MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Since When are Calls to 1023 NOT Free?

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I recently switched to receiving my Telkom bill via e-mail. Tight arse that I am I never asked for a printed itemised bill as I was not willing to pay the additional charges – although that may have changed in the meantime. I ‘think’ that I have a logical internet search savvy brain but, it appears that looking for a simple list of services and related charges on the Telkom web site is reserved for people far more intelligent than I.

Back to the shock of seeing that calls to Telkom Directory Enquiries are NOT free: This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see that the e-mailed Telkom bill includes what Telkom calls a ‘Telephony Usage Detail Report ‘ and upon further perusal discovered that I was being charged for calls to 1023.

I found a reference to 1023 being toll free on the MyBroadband site (that was dated August 2009), but, further down the MyBroadband post it says that calls to 1023 are not free, then I found a PDF on the Telkom site saying; “Please note that calls to 1023 are not free.” Then I opened the 2010/11 Telephone book and saw that the special character denoting toll free numbers was NOT next to 1023.

How could I have been such an idiot and missed this important change to Telkom’s pricing structure? Does this mean I should buy Telkom Shares? Will anyone care? Should I have paid for itemised billing and discovered this truth sooner? Probably, but I have always lived under the assumption that calls to 1023 were free. I must admit that Telkom are quite clever as the 1023 number appears on a page FULL of toll free numbers so my assumption was reinforced that calls to that number are free.

What irks me is that 1023 falls under the classification of a special services number that is charged at around R2.02 per minute. AND, as if that was not enough, Telkom wants to charge just over R1.00 if they automatically connect you with the number that you are looking for PLUS the actual call charges.

I hereby publicly apologise to my Children, the Longhair and Domestic for raving on every month about people wasting money by dialling special services numbers to vote in pathetic competitions when it was mainly myself using 1023 to get business numbers. I wonder if I could hold Telkom responsible for mental anguish?

And what is the lesson for Port Elizabeth based businesses here?

  • Make sure that your telephone numbers in the MyPE Business Directory are up to date and in this format: 0411234567

And the lesson for Port Elizabeth consumers?

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.