Problem phone

Ron and Jean Fillis, Kirstenhof

Your column “Looks like the fixed line is finished” (Off My Trolley, June 27), did not mention a few other problems associated with this phone.

Although we were assured when we were offered it via a phone call last year that nothing would change, everything did.

The Evening Weekend free call service and the Closer Callcatcher disappeared and it took over a month to realise it.

Worst of all, our armed response was lost. Only when a neighbour warned us, did we discuss it with our alarm company.

The FLLA (fixed line look alike) is apparently “not a strong enough signal” so we had to pay R900 for a radio connection.The sound is also terrible, half the time there is an echo and it is often garbled.

Phone calls to Telkom meant they re-connected the Evening Weekend call service and refunded us the charged calls.The Closer Callcather is “not compatable” so after re-reading the very confusing 80-page book, we finally know how to access messages.

We were assured that all phones in our area (Kirstenhof) would be disconnected from copper in March 2019 and if we did not accept it then, we would have to buy it at over R1 000 and lose our phone number, which was the reason we accepted.

Clearly a blackmail situation.

Of course, when arriving with a courier company, they failed to warn us that our phone line would cease immediately and we were also stuck with a FLLA that was still in the box. The chip was hard to fit for a nearly 80-year-old. My son says its an old type, and the battery of course had to be charged as well.

We were, however, upon asking, told that our own existing wireless phones (a gift) would not work in conjunction with the FLLA, which we were very unhappy with as we had a phone in virtually every room. We now cannot go outside with a small receiver, we have to unplug the entire phone, plus disconnect it to take it to the bedroom at night.

The only positive was that a helpful Telkom lady finally phoned us back and explained more clearly the situation and promised to rectify the situation.

Nobody has been properly trained and informed by Telkom. I dumped them years ago and use a Cell Mifi, as I could not stand the many problems I was faced with.