Amazing Telkom invoice

[chrisc]

I'm on Closer plan 2 and for the past 3 years my monthly phone invoice is between R 260,00 and R 310,00. The one received today is R 27 665,14

This allows for 64336 minutes of cellular calls. So I called accounts and mentioned that this time exceeds the number of minutes in a 30 day billing period by about 50%. So she began to argue, maybe I had called 2 phones (meaning I presume I called 2 phones at once). When I pointed out the stupidity of that statement, she then said what was I using the other line for. I said there is only one line, it is a house. No, she said, you have 3 lines and proceeded to tell me about 2 other phones that been discontinued in 2008 and 2009. Again, I asked how I was able to make a phone call on a cancelled line. There was a short silence and she cut the call

So off to the Telkom shop. The fellow studies the invoice for 5 mins and taps on his keyboard for another few mins and goes to call his supervisor. She comes and fiddles with the keyboard and asks "did you ask for the other lines to be put back?" No I said, and in any case, this invoice is for one number, not 3. Eventually she says that there must be something wrong, but I must pay it and request a credit. I tell her I do not have that kind of money and in any case, it would take me nearly 8 years to use up such a credit

Along came the magic words: There is nothing we can do, we cannot reverse invoices. So I told them to cancel the Telkom phone

 

[riverdusty]

Along came the magic words: There is nothing we can do, we cannot reverse invoices. So I told them to cancel the Telkom phone

I wonder who has the tender to provide their accounting system?
I wonder how much they get paid to provide this accounting system?

Makes me sad when an Enterprise level business can't do something so simple...

 

[f2wohf]

Ombudsman ?

 

[riverdusty]

Also, you should go make a fuss on hellopeter.com and send telkom a tweet (include some news sites, ewn, news24, in the tweet)

 

[ToxicBunny]

I'm on Closer plan 2 and for the past 3 years my monthly phone invoice is between R 260,00 and R 310,00. The one received today is R 27 665,14

This allows for 64336 minutes of cellular calls. So I called accounts and mentioned that this time exceeds the number of minutes in a 30 day billing period by about 50%. So she began to argue, maybe I had called 2 phones (meaning I presume I called 2 phones at once). When I pointed out the stupidity of that statement, she then said what was I using the other line for. I said there is only one line, it is a house. No, she said, you have 3 lines and proceeded to tell me about 2 other phones that been discontinued in 2008 and 2009. Again, I asked how I was able to make a phone call on a cancelled line. There was a short silence and she cut the call

So off to the Telkom shop. The fellow studies the invoice for 5 mins and taps on his keyboard for another few mins and goes to call his supervisor. She comes and fiddles with the keyboard and asks "did you ask for the other lines to be put back?" No I said, and in any case, this invoice is for one number, not 3. Eventually she says that there must be something wrong, but I must pay it and request a credit. I tell her I do not have that kind of money and in any case, it would take me nearly 8 years to use up such a credit

Along came the magic words: There is nothing we can do, we cannot reverse invoices. So I told them to cancel the Telkom phone

They def do have the ability to reverse invoices, I've had them do it for me before when they cocked up. Granted it was a bit of a fight but it did happen eventually.

 

[MickeyD]

I wonder who has the tender to provide their accounting system?
I wonder how much they get paid to provide this accounting system?

Makes me sad when an Enterprise level business can't do something so simple...

Huh?

More than likely that 2 lines were incorrectly linked to the OP's account by a call centre operator. Now you know why they always insist on the account holder only making changes.... I've seen quite a few posts on MyBB where the poster says "the account is in my parent's name but I phoned and had them do this or that".

 

[MickeyD]

Ombudsman ?

Who is that?

Phone 10210 and log a billing dispute.

 

[riverdusty]

Huh?

More than likely that 2 lines were incorrectly linked to the OP's account by a call centre operator. Now you know why they always insist on the account holder only making changes.... I've seen quite a few posts on MyBB where the poster says "the account is in my parent's name but I phoned and had them do this or that".

My parents line is in my name (Because it was my line).
Telkom refuse to let them do anything with it without my authorization.
I have a pdf of a letter, with my id giving my parents permission to do whatever they want.
They just reprint it everytime they move the line or something.
Oneday they'll use it to put the line in their name... Oneday...

 

[Praemon]

I think you need try phoning Telkom again until you get someone competent. I had a similar issue where I only had 1 line but they charged me for 2. I went to my local Telkom shop and the woman there was extremely rude and wouldn't help, saying "you obviously have 2 lines but won't pay for them", even though there physically was only 1 line at my house. I went home, cooled down, called Telkom billing, and within 10 minutes they had credited out the amount of the 2nd line and sorted everything out. So, it's all about getting the right person.

 

[riverdusty]

OP: You have to deal directly with their accounts department.
When my wife changed her surname, we got the Telkom shop to change the surname for the line, but the accounts department didn't get updated. Basically, left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
Terrible systems they have in place.
So yeah, Telkom shop won't be able to do it for you.
Deal directly with their accounts department.

 

[Jola]

So I told them to cancel the Telkom phone

That is not a solution, they will send debt collectors after you, you need to sort it out.

 

[Batista]

YOu can get closure OP,dont stop trying,It might take a week or 10 dumbass consultants,but eventually you will get it sorted.This is what we have to deal with as customers of Telkom.

 

[chrisc]

My neighbour is a retired Telkom executive and has offered to get it sorted out. He has seen similar snafus in the past

Many thanks for the two kind gentlemen who offered to assist.

 

[Paul Hjul]

[1] phone Telkom and lodge a billing dispute and keep a reference number
[2] phone Telkom in two days time and use your reference number to escalate the matter - repeat the exercise daily for about 10 days
[3] after about 14 days of your reference numbered billing dispute not being resolved lodge a complaint with the CCC at ICASA (effectively the "ombudsman") - Telkom should be cc'd into the complaint
[4] have Telkom fix the problem

You might well find that somebody has actually fraudulently put an line onto your account and you'll have to open a docket at the cop shop in order for Telkom to adjust the invoice - they shouldn't "reverse" the invoice but rather pass a credit in the balance of the amount wrongly charged (reverse the charge, not the invoice), so that all and sundry have a proper accounting record of the problem.

 

[envo]

consumer protection act

 

[Paul Hjul]

consumer protection act

is unnecessary to get the problem fixed and the NCC hasn't had the best luck in taking on Telkom:
http://www.saflii.org/cgi-bin/disp.pl?file=za/cases/ZANCT/2013/9.html

 

[jansdejager]

Take everyone involved and their names. Proceed to TP every one of their houses. Except if they live in Soweto, in which case TP theirs cars or maybe just make them step in some poo as they step into the minibus taxi.

 

[Celine]

a few years ago when I was still living in the old address, my internet would be used up by the 9th of the month. this was going on for months and my husband would constantly ask me what was I doing etc. I would continually tell him I wasn't doing anything just surfing the net as usual, no downloading.

so this one middle of the month, I decided to buy 1 gig of internet. cost me R64. it was a Saturday and at about 11 o'clock we had all gone to bed and the computer was off. sunday morning I turned the computer on and connected to the internet only to find I had no internet. my 1 gig had been used up. I phoned Telkom and demanded to know what the hell was going on and from what computer this 1 gig had been used from. the guy on the other side started investigating only for him to discover that someone at Telkom was using my internet at the exchange. my 1 gig I bought was used between 12 o'clock and 12.15. he sat there with a mouth full of teeth not knowing what to say.

I went and lodged a complaint at the police station that Monday against Telkom. I was credited for 9 months of my internet that I had paid. I never had that problem again.

 

[Mk786]

Yikes! Thats horrible service.

 

[krycor]

How to sort this out.. take the absurd invoice directly to the head office and refuse to leave till its sorted. Bonus points if u meet the executive team + have a news crew with you <-- then it will miraculously be sorted instantly.

Ps. Reminds me, i need to remove the Telkom auto debit order to gain eBucks. In the three years i've had it active i've been double charged 2x :erm: and then the usual story is it will reduce the following month's debit order. lmao.. imagine they did that with 27k hahahaha mind your the credit limit would kick in, which in mycase is not set only 50 bucks more than the monthly to force auto double debit orders to fail.