1 of 1,392 Complaint Regarding Poor Service and Unresolved Refund at Ackermans Clothing Village Square, Randfontein

Good day

I am writing to formally complain about the unacceptable service I received from Ackermans Clothing at Village Square Mall in Randfontein. On 11 April 2025, I purchased clothing items to the value of R526.35. Upon arriving home, I discovered that the payment had gone off twice from my bank account.

I returned to the store on the same day to report the issue and request a refund. I was assisted by Siya, who advised me to wait 24 hours for the amount to reflect in my account. When the money did not reflect, I returned to the store on 12 April 2025, where I was assisted by Supervisor Ntombi. She instructed me to go to FNB to draw a bank statement, which I did at my own cost, despite already having evidence of the double transaction on my banking app, and the cashier who was assisting me the previous day also confirmed that he saw the double transaction and he thought it would be reversed. But I was shocked that he saw it, but was never transparent with me at that particular moment, for me to only realise it when I got home. Now, I returned to the store with the statement, and Ntombi made several calls while I stood waiting for over two hours, NB, standing and not even offered a seat. I was then told to wait another 48 hours. After the time passed and still no refund, I visited the store again today, the 19th of April 2025, at around 11:30 AM. This time, I was assisted by Masego, another supervisor, who said I needed to log a dispute through Ackermans Connect and wait another 10 days for the dispute outcome. I refused, explaining that I had been back and forth multiple times without any resolution and that I would not leave the store without my money.

After I insisted, Masego called Siya, the store manager. Siya began making further calls while I waited again, visibly frustrated and emotionally drained from the back-and-forth. During this time, I stood near the tills, watching others being helped while I received no feedback.

Eventually, one security guard and my daughter (Emihle Mankomo) were taken to the back office with Siya, where he continued with a long call. Then Siya told them that the Finance Department said a refund could be issued at the store level. However, Siya claimed his manager did not authorise the refund. Still, I was not given any feedback directly and continued to be kept waiting while Siya was busy with unending calls, standing by the tills. After over three hours in the store, I again reacted out of frustration due to the lack of communication and resolution.

I eventually became upset and started to disrupt the service by interfering with the cashier's desktops out of frustration. In response, Siya began taking pictures and videos of me without my consent, which I found highly inappropriate and humiliating. While Masego called the mall security guards.

At that point, Masego contacted her mother, who then arrived at the store and mobilised members of the community to shout at us, questioning why we were causing a disturbance over R526.35. It's not like it's 500,000, said Masego's mother. Meanwhile, Siya entered the store with police and accused us of holding staff hostage; this was completely false and deeply humiliating.

Realising that the situation was escalating and I was being publicly shamed despite being the aggrieved party, I left the store with my daughter. I now feel compelled to take this matter further, as the treatment I received was unjust, unprofessional, and emotionally distressing.

I therefore demand the following:

A full refund of R526.35 for the duplicate transaction.

Reimbur*****t for fuel used in travelling to the store multiple times.

Reimbur*****t for bank charges incurred for printing bank statements upon the store’s request.

Compensation for time wasted and emotional distress caused by this ordeal.

A formal written apology from Ackermans' management for the public humiliation and mishandling of the situation, including unauthorized photography and false police accusations.

I expect Ackermans to treat this complaint with the urgency and seriousness it deserves and to respond within 7 working days from the date of this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Zingisa Pamela Mankomo

Cell: ***