More ZOL woes, as ISP is facing challenges with payments and MyZOL portal

ZOL has had a rough go of it of late. A couple of weeks ago we reported that Customer Services Staff were on an effective go-slow because of wages, subcontracted staff and NSSA payments issues. Last week the internet service provider had a problem with its core system which led to customers experiencing fluctuating internet connection. There seem to be even more problems at ZOL. There have been reports of customers experiencing difficulties with getting payments to reflect in their accounts as well as the MyZOL portal both on mobile and web not reflecting the correct balances.

Payments

The payments issue, for the most part, seems to be affecting bank transfers. Usually, the payments would reflect soon after a transfer is done. Well, this hasn’t been the case for a little while. Bank transfers now require the customer to e-mail the proof of payment to ZOL where they will get an incident number. The process to resolve an incident usually takes 24 to 48 hours but there have been reports of the process taking longer than that.

This is particularly frustrating on a pay-as-you package. If a transfer payment isn’t reflecting, customers may have to buy through an unaffected payment method like EcoCash in order to stay connected while waiting for the other payment to be added to their account.

MyZOL app and website

There have also been reports that the MyZOL app and website not properly reflecting balances for customers. This makes things particularly confusing when planning one’s next payment. The web platform and app are there to bring convenience to the customer. If customers can’t consistently track their account activity then that convenience goes away and it adds even more strain on Customer Services Staff.

The deterioration in service doesn’t only lie at ZOL’s feet. The coronavirus pandemic has made things difficult for most businesses. With public transport being inconsistent as well as the cost and availability of fuel result in fewer employees being able to process payments. It’s unclear what the cause may be on the software front. Hopefully, they can find a way to resolve these issues.