Help (and rant) - No elec for a week

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MaddyJ

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We haven't had electricity for a week. Transformer shooting sparks and such on the electricity pole. Very evident issue. We logged this fault as an emergency.

I call today, turns out the technicians cancelled our ticket due to "No fault, loadshedding power outage". They literally came here after not having electricity for 6 days to FINALLY repair the fault, then didn't bother to do anything due to loadshedding. I'm completely out of words at this level of incompetence. We're now at a new logged fault, and joined the back of the queue.

Does anyone possibly know someone or have a contact number I can call (NOT Eskom customer care) to actually get some resolution to this issue? I've asked numerous times a day to have a supervisor call me, and they just never do. I'd appreciate the help as I have exhausted the current avenues.

Cancelled REF # : 574581963
New REF # : 576604248
 
What town/suburb is it?
6 days with no electricity is rough but not unheard of in many areas of South Africa.
 
Try get hold of your local council folks... they generally have contacts to local managers that can get things moving in 'special' cases like this
 
MaddyJ said:
We haven't had electricity for a week. Transformer shooting sparks and such on the electricity pole. Very evident issue. We logged this fault as an emergency.

I call today, turns out the technicians cancelled our ticket due to "No fault, loadshedding power outage". They literally came here after not having electricity for 6 days to FINALLY repair the fault, then didn't bother to do anything due to loadshedding. I'm completely out of words at this level of incompetence. We're now at a new logged fault, and joined the back of the queue.

Does anyone possibly know someone or have a contact number I can call (NOT Eskom customer care) to actually get some resolution to this issue? I've asked numerous times a day to have a supervisor call me, and they just never do. I'd appreciate the help as I have exhausted the current avenues.

Cancelled REF # : 574581963
New REF # : 576604248
Click to expand...

Twitter? Not great but they do monitor.
 
This is what you need to do but it will require patience that you seem to be running thin on, but do persevere.

When you log a fault you need to follow up, if they clear it without fixing it they can reopen the Ref if you follow up on time, it now becomes a repeat fault on the tech it was assigned to and repeat faults should be escalated, that's at least the theory of it, no idea if Eskom works that way but it is generally how dispatched faults work, I have got calls from managers before because my fault was now a hot potato.

So when you call Eskom and they say ETR is between 2 to four hours, at exactly 2 to 4 hours you pick up the phone and ask for progress, if it's not resolved in 4 hours you do the same thing, remember they are a 24hr service provider so there are many 4hrs in 24hrs to become a nuisance enough for you fault to be escalated. Don't give them a day or two days, that's when they get a chance to close the Ref and if there's no follow up it disappears from the system and you start afresh.

I have plenty experience with Eskom and I know what I have described does work, of course it needs time and patience, so share the Ref with other family members so that they can do the follow up when you can't.
 
MaddyJ said:
We haven't had electricity for a week. Transformer shooting sparks and such on the electricity pole. Very evident issue. We logged this fault as an emergency.

I call today, turns out the technicians cancelled our ticket due to "No fault, loadshedding power outage". They literally came here after not having electricity for 6 days to FINALLY repair the fault, then didn't bother to do anything due to loadshedding. I'm completely out of words at this level of incompetence. We're now at a new logged fault, and joined the back of the queue.

Does anyone possibly know someone or have a contact number I can call (NOT Eskom customer care) to actually get some resolution to this issue? I've asked numerous times a day to have a supervisor call me, and they just never do. I'd appreciate the help as I have exhausted the current avenues.

Cancelled REF # : 574581963
New REF # : 576604248
Click to expand...
Are you the only person on this transformer? Otherwise everyone needs to make an effort and report in..
 
Do what TheChamp suggested and, if you are on Twitter, take a video of the sparking transformer and tweet to @CityTshwane along with your reference numbers. Burning / sparking things usually gets somebody's attention.

Even if you do not really want to be on Twitter it's nice to have an account to use for things like this.
 
Thanks all! Yeah I went twitter route, called 5 times a day etc. I managed to get the number of the ward councillor but alas, straight to voicemail and that is full.

I just ended up driving to the Cullinan Eskom offices and spoke to someone there. They were nice enough to call the technician directly and sort us out.
 
MaddyJ said:
We haven't had electricity for a week. Transformer shooting sparks and such on the electricity pole. Very evident issue. We logged this fault as an emergency.

I call today, turns out the technicians cancelled our ticket due to "No fault, loadshedding power outage". They literally came here after not having electricity for 6 days to FINALLY repair the fault, then didn't bother to do anything due to loadshedding. I'm completely out of words at this level of incompetence. We're now at a new logged fault, and joined the back of the queue.

Does anyone possibly know someone or have a contact number I can call (NOT Eskom customer care) to actually get some resolution to this issue? I've asked numerous times a day to have a supervisor call me, and they just never do. I'd appreciate the help as I have exhausted the current avenues.

Cancelled REF # : 574581963
New REF # : 576604248
Click to expand...
The word is "Escalate" use it twice on the phone in your subsequent calls.

When that does not work drive to the local municipality, show them a sparky video and the call logs and the fault result.

They will send someone to fix.
 
MaddyJ said:
Thanks all! Yeah I went twitter route, called 5 times a day etc. I managed to get the number of the ward councillor but alas, straight to voicemail and that is full.

I just ended up driving to the Cullinan Eskom offices and spoke to someone there. They were nice enough to call the technician directly and sort us out.
Click to expand...
Sorry too late with my last advice :ROFL:
 
AstroTurf said:
The word is "Escalate" use it twice on the phone in your subsequent calls.

When that does not work drive to the local municipality, show them a sparky video and the call logs and the fault result.

They will send someone to fix.
Click to expand...
I would like to also mention that being rude to the call centre people is not going to help no matter how annoyed you are, so it's just better to be calm and rational about the whole thing, even when you are asking for the fault to be escalated.

In my experience they are not bad people and are very sympathetic. So get your message accross firmly but try to make it clear you are not being personal on the guy handling your call.

Just putting this out there.
 
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