Telkom Blues

Telkom Blues

I have some complaints about PT Telkom's services. In Bintaro and Kemang (where I used to stay) I always received a perincian (itemized list of international calls) when paying my bills. In Kemanggisan (Slipi), West Jakarta, I have not received any itemized accounts since April. Every time I ask for one at BNI, they always say: We have none, or none are available. When I protest they say it is not their business. Even when my bills were very high (Rp 1.4 million) they said, "then don't pay the bill", knowing full well that my phone would be disconnected.

Telkom must advise the amount to be paid on the fifth of each month. We must pay before the 20th, after that we must pay a fine of Rp 5000. After the last day of the month the phone is cut off.

If I have to go to BNI every day for information about my bill, it would be very expensive for me in terms of office hours lost. So I send my maid each time, taking her away from other work that needs to be done.

I wanted to pay the November bill (period Sept. 20 - Oct. 19) on Nov. 29, however I also wanted a perincian. There wasn't one available, they said, and thus my maid did not pay the bill.

When I told her to pay the next day (Nov. 30), she was informed that the office wasn't receiving payments. The next day (Dec. 1) my telephone was cut off.

When my maid later paid the bill and asked when the phone would be reconnected, she was told to be patient, it would be done soon. Upon repeated requests thereafter she was always told: Be patient/your line must be out of order/it is not our business/you are late in payment etc. On Jan. 2, 1995 it was still not connected.

I can't help but feel that Telkom's personnel is inadequate and definitely not suitable for the job at hand. Always using excuses and stalling so that they do not have to work. The same thing applies for technical services.

For some reason or another, just before Christmas and Idul Fitri, my telephone lines mysteriously develop interference. The attention given to them is usually lacking. The solution is usually to ask a friendly Telkom person to attend to it for a "reward." Then all of a sudden the interference disappears entirely. Strange coincidence.

My questions are:

* Is there an alternative service for international calls (beside Telkom's)?

* Is there a complaint department in Telkom where complaints are formally registered?

* If there is interference on my line, where do I formally lodge a complaint so it can be referred to later on when not attended to?

* When Telkom's bills are not available on the fifth of the month, where can I obtain the information or formally lodge a complaint?

R.C. WAHR

Jakarta