Monthly charge for 'Normal Jack'????

D

Debbie

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I am looking over a friend's Telkom bill and came across the following:

Your Detailed Invoice
Rental:
Normal Jack R5,90 (excl Vat)
Click to expand...

Has anyone any idea if this is a legitimate monthly charge? Why or how can this be? Can anyone explain this charge to me before I go off my nut in anger at Telkom.....?

(My friend has a 64k ISDN line).
 
I am not sure but I think we are charged for extra phone points in the house - prehaps that is it. Although I am not sure why they would charge this fee :confused:




oh hang - they want to make some more money!
 
kilps, could I ask you to PLEASE find out on your bill:

1. If you are charged for an extra point
2. If so, then what is this extra charge called
(3. Do you have ISDN?)

Please please?
 
In the old days Telkom used to charge you for every extra line extension within your own house. Fact.
In other words a second phone jack. Perhaps you had a third even?
i.e. If you had one jack in the Living Area, but decided to add one in the bedroom? You were charged for every extra jack.

Telkom would frown on those Customers that did their own extensions and I am sure these were actually deemed illegal.

But for this extension there was also an initial installation fee and a monthly jack fee added to your Bill every month. The R5 you mention.

Since the day Telkom basically sold you their telephones and they didn't charge you rental for it any more, they have become slack in checking up on these extra jacks?
I don't think they bother to check any more.

>I think the theory they used to spin the people was something along the lines of the extra extentions and jacks put a drain/drag on the network?

Phone them and **** them out. Tell them you haven't got a jack.
I am sure they will remove the charge without even coming out to check.
 
Thanks a lot for that info BTTB. Can I ask you to clarify this statement:

"Since the day Telkom basically sold you their telephones and they didn't charge you rental for it any more, they have become slack in checking up on these extra jacks?
I don't think they bother to check any more."

When you say, "don't think they bother to check anymore" do you mean that Telkom doesn't get all upset anymore if you have extra points in your house - i.e. that telkom doesn't pursue you for payment every month for the service of additional extensions?

And can I ask other who have extension in their house that Telkom put in, do you get charged this 'monthly jack' fee?

I would call Telkom and ask but I don't have a Telkom line to call from.
 
I am going back to the days that my now wife and I shared a flat in our twenties.
I had an inherent fear (see below) of Telkom's van coming to check our flat for extra connections. Serious.
Maybe I am being silly, but I recall not feeling comfortable about it.
The Telkom techies seem much more relaxed now.
When you show them visible extensions they seem neither "fased" nor do they seek to charge out a fee for the extra line.
People I know are simply doing their own extensions in their homes.
People go out to the supermarket to buy telephones as well.
Remember in those days you had to use Telkom's phone and you paid a monthly rental for it. So you would need two telephones for the two jacks anyway.
I recall having two jacks and only affording one telephone.
Quite silly when you come to think of it now.
But then so is so many other things that we are finding out about this behemoth.

/Off Topic
I will never forget getting a Telephone Bill of R265.00 way back then.
My pay from the army at the time was R190 a month. I was doing National Service and this was the pay we got per month.
I almost died. Our rent was R200 and my wife only made about R250 a month herself. I don't know how we did it, but we survived, but I remember not having a very wide selection of things to eat for a month or two to pay that Bill. I remember getting a tin of Raadsaal Coffee from the army mess so we could have coffee at home.
I suppose I have never recovered from that shock and I despise Telkom for so many reasons.
 
OMW!!!!

"When Telkom is requested to provide an indoor extension off an automatic residential and single line business exchange connection, it is done so against payment of a once-off installation fee. The wiring and jack becomes the property of the customer but a mandatory monthly maintenance fee is payable to secure free maintenance of the extension wiring and jack."

Can you honestly believe this complete and utter crap?

They give you an extension, ok. Then they say that you are the owner of this extension and all the wiring etc. But then they tell you that, even though you now have ownership of this extension, you must pay a MANDATORY monthly fee of R6,73 (R5,90 + VAT)!

And if that isn't bad enough, Telkom then further insults you by telling you that maintenance of this extra wiring and jack is "free"

PLEASE, I ask with tears in my eyes, will the wonders of Telkom never cease?

Ahhh, so bloody what, you may say. What's an extra R6,73 a month!

Well, for starters, that's an extra R80,76 a year. Per extension. Let's just assume that there are 3 million 'extensions' in SA - though this number is probably far higher (think of all the businesses, all the hotels, all the government departments, and a couple of homes that have extensions on their lines.) With 3 million extensions each bringing in R6,73 a month, this works out to a tidy R242 136 000 per year for Telkom.

In case you didn't get that, let me say this number out in full: Two hundred and forty two million, one hundred and thirty six thousand Rand a year. For, (forgive me) "jack"****!
 
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There you have it Debbie. :D

Phone them and tell them to stick their jack up their @ss.
All they will do is disconnect it, if they even bother to come out.
When they leave just connect the wires again.
I do not think the Techies will bother to remove the wire as it may have been painted over and by removing it may cause more problems.

The two hundred and forty two million is in case the wires inside the plug suddenly come loose.
Really crazy stuff. :D
 
BTTB said:
There you have it Debbie. :D

Phone them and tell them to stick their jack up their @ss.
All they will do is disconnect it, if they even bother to come out.
When they leave just connect the wires again.
I do not think the Techies will bother to remove the wire as it may have been painted over and by removing it may cause more problems.

The two hundred and forty two million is in case the wires inside the plug suddenly come loose.
Really crazy stuff. :D
Click to expand...

They will not be allowed to remove the wires, because, as Telkom says, "the wiring and jack becomes the property of the customer".

Practically, how difficult is it for the average person at home to 'reconnect' such wires?
 
I've got a few extensions in my house, I'll check whether we have to pay for it. I'd be really shocked. There's no possible reasoning.

It's like having to pay for having computers on your own lan.
 
Debbie2 said:
They will not be allowed to remove the wires, because, as Telkom says, "the wiring and jack becomes the property of the customer".

Practically, how difficult is it for the average person at home to 'reconnect' such wires?
Click to expand...
Very easy.
Telephone lines carry 12Volts DC, so you will only get a minor shock when you touch the wires together.
Actually "shock" is hardly the word. A shock is like when you put your finger inside the light fitting. :D
More like a slight tremor.
Do not put the wires on your tongue. :rolleyes:

The Wires will probably be blue and white. There may be more wires, but only two will carry the signal.
Why not watch when they disconnect it, then you will know how to reconnect it? :)
You can also trial and error the wires on the fly. As I said it is only 12V.
It either works or it doesn't so putting the wrong wire on the wrong contact wont short your telephone or anything.
You can hold the receiver to your ear until you hear the dial tone. Then you will know you have the right combination of wires.
Really very simple actually.

PS. My ADSL line actually comes straight from the pole through the roof straight to the Router, with just a plug to split the wire for the ADSL Pots Filter.
This wire is black on the outside with two solid copper cores on the inside. No colours whatsoever. Not sure how the house you speak of is wired, but it will vary.
Most other building will have a join somewhere on the outside of the building and thinner wire is used from this point onwards with the coloured wires that I spoke of.
Problem comes when these outside joins give trouble, hence my request at the time to Telkom to put the thick outdoor cable without a break all the way through to where it is needed. :)
 
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Dnt be touching those wires when the telephone rings tho the line voltage goes up. And wasnt the voltage on the line 50v ?
 
yup you have to pay for extensions.. also if you complain that there is noise etc they will only want to work from their own extensions. If problems are found with extension, e.g. short causing you phone not to work, not only will they just disconnect it but not fix it, but also bill you for coming out cmp to where they will just fix it no charge.

We had a problem like that and the techie claimed it was not a telkom ext but then we took it up with them since we were paying for it.
 
krycor, what happened in the end? So you saying that Telkom charges this "free mandatory maintenance charge" (blame Telkom if that doesn't makes sense!), but then doesn't 'maintain'?
 
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