My Unexpected Breakup With My Internet Provider

If there is one thing adulthood keeps teaching me, it is that when your WiFi acts up, your whole life feels out of balance. So imagine my frustration when my internet provider decided to surprise me with different billing amounts every month. One month I paid one amount, the next month something completely different. It felt like I was paying for a mystery package instead of a fibre line.

After a few rounds of guessing what the next bill would look like, I decided it was time to cancel the service and move on.

This is where the real story begins.

Trying to Leave Was Harder Than Staying

I spent days trying to get hold of customer service. When I finally reached someone, a consultant named Bonga, what he told me made even less sense than the bills.

According to him, I could not cancel unless I paid the outstanding amount first. That part I understood. I do not mind paying what is due. But then he told me that even if I pay, they will not reconnect me. That payment would simply serve as my notice month.

Meaning I would pay for a full month and still have no internet.

If I wanted internet, I would have to pay another service provider on top of the amount already paid to them.

Two bills in one month and only one actually gives me internet. You can imagine my confusion.

The Line Release Drama

It gets better. If they reconnect me now, they will only release my line at the end of January. But if I pay now and choose cancellation, they can release my line immediately. However, they still would not connect me, even though I have paid.

So to summarise what I was being told:

• They can release my line now.

• They will not reconnect me for the month I paid.

• If I want internet, I must pay someone else.

• But I must still pay them first, even with no service.

There I was on the other side of the line wondering how I was expected to pay for a service that would not be provided. I am a prepaid customer who pays before using the service, not after. So how do you justify charging someone when you already know you will not give them any connection?

It felt like I was being forced to pay just for the sake of paying.

The Bills That Caused the Breakup

Here is what pushed me to finally leave:

R490 in October

R679 in November

R709 in December, including a reconnection fee I still cannot explain

Every month was a surprise. By December, I was scared to open my email because I did not know what the new amount would be.

The Lesson From This Experience

Cancelling a service should not feel like begging for freedom. It should not feel like you are fighting to leave a relationship that stopped working a long time ago.

If I pay, connect me. Let the month I pay for be my notice month. Do not expect me to pay for nothing.

No customer should have to pay two providers in one month just to have internet for that month. No customer should pay for a month of darkness simply because they want to move on.

And if you ever find yourself dealing with a service provider who makes leaving harder than staying, remember this: it is not you. It is absolutely them.