A “TYPO” saw an East London family being credited with more than R37- million on their Telkom account.
Vincent resident Clarence Coetzer said he almost had a heart attack when he opened his Telkom statement for the month of October and saw the R37-million reflected on the statement.
An investigation by Telkom into the matter revealed that the agent who received the last payment on the account had typed Coetzer’s reference number into the credit column instead of the amount that had been received.
“My heart almost stopped because at first I thought we owed Telkom more R37-million, but when I took a closer look I saw a little minus next to it,” said Coetzer.
He said the Telkom landline had been in the family for over 40 years and was currently registered in his wife’s name.
“I showed my friends and family the statement and asked them to advise me on whether I should ask Telkom for a refund of the overpayment or to just let it lie there and have future telephone accounts deducted from it and they laughed,” he said.
Coetzer said payments on the account were always made at the Telkom Vincent Park branch by his wife.
“An investigation into this matter revealed that the customer had paid the account in question at a branch of the South African Post Office by cheque,” read a statement by Telkom to the Dispatch.
However, Coetzer maintained that all payments on the account were made at Telkom in Vincent Park.
The statement further read: “It can only be assumed that the Post Office agent that accepted the cheque payment entered the incorrect amount on the system.
“The next automated bill production run and invoice distribution from Telkom had then occurred before we received the actual cheque in question from the Post Office and therefore the amount in error went unreconciled. The correct information will be reflected in our customer’s next account invoice.”
Coetzer said although the outcome of the investigation shed some light on what had happened, the mistake was still unacceptable.
No refund despite Telkom R37m ‘typo’
Vincent resident Clarence Coetzer said he almost had a heart attack when he opened his Telkom statement for the month of October and saw the R37-million reflected on the statement.
An investigation by Telkom into the matter revealed that the agent who received the last payment on the account had typed Coetzer’s reference number into the credit column instead of the amount that had been received.
“My heart almost stopped because at first I thought we owed Telkom more R37-million, but when I took a closer look I saw a little minus next to it,” said Coetzer.
He said the Telkom landline had been in the family for over 40 years and was currently registered in his wife’s name.
“I showed my friends and family the statement and asked them to advise me on whether I should ask Telkom for a refund of the overpayment or to just let it lie there and have future telephone accounts deducted from it and they laughed,” he said.
Coetzer said payments on the account were always made at the Telkom Vincent Park branch by his wife.
“An investigation into this matter revealed that the customer had paid the account in question at a branch of the South African Post Office by cheque,” read a statement by Telkom to the Dispatch.
However, Coetzer maintained that all payments on the account were made at Telkom in Vincent Park.
The statement further read: “It can only be assumed that the Post Office agent that accepted the cheque payment entered the incorrect amount on the system.
“The next automated bill production run and invoice distribution from Telkom had then occurred before we received the actual cheque in question from the Post Office and therefore the amount in error went unreconciled. The correct information will be reflected in our customer’s next account invoice.”
Coetzer said although the outcome of the investigation shed some light on what had happened, the mistake was still unacceptable.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos