Internet Saga

Time to vent. Because what good is having a blog if you don't sometimes use it to vent?

We were assured by the developers of this complex we would have no problems with telkom internet in our new house. But it turned out the area wasn't even on the telkom map. So we applied for a telkom adsl line in Oct 2013

A year later there is now infrastructure so we should be up and running.

I'm told to re-apply so I do. On the 8th of December.

An sms comes through on the 10th saying "welcome to telkom adsl. Call 10210 to activate your line".

Here we go...

It's 9:15am when I sit down to call.

I follow the automated instructions and the phone is answered in less than 10 minutes. 

The lady who answers is sweet but once she has found my order and we make some progress we are cut off.

I try again but sitting on hold for 20 minutes. Luckily my hands are busy with other things while I hold. Like writing down what is happening and finding my previous logs of this saga. 

No one answers so I hang up and try again with new number answers to the automated questions. 

Nomasonda answers, she goes through the same laborious process to find out which account we are. Says I need to speak to technical.

Angelo eventually picks up the call. After all the same questions he says I need to speak to acctivations to activate the account.

Thabseng comes to the phone now. It's been one hour since I started this. Sfter even more questions from her than the others, and an even more miff attitude than the others, we seem to be getting somewhere. She is picking up two orders.

Infrastructure not available

Same message as last year

But wait, there is fibre infrastructure. She has seen it on the system! 

Fiber to home. Yes that's it!

Our area can have it, she tell me. She seems surprised. I am relieved. 

We really are getting somewhere.

Need to get a contract, she tells me. Okay I say.

20 meg line 50 megs, she tells me. Sounds fine I say.

It's expensive. But we know this. We have decided it's okay.

Free installation. Okay good.

24 month contract. Yes fine.

No voice. What? No phone? Hmm...

You can have a phone for R200 more a month.

Unlimited calls free to a telkom number. Oh great.

20 meg line 50 megs. 

24 month contract.

Needs to speak to Robbie to order

Cant get hold of him

I think, I will only ever be the one dealing with this anyway. 

Put the account in my name.

So we change account to my name

I give all my details; name, id, number etc. 

But a different address is coming up, she says. 

Do we live in Verulum? No.

Where do we live?

The system is slow.

The system isn't finding us.

Call dropped.

Does she call back? No

I go through my records and phone the guy who we were told could help

I use his celnumber cause this is an escalated situation

Bernie laughs that chris gave out his number.

He did work closely with Chris at the set-up stage.

Designed set up- pipes to house, manholes etc.

A few months ago he came on site as it has been earmarked for fiber optics

But this is a year later

But having it switched on he can’t do

10217

Or get in car and go to gateway

Even he has no other way

His phones not working either and he has applied and is waiting

Now two hours later I’m calling 10217

Can’t help me as it is the business line

No access to our account

Okay I’m getting in my car.

No wait I have other things to do here first..

Might as well call again and be on hold in the mean time

I forget I’m on hold it takes so long

Then Dudu answers

The account we were setting up with my name doesn’t exist.

No record of an application with my name.

Give Robbie's id number.

There is an order.

But she can’t say what it is because the system is slow.

We wait

She finds the application. 

It's for 10 gigs on a 2 meg line 

Get that first. Then you can upgrade to fibre.

But you can't give us adsl in this area you said, I say. Isn’t there only ever going to be fibre? Which we have waited for for a year. And it's in now. We saw them "blowing it in", as they say it in the biz. We have been waiting for fibre because there is no other option. And now there is fibre. I just had to reapply, which I did. And you sent me a message saying "welcome!" Just call 10210 to activate. And I was just about to activate it with the last lady I spoke to when your phones cut us off. 

Let me check, she says.

The system is slow

No. No fibre. No infrastructure. No line. No adsl. 

Sorry for the inconvenience.

12:15. 

Signing out

*sigh*