Cell C - ***** and Contract *******

I had a 24 months contract with Cell C which I took out in 2014. One this contract I received the following benefits every month: 400 minutes talk time 400 Sms 1000 meg Data

When my contract was about to expire before May 2016, I received a call from a Cell C sales agent telling me I could upgrade. I told the person I did not require an upgrade and inquired about continuing on the same package on a month-to-month basis. I found the quoted amount to be acceptable, but I know that I double-checked and asked the agent to confirm 100% that my benefits would remain exactly the same. They confirmed this for me.

A few months later I noticed that my cell C bill had been high for a few months. Upon checking this I found that my data had been reduced from 1000mb to 400mb. This came as a bit of a shock as I was expecting it to be the same as before. So I was not even aware that I was being charged ******ionate out of bundle rates as I thought I was still within my limits. (R0.99 per meg)

Obviously, I phoned to complain but then I was told that my original deal was on a promotion and the 600 megs dropped away once I went on to month to month. I objected strongly as this was not the agreed contract, as recorded. I tried unsuccessfully many, many times to obtain a copy of the recording. I was refused a reference number. I eventually was told they would send the recording to the Hillcrest Store and I could listen to it there. I went there but nothing had been done.

Since then I have tried sporadically to get any joy out of Cell C. Now that I have fallen on hard times and money is an issue, I will fight for what is right. For 2 years they have been charging me for something I haven't received. If I had used the data that was actually due to me it would have cost me an additional R 14,256.00 for a benefit that should have been included in my monthly payment. So, I figure this is effectively what I am out of pocket for, as I have not been able to use this data without paying this fee.

I logged another call a week or two ago. The guy who helped me was efficient and understood the problem. He unfortunately was not in a position to help me get the recording. He gave me a reference number and assured me someone would get back to me with an answer and if I wasn't happy I could go to any branch with that reference number and I would be able to listen to the recording. REF NO: ********** 411

I got a call from someone on Tuesday who had a number of stories for me: 1. I needed to have logged the call within 3 months of the incident. I told her I tried but got nowhere, many, many times. 2. Next, she told me the story of it being a promotion and falling away - I said that would have been fine but I was advised as part of the sale that the opposite was in fact true and there would be absolutely no change to my benefits. It was the basis of the sale in the first place. 3. Next, she told me that they don't keep recordings for longer than 3 to 6 months. I don't know how this is a variable time frame and I told her she was talking *******, as these kinds of records need to be kept for at least 5 years. 4. I told her I was not happy and insisted that I can hear this recording and was very clear that this was not even close to being resolved in any way. 5. She then became very abrupt and told me she would refer the call to her superior. Having heard this story before and then never hearing back from anyone, I made a call on Tuesday afternoon to check the status of the call. Surprise. The call had been closed. Apparently the explanation had been given to the customer and the call was resolved. This person should be fired.

This is the reason that I have not been able to resolve this issue for over 2 years now. If this is the way I am going to be dealt with then I will never get justice.

Cell C clearly doesn't care about bad publicity, as I had a look at their Facebook page, and it is full of very angry and frustrated reviews regarding their ineptitude and dreadful service. The treatment of their customers is disgraceful and there is no fallback if the call-centre is at fault. I am complaining to the people who know they are in the wrong and so they just refuse to deal with it. All I can do is keep complaining and only ever achieve the same result.