Pensioner payslips??? uh uh Cell C

<p>Past week - ongoing - went back to same place 4 times - different info given each time - dealt with 3 different people<br />My father a pensioner wanted to change to Cell C from Vodacom and get himself a new phone along with a new contract. <br />We went in with the documents usually required (3 months bank statements, ID book, proof of residence) then discovered that they wanted a pay slip from him. He showed the regular payments from his pension fund on his bank statements to the customer service person then produced his pensioner card and was still told to get a letter from the pension fund to prove why he couldn't produce a payslip. Seriously??? Pensioners need a payslip?? They are better off than employed people - they get paid till the day they die! Plus the pension people were very loathe to give letters out. What do government pensioners have to do to get a letter???<br />We got one eventually and then were told that they can't help anyway because only Head Office can deal with pensioners! Because of the lack of a payslip apparently!!!!<br />We were told we had to contact Cell C Head Office who BTW have no direct contact number - you have to send in your paperwork first to someone who sends them on to someone else and then gets back to you - if you are lucky. And apparently pensioners are also entitled to special deals and contracts - but no-one knows about that because the franchise manager says they can't advertise this or tell anyone as they would lose custom. This is a disgrace. My father now won't even try Cell C again and I hate to think of the stress involved for other pensioners. I also tried to call the number given for Cell C from another phone (not Cell C) - 084 140 - and was instantly put through to Cell C emergency number (Life and Death only!!!) and then told to call the same number again 084 140. Tried 3 times - went straight to emergency and then told to call same number given. <br />How is this customer service and why is it so difficult for someone over 60 (my father is 78) to get a contract for a new phone? Not everyone is keen to make a remote business deal for a new phone etc and without being able to get all the apps like whats app put onto the new phone or getting all your numbers etc transferred to the new phone - done at a distance - it s impossible. When you port your number from another provider and it goes through (which is what my father needed to do) - everything is lost from the current phone. If you do it inhouse in a shop, they transfer everything before the port is done - to a memory stick if need be. So why would you want to attempt to get a new phone and contract remotely? I have never had to struggle so hard to do what should have been a very simple transaction. Cell C - pensioners have worked for their status - they didn't get there by accident and you owe them some kind of respect and should treat them accordingly. Shocking. Will never advise anyone goes there for a contract. The staff are polite enough and as helpful as they can be with the very little knowledge they seem to possess regarding their own product and system. Teach your staff what to do Cell C. Ridiculous!</p>