Telkom Techies who need their back scratched ...

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TwinDucT

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Hey guys,
I've been fighting Telkom to send out a techie to check my ADSL line, for the last 3 months. So 4 online faults & 3 telephonic deployed faults later I'm near the brink of tailing a Telkom Cars as they pass my residents.

Basically my noise margin jump between 6 - 12. I've got no phone connected to the line, no other ports or jack. So I think I'm well in my rights to assume that something is wrong with the line.

So every time I try to log a fault, they keep on insisting that I unplug my router so that they can reset it from their side/ Call my ISP/ Lower my line speed.

I just can't win against this. So now I need some help, if anyone has a number of a Telkom Techie in the Jhb, Florida area, please pm me.

Hell if anyone perhaps even know of a person who works in ADSL call center/10219 that actually knows the words Noise Margin or Line Attenuation, Pm me their name so I can ask for them when calling.

This is driving me insane, considering a secondary line (Not even 500 M away from my line) can carry a noise margin of 18.
 
I was losing my mind without a phone and ADSL for 3 weeks straight and eventually I just got so fed up, I approached a Telkom techie and told him straight that I'll pay him R100+ if he fixes my line. He ended up giving me his number and fixing my line within a day or 2 but didn't charge (aka. accept my bribe :D).

This is the ONLY way to get stuff done...phoning Telkom is in many cases a fruitless excercise.
 
Try this:

Apply for another residential Telkom phone line. Choose Closer Plan 1 at R145 per month - it comes with free installation of the phone line. Once the phone line is installed, you can cancel the Closer Plan 1 part of your subscription, and just pay regular line rental at R131 per month. Apply for ADSL. Check if the new line perform's better than the old one. If it does, then perfect. Cancel your other line. Problem solved.

If it doesn't, then that sucks, and you've just wasted R145 + R151 (for 384k line) = R296 on a little experiment. Worth a try if you have the patience, and can afford it.

Alternatively, try this:

Call Telkom, and ask to be put through to a supervisor. Be firm, and insistent, but not rude or arrogant, and explain your problem and tell them that you have exhausted all other avenues, short of reporting the problem to HelloPeter and ICASA (scare tactics might help). Once you get hold of the supervisor, explain your problem, and ask for their direct line. Deal only with the supervisor. It's much quicker than explaining your problem to different people each time, from scratch. The supervisor will remember you and your problem. Once you get their direct line, phone them everyday to get an update on what's happening. It'll save you time - you don't have to dial with the Telkom voice system, and their consultants.

Phone the supervisor everyday, once or twice. Tell them you just want to get an update, and you just want to confirm what is happening. Eventually, if things don't get sorted out, they will start getting irritated with all your calls, or with the other incompetent people at Telkom, and will want to get your case resolved ASAP, so that you stop bothering them.

But remember, don't be rude, or arrogant. Be firm, insistent, and consistent.
 
Don't they give a reference number when you log a fault? Quote that reference number the following time you call and they will eventually realize the problem is slightly bigger and can't be solved by resetting the router
 
TwinDucT said:
Hey guys,
I've been fighting Telkom to send out a techie to check my ADSL line, for the last 3 months. So 4 online faults & 3 telephonic deployed faults later I'm near the brink of tailing a Telkom Cars as they pass my residents.

Basically my noise margin jump between 6 - 12. I've got no phone connected to the line, no other ports or jack. So I think I'm well in my rights to assume that something is wrong with the line.

So every time I try to log a fault, they keep on insisting that I unplug my router so that they can reset it from their side/ Call my ISP/ Lower my line speed.

I just can't win against this. So now I need some help, if anyone has a number of a Telkom Techie in the Jhb, Florida area, please pm me.

Hell if anyone perhaps even know of a person who works in ADSL call center/10219 that actually knows the words Noise Margin or Line Attenuation, Pm me their name so I can ask for them when calling.

This is driving me insane, considering a secondary line (Not even 500 M away from my line) can carry a noise margin of 18.
Click to expand...

Huh? Your noise margin went from 6 to 12? That's still OK. Do you know the difference between Noise Margin and Line Attenuation?


The lower your LA the better, the higher your NM the better.
 
Hey guys thanks for the feedback so far
@Feo, I'm waiting for a telkom Techie to break down in front my house :p .. But will try the approach if I see someone in our area!

@Toxic, I'll try this if nothing comes to fruition by the end of this year (Won't get an install before Jan anyway). Don't the closer plans require a contract though?

@Kaufies, Online ones are still in progress ... Been two months :D Offline are either marked as complete (Which I then ask to reopen) or their system has no record if it :p.

@Acid, It jumps .. as in running at 11 then bang 6, which desyncs my router, after the 2 min wait for the thing to reconnect, it runs between 7-9 for an hour or so and once it reaches 11/12 .. it only lasts a few mins then it goes down to 6 (Sometimes 4) which de syncs again. LA sits at 52, NM averages around 8-9, but like I said, jumps and desyncs.

Which reminds me, went to check on the other line, LA sits at 49 & NM at 20!! Something must be wrong here :<
 
TwinDucT said:
@Acid, It jumps .. as in running at 11 then bang 6, which desyncs my router, after the 2 min wait for the thing to reconnect, it runs between 7-9 for an hour or so and once it reaches 11/12 .. it only lasts a few mins then it goes down to 6 (Sometimes 4) which de syncs again. LA sits at 52, NM averages around 8-9, but like I said, jumps and desyncs.
Click to expand...

Switch everything, and I mean everything else in the house off. Unplug it! Leave the PC on, and then see what it does - Sounds like some sort of cable interference. If its still doing it, try taking the router further away from the pc. Also, where you phone line runs, is there other electrical cables crossing it?

let us know if it still does it...
 
TwinDucT said:
@Toxic, I'll try this if nothing comes to fruition by the end of this year (Won't get an install before Jan anyway). Don't the closer plans require a contract though?
Click to expand...

Nope. All closer plans are on a month to month subscription, and are even charged pro-rata for the first month. If you are desperate enough, and can afford it, then try my suggestion while still waiting on Telkom to sort out your other problem.In other words, do them concurrently - it'll save you time. Oh and because the first month is charged pro-rata, you might not even have to pay the full R296.

Remember to test other modems on your line (to make sure that the modem isn't the problem, borrow from a friend), and to test your modem on someone elses line (again, try a friend). Once you are sure the modem is not the problem, then try to cross-out other possibilities. Try different telephone wires, or ADSL filters. The problem could be anywhere between the exchange and your modem (including both endpoints).
 
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