolutely Hilarious!

Great Job Debbie2! This is definitely one for the records.

Tunasashimi

07-11-2005, 12:42 AM

Just out of the goodness of your heart, you could consider paying 2c at a time.

Tunasashimi

07-11-2005, 12:44 AM

...And eventually some nostalgic SA billionaire will pay you millions for your collection of invoices, for his museum on all time idiotic business practices... yay!

mic_y

07-11-2005, 12:54 AM

BWAHAHAHA, nice one debbie2. This is totally brilliant. Now you must just make sure that you make a profit on the post office as well, by giving them 1c coins and getting 5c coin back ;)... killing 2 birds with one stone :P

Hark3n

07-11-2005, 10:35 AM

bekdik

07-11-2005, 11:22 AM

they will never sue for R1

But they will be stupid enough to accept 1c per month! :D

ettubrute

07-11-2005, 11:24 AM

BTW, Debbie2, how did the second payment go? Scored again? :confused:

daevor

07-11-2005, 12:50 PM

Lolrotflmao!!!!!!

MrG

07-11-2005, 02:09 PM

did you ever get another bill from Telkom?

AntiThesis

07-11-2005, 02:34 PM

Excellent. I remember Telkom billed us for R0.00 once. Bloody strange.

If I were you I'd insist on a bill every month until your bill is properly settled. Do not accept charity or "settlement" unless this opportunity is given to everyone else in the country. Keep poking at them until they cry.

MaryJane

07-11-2005, 07:35 PM

Telkom will just write Debbie2's R 1 off.

mic_y

08-11-2005, 12:08 AM

maryjane, nah they too stupid... knowing them they will keep accepting the 1c per month ;)

daysleeper

08-11-2005, 08:19 AM

I want to piss-off as many Telkom people as possible. Debbie, you just gave me a great idea. When I recieve my last Telkom bill, I will go to the bank, ask for the amount in 5cents, and then go and pay it at one of those TelkomDirect shops.

I would like to be able to capture the guys face on film when I take out a big bag of coins.

BTW. Have anyone noticed that Telkom rounds your bill down, but that that amount gets sent over to next months bill. This happens even if you pay by card.

If you pay using the bag of 5c trick, telkom can legally refuse your payment, because they can direct you to go to the bank first. Technically you cannot discharge a debt of more than 10c in 5c pieces, you have to use bigger coins or notes.

mic_y

08-11-2005, 06:53 PM

yeah that is true daysleeper...

ghoti

08-11-2005, 06:57 PM

I believe debbie2 had a chat to the the CEO about this:P I believe the problem was resolved, but you will have to wait for her confirmation.

Telkomisaloser

08-11-2005, 07:37 PM

rofl good one... go debbie go

bekdik

08-11-2005, 07:47 PM

Excellent. I remember Telkom billed us for R0.00 once. Bloody strange.

Wow. I hope you paid it and got a receipt.:D

malec

09-11-2005, 11:18 AM

bwhahahahahahahaha, what a good read to start a day :)

Debbie

15-11-2005, 03:09 PM

Oh yeah, I did get a reciept.... never know, Telkom might claim that I didn't pay them that 1c...

Haven't made another payment since. Can't afford - Hehe, nah just kidding, I have just been really busy and haven't had time to go to make my next 'installment'.

I don't know if Telkom sent me another bill. I was getting my Telkom bills through my dad's office, but he's been in DBN for several weeks, so I don't know if they sent another bill or not. I'll call his office and ask them to look through his mail for a Telkom bill.

I did mention this to Mr Molotsane and a few of the chiefs, and they found it very funny that I got a bill for R1 and they laughed. That was it.

Debbie

17-11-2005, 04:59 PM

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!

Telkom has evidently done something totally unprecedented in the company's history....they credited me!!!

I have not yet seen the bill, but the person I asked to open it tells me that Telkom did send me a bill following my 1c payment. My latest bill from Telkom thanks me for my 1c payment, and furthermore credits me with..... R1!!

Perhaps they do have a sense of humour after all!

bekdik

17-11-2005, 06:18 PM

Debbie

17-11-2005, 06:25 PM

No they owe me R1, according to this bill.

What I think i will now do is send them an invoice requesting the immediate deposit of the R1 into my account, plus interest at 17%/year compounded monthly. My last bill was paid mid-August, so this R1 they say they now owe me must have been due since the date I paid my last bill. But wait, there's more: I will calculate interest from the time my line was cancelled, and compound it montly - a la Telkom style. This R1 has therefore accrued quite a few cents! Lemme work out how much...

R1,74!!!

Telkom owes me R1,74!!

I'll send them an invoice :)

bekdik

17-11-2005, 07:48 PM

Telkom owes me R1,74!! I'll send them an invoice :)

Triple it and offer a discount of the aditional amount for early settlement. :D

kilos

19-11-2005, 09:13 PM

Since I cancelled my phone I have been getting a Telkom a/c
for 0.00 for 3 years, what a waste.

Debbie

19-11-2005, 10:19 PM

kilos, see what happens if you go to a Telkom paypoint and pay a few rands. Leave your few randss in the account, and in a few years time march up to the CEO's office and demand a refund of your money, with the same amount of interest that Telkom charges customers - 17%/a compounded monthly. Tell them you've been demanding your money back for years, and all your requests have gone ignored.

Better than any rate any bank is gonna give ya!

That's what I'd do. But then again, I do tend to go to extremes to inflict the slightest pain on Telkom :)

Jongi

09-11-2006, 11:00 AM

So anyone think Telkom will cite Debbie2 when next they raise their rates?

Telkomhater

09-11-2006, 05:34 PM

I would personally seriously go to all the hasstle of going to small claims court. I doubt anyone from Telkom would arrive and so judgement would be awarded in your favour. They of course wouldnt pay and so you could then get sherrif to attach some property of theirs.

OOOOOOOOO this would be so much fun.

Piesang

10-11-2006, 09:24 AM

This is probably the best thread I read in years.

Excellent.;)

-toady-

10-11-2006, 04:56 PM

*me has massive packet of 1c and 2c coins that nobody will take from me.
Debz - you want it, ask, i'll deliver it.*

stoke, if Debbie2 declines ure fantastic offer hows about calling your local Guide Dogs Association? They would be happy to take it off your hands I'm sure.

toady:D

zamrg

10-11-2006, 07:10 PM

Out of interest, to who was your letter addresses to and to what address was it sent? I'm surprised that the CEO personally responded to you for an outstanding debt of R1. :)

Debbie

10-11-2006, 07:26 PM

lo

toady - can't help but feel you're taking a gentle dig at me- sorry I simply don't have time (more like energy) to do all the things you suggest. I read what you say nevertheless and keep it in mind should I ever feel there is something I can do :) Mostly, however, there is not much I can do except provide info.

zamrg, in case it slipped you, this letter was sent over a year ago. I sent it to Telkom HQ in Proes Street. CEO did not personally respond to me based on letter- he responded to me when I joked about it at 2005 AGM. In the end Telkom wiped the huge R1 debt, and actually credited me R1. And that was that!

If anyone who reads this is at Wits, won't ya pass by the politics dept and remove said letter etc from noticeboard. Was still up there last time I swung by.

zamrg

10-11-2006, 08:20 PM

Hi

Ye, I did realise that someone bumped this topic a few posts back, but was just interested in how the CEO got hold of you.

By the way, is it worth having a single Telkom share to attend their AGM's. Does anything constructive actually take place at them, and how does the board of directors respond to public opinion?

Debbie

10-11-2006, 08:40 PM

zamrg, re 'is it worth having a single share' - well that all depends on what you hope to achieve by it. Attending AGMs obviously is one thing (and much can be done here, and has been done in such a capacity)- though there are numerous other reasons to hold a single share.

Does anything constructive take place? Well again, that depends on what your definition of 'constructive' is, and what you hope to achieve.

During 'official' open question time only the Chair responds (or at least this was the case last year). In fact, last year when numerous people addressed Papi Molotsane during question time, the Chair refused to 'allow' him to respond. However, do bear in mind that at the time he was a something of a 'newcomer' to the Telkom entity.

However.....(and based purely on 2005 AGM)..... I found that the Board did take note of the various issues I had raised during question time, most of which were in relation to public + consumer perception. Three Chiefs (one wasn't a Chief at the time) approached me after the AGM had adjourned, and responded to the comments I had made and happily engaged in discussion with me.

Overall impression based on 2005 AGM, and comments from those at 2006 AGM- yes, the Board IS concerned about public perception.

["Activist shareholders" and "you people" and "my darling shareholders" are some terms that have fallen out of the mouths of Telkom-importants.]

zamrg

10-11-2006, 11:22 PM

thanks for the response

good to hear that the board take some notice of their shareholders, although management seems to take a different perspective.

Debbie

10-11-2006, 11:25 PM

And now the question that's been on my mind for several hours - who are you? :D

zamrg

10-11-2006, 11:35 PM

I usually tend to just view the myadsl forums, however if I find an interesting topic which warrants a response, I share my view :)

I'm in no way affiliated to Telkom and nor am I a shareholder. :) I'm a student at UCT who's paying exorbitant fees out of my own pocket for ADSL.

Debbie

10-11-2006, 11:43 PM

Cool, I thought it couldn't hurt to ask (given your register date and post count).

-toady-

12-11-2006, 07:59 PM

*toady - can't help but feel you're taking a gentle dig at me- sorry I simply don't have time (more like energy) to do all the things you suggest. I read what you say nevertheless*

heheh never ever would I take a dig at you Debbie2. The idea was that if stoke had small change laying about to give it to the Guide Dogs as we do. And that you read what I say here is worth a sack of gold I tell you!!! I just posted a new thread in the Wifi Forum and its as inarticulate as ever. If you cannot see the enormity of what I try so hard to share with you all then its Game over for the toad.

See I tried to speak to PeaPod so long ago but circumstances and timing killed that totally. Why do I pick you out? Because I see you as a leader (child tho you are compared to this oldie heh).

toady:)