First off Im posting here because more people seem to bother with this section than the Telcoms liberalisation page and Telkom and the CCC appear in the news section prominently so it seems apposite.
My head is still reeling somewhat since returning from the CCC meetings in Jhb so Im glad there have been a number of summaries here becase despite actualy being there and cross examined be Mr Maritz SC im still unsure as to what actually happened.
I must firstly give a big shout of thanks to TAG (Telkom action group) who have said they will cover the cost of my airfair to Jhb which obviously is great for myself (being unemployed) and other consumers who might want to take action and require help in the future.
Massive thanks to Debbie2 also who was good enough to support me and was present throughout the case and on the days prior. Lastly, a shout to Dominic who I bumped into and gave me sanguine (but unfortunately brief advice.)
I should maybe set the scene that we walked into. A smallish conference room with a table set up for the panel, a table for complainent (me) and Mr Maritz SC ( I made a point of siting right next to him) facing the comittee and behind us room for an audience and Mr Maritz' support team of about 6 other weasle like rodents in sharp suits and hair loaded with 'product'. Throughout proceedings the weasles were flicking through textbooks so large as to be able to kill an elephant with and handing Mr Maritz scraps of paper covered in legalise. The weasles also thought it highly amusing I was a game player and when I mentioned that Telkom were trying to keep this country in the Darkages I heard them mutter "Isnt that a game?".
Briefly...
My point was that local bandwith should not be subject to a cap.
Unfortunately all my great ideas on how to attack Telkom came after the case but it was not a total loss and Telkom are by no means invunerble and I do think I had SC on the ropes once or twice or at the very least annoyed the hell out of him. I heard rumour that their services cost Telkom R250,000 for the day.
The bottom line was that Telkom lied in their submissions to the committe and the fact that I personaly had never been capped by Telkom meant that all my arguments were supposition and heresay. I wanted to bring Debbie2 and my father in to explain that they had been hardcapped but was told that that was trial by ambush and it would prejudice Telkoms case, I submitted that I wanted to prejudice Telkoms case.
I think some precidents have been set though. SC Maritz argued that the best interpretation of section 3.4 of GG 29141 was that
The bottom line was I would have had a much better case had I been capped. Because this was not a class action it was all down to my personal experiences.
I think keeping the objections limited to one objection at a time is the way to go and gives Telkom far less wriggle room.
I would say next step should be a class action from all Telkom subscribers who have been hard capped at least once and I know there are many of you.
The case has not been ruled on yet and I still have a 2% hope it may go our way. That said Im certainly not going to stop and must now try to get hard capped.
Once again a big shout of gratitude to TAG (Who came through at the last moment without me asking), Debbie2 (who asked on my behalf) and to Dominic and also to Alcos (whos legal advice I should maybe have listened to but maybe should have been involved from an earlier date). Thanks too for all your private support, let the fight continue, dont think you are totaly disempowered, individuals do have the power to be a thorn in the side and certainly cost them money (and unfortunately enrich lawyers).
I will post an MP3 of the proceedings (untill my battery died) for those who are interested.
My head is still reeling somewhat since returning from the CCC meetings in Jhb so Im glad there have been a number of summaries here becase despite actualy being there and cross examined be Mr Maritz SC im still unsure as to what actually happened.
I must firstly give a big shout of thanks to TAG (Telkom action group) who have said they will cover the cost of my airfair to Jhb which obviously is great for myself (being unemployed) and other consumers who might want to take action and require help in the future.
Massive thanks to Debbie2 also who was good enough to support me and was present throughout the case and on the days prior. Lastly, a shout to Dominic who I bumped into and gave me sanguine (but unfortunately brief advice.)
I should maybe set the scene that we walked into. A smallish conference room with a table set up for the panel, a table for complainent (me) and Mr Maritz SC ( I made a point of siting right next to him) facing the comittee and behind us room for an audience and Mr Maritz' support team of about 6 other weasle like rodents in sharp suits and hair loaded with 'product'. Throughout proceedings the weasles were flicking through textbooks so large as to be able to kill an elephant with and handing Mr Maritz scraps of paper covered in legalise. The weasles also thought it highly amusing I was a game player and when I mentioned that Telkom were trying to keep this country in the Darkages I heard them mutter "Isnt that a game?".
Briefly...
My point was that local bandwith should not be subject to a cap.
Unfortunately all my great ideas on how to attack Telkom came after the case but it was not a total loss and Telkom are by no means invunerble and I do think I had SC on the ropes once or twice or at the very least annoyed the hell out of him. I heard rumour that their services cost Telkom R250,000 for the day.
The bottom line was that Telkom lied in their submissions to the committe and the fact that I personaly had never been capped by Telkom meant that all my arguments were supposition and heresay. I wanted to bring Debbie2 and my father in to explain that they had been hardcapped but was told that that was trial by ambush and it would prejudice Telkoms case, I submitted that I wanted to prejudice Telkoms case.
I think some precidents have been set though. SC Maritz argued that the best interpretation of section 3.4 of GG 29141 was that
I was very happy with this interpretation and submitted I did not want to impose sanctions or penalty, i just wanted Telkom to comply. I finished off with asking what the comittee thought was the intention behind the regulations of 3.4 and that if the regulation was revisited the intention would be obvious despite being badly written.
The bottom line was I would have had a much better case had I been capped. Because this was not a class action it was all down to my personal experiences.
I think keeping the objections limited to one objection at a time is the way to go and gives Telkom far less wriggle room.
I would say next step should be a class action from all Telkom subscribers who have been hard capped at least once and I know there are many of you.
The case has not been ruled on yet and I still have a 2% hope it may go our way. That said Im certainly not going to stop and must now try to get hard capped.
Once again a big shout of gratitude to TAG (Who came through at the last moment without me asking), Debbie2 (who asked on my behalf) and to Dominic and also to Alcos (whos legal advice I should maybe have listened to but maybe should have been involved from an earlier date). Thanks too for all your private support, let the fight continue, dont think you are totaly disempowered, individuals do have the power to be a thorn in the side and certainly cost them money (and unfortunately enrich lawyers).
I will post an MP3 of the proceedings (untill my battery died) for those who are interested.
Clearly thresholding is different since it is more difficult to spell.
No problem though, I'm interested in hearing how they sound for some reason.