Fed-up with out-of-order landlines
Residents complain abouttelkom phone service
ELDERLY residents on the Bluff say they are totally dissatisfied with the Telkom landline telephone service in the Durban suburb.
Some say their landlines have not been in working order for months.
While there is the perception that landlines are archaic, considering the popularity and reach of cell phones, elderly people value landlines and regard them to be more user friendly, says Barbara Tanner of Brighton Beach.
Tanner, 75, says she has had problems with her Telkom landline since December and the situation has worsened in the past month with the line being out of order.
Despite calling Telkom’s call centre on numerous occasions to lodge complaints, she says she has yet to receive a satisfactory response.
“ALI I got was a reference number from the operator, when my grandchildren helped me to report the fault. Telkom promised to send a technician to my home, but I’m still waiting.
“I live with my husband, we are both elderly, and have difficulty using cell phones. We rely on the landline, which we’ve been using for many years.
“Therefore we’re appealing to Telkom to fix our line. It’s not a luxury but an essential tool which enables us to communicate and also ensure our safety,” says Tanner.
Jessica Jones, 78, is another dissatisfied Telkom customer on the Bluff.
Jones says she too has had difficulty when trying to lodge a report about her line to Telkom.
“I’ve not had any satisfaction using Telkom’s fault reporting service,” she says.
“I believe there are other Bluff residents who also have to do without a phone line, ADSL and wi-fi.
“This is in spite of assurances given by Telkom that a technician was assigned to handle our faults,” says Jones.
“Not everyone can afford to run up large cell phone bills while waiting for Telkom to get its act together,” she says.
She says she is fed-up with hearing Telkom’s promises to assist her only for nothing to be done. “Why doesn’t Telkom admit they don’t have the capacity and capable staff to handle their troublesome landlines?” says Jones. Telkom has advised her that customers will not be billed for the duration of time their landlines are out of order, she says.
“For the number of people living on the Bluff alone who had experienced zero service, I believe Telkom is going to be in the red very soon,” she says. Telkom spokesperson Leigh-ann Francis said:
“Earlier this month the Bluff area and surrounds experienced a severe electrical storm affecting Telkom’s infrastructure and disrupting services of 30 customers in the area. Telkom has been working to resolve the faults and it is anticipated that all affected services will be restored before the end of this weekend.”