8ta / Telkom Mobile
Samsung S4 mini - faulty batch

I recently took out a cellphone contract from Telkom mobile / 8ta Paarl mall. Since I got the cellphone I've noted
That I can't send any SMS's. I immediately reported the problem to Telkom. After several attempts to solve this issue I was told that replacing (swopping) the SIM card would resolve this problem, after which I did. I can now send maybe 2 SMS's and reboot my phone if I had to send some more. Sometimes this works and sometimes not. Today after a month I was eventually told that this phone is from a faulty batch and needs to be sent in for repairs. Two weeks waiting period.
Is that the way to be treated? This phone was faulty from the beginning a should be replaced. Telkom can check how many times a call was logged and how many times I've tried to resolve this issue. If this is a problem phone, why does Telkom still promote this model?
I'm on the smart plan 250 which includes unlimited SMS's but up until now I can send 2 if I'm lucky. Restarting the phone works from time to time, but seriously this is not the way it should work? What happened to the paying customer / consumer? Shall I stop my debit order to get this issue sorted?

Company: 8ta / Telkom Mobile
Country: South Africa
City: Paarl, Paarl mall

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