Cell C - Dishonesty!!!

In the last week of June, a Cell C agent called me repeatedly to sign up for a data deal that was 30GB day & 20GB night data at R250 p/m, he advised me to purchase a prepaid sim which the deal could be activated on once I had rica’d.

On the day I accepted the deal, I asked him three times whether this was a month to month contract and if I would be able to cancel at any time, to which he rep**** yes I can cancel the “contract”, but that there would just have to be a 30 day “notice” period & a cancellation fee which I agreed to. At no point did he mention anything about it being a 24 month contract. I had moved from a month to month package on RAIN and the last thing I wanted was a contract.

The sim card and deal were active from 30th June ***), from the start, I was unable to get 4G, I was only able to get “H”. Please note, the cell phone that I am using was bought at Cell C Clearwater, it is a dual sim, and my other sim is my Cell C number *** (which has never had connection issues). I called their technical department and they explained that I need to change my settings to roaming etc, despite their assistance we were unable to get 4G. We tried everything including switching the ports that the sims were in.

On Saturday 2nd July I called tech support again to see if they could assist & was unable to get it sorted, I then went to the Cell C shop in Clearwater Mall to see if they could assist. They too were unable to assist. I then asked the lady who assisted me to cancel the data deal as I did not wish to pay for something I could not utilise, she advised that as this deal was not done through the store I would have to call 084 143 – which I did immediately. When trying to cancel the deal, I was advised that this was a 24 month contract, which is not what I was told as mentioned above when I accepted the deal.

Between the 2nd and 8th of July I made multiple phone calls to try get the matter attended to. The previous reference numbers being ***& ***. They eventually cancelled the contract approximately a week later - when the agent confirmed my contract had been cancelled, the lady was unable to confirm the amount I would need to pay for the data used but said she would call me back. She never did.

On the 7th of August I noticed that there is an almost R 9000 account due as at end August with includes the “cancellation fee”. I then called again on the 8th of August and spoke to Mathapelo to dispute the cancellation fee, I was advised that they will respond to me within 24 to 48 workings hours.

They finally called me back on the 18th – the said that since he said “contract” during the phone call, it automatically meant it was a 24 month contract. Irrespective of this, to my knowledge, as per Consumer Protection Act in South Africa, I was within the “Cooling Off” period and requested that my “contract” be cancelled with immediate effect. I was happy to pay for any data used but I am not willing to pay for any form on cancellation fee.

I am not in a position to pay such a massive amount of money for a service I never received, it is more than what I pay on my bond.