Blacklisted phones

⚠️ MY EXPERIENCE AT CASH CRUSADERS RANDPARK RIDGE – I FELT PERSONALLY ATTACKED, VICTIMISED AND COMPLETELY HUMILIATED ⚠️

I am sharing this because what happened to me at Cash Crusaders Randpark Ridge yesterday has left me absolutely devastated.

I went into the store because I had purchased an iPhone from them approximately one month ago, only to discover that the phone was blacklisted and rejected by the network.

The phone was still within the six-month warranty, and I had barely had it for a month.

I went there expecting help.

Instead, I felt personally attacked, victimised, dismissed and humiliated.

A male staff member told me that he wanted to “try something” on my phone. I agreed because I believed he was trying to assist me.

I was NOT told that my phone was going to be erased.

I was NOT told that this could delete my personal information.

I did NOT knowingly consent to having my phone wiped.

My phone was erased.

That phone contained approximately 13 YEARS of my photographs, memories and personal information.

Years of my life.

Memories that cannot simply be replaced.

And now I am facing the possibility that those memories have been permanently lost.

But what made the situation even more traumatic was the way I was treated while I was in the store.

I sat there and cried.

I was visibly distressed and completely overwhelmed.

Instead of being shown compassion, I felt that I was treated as though I was a problem.

The store manager, Abigail, was, in my experience, extremely dismissive and confrontational. When I tried to speak to her and explain what had happened, I felt ignored and, on several occasions, she turned away and walked away from me.

I felt personally targeted and victimised rather than treated as a customer who was genuinely asking for help.

I also need to say something very uncomfortable.

During my interaction with the store manager, I experienced what I perceived as racial hostility and a racial undertone in the way I was being spoken to and treated.

I am not making that statement lightly.

It is how the interaction made me feel, and it is something I believe deserves to be properly investigated rather than brushed aside.

Nobody should walk into a store to resolve a problem and leave feeling racially targeted, humiliated and emotionally broken.

I was sitting in that store crying, and I felt that the manager showed absolutely no empathy for what I was experiencing.

I have never experienced customer service like this before.

This is no longer simply about a phone.

It is about:

❌ Being sold a phone that I subsequently discovered was blacklisted.

❌ Having a device that was still within its six-month warranty.

❌ My phone being erased after I was told someone wanted to “try something”, without me being properly informed that my personal data would be deleted.

❌ The potential permanent loss of approximately 13 years of irreplaceable memories.

❌ Being left crying and emotionally distressed inside the store.

❌ Feeling personally attacked and victimised when I was simply asking for assistance.

❌ And experiencing what I perceived as a racial undertone/hostility during my interaction with the store manager.

I have escalated this matter to Cash Crusaders Head Office and I am demanding that this incident be properly investigated.

I am also requesting that all relevant CCTV footage, staff records, transaction records and device/service records be preserved, because I want there to be an accurate record of what happened.

I am sharing my experience because consumers deserve to know what happened to me.

I trusted Cash Crusaders with my purchase. I trusted their staff to help me. I walked out feeling completely broken.

I am asking Cash Crusaders for answers, accountability and a proper resolution.

This should never happen to another customer.

#CashCrusaders #RandparkRidge #CustomerService #ConsumerRights #SouthAfrica