Robbing a Pensioner!!

In December 2016 my mother, then 74 years old, lost her cell phone. She had renewed her contract in about April 2016 so she still had 16 months left on her contract. She went to the Howard Centre Cell C branch the next day to have her cellphone blocked and get a replacement sim card. They were quite busy and apparently short-staffed. After a lengthy almost 3 hour "in and out of the store" experience, and 3 different sales assistants helping her with one problem...she walks out of the store with no replacement sim card for her existing contract, but she is signed up with a new contract, new phone and new sim card..on top of her existing contract!! On meeting up with her later the day she explains to me what has happened and I cannot understand how this could happen. The next day, I took off work and took her back to the store where they now say she has already signed for the new contract (despite already having a contract) so if she wishes to cancel it, it will cost her the surrender fee of about R4000 for her old contract or R7000 (if I remember correctly) for the new contract.

Obviously this does not sound right to me, and I take it up with the head office of the franchise which is based in Claremont. I spoke to Fatima Price in December and she said she understood and requested that I explain everything in an email and send it to her. She would investigate and get back to me. In the meantime my mother should not use the phone or the new contract (which she hadn't done since the day I had taken her to back to the store) After hearing nothing from her by 19 January 2017, I sent Ms Price an email and phoned. Eventually I got hold of her and was informed that we should return the phone and sim cards to the store and she would take it further.So from January 2017 the new phone and sim cards were in the possession of Cell C. I have repeatedly phoned Fatima Price to be kept up to date. I always have to leave a message and she never returns my calls. The last time I called I resorted to using a my first name instead of my surname and she was miraculously available to speak to. She initially responded to emails, but that stopped even before my last phone call. It is now the end of September 2017. Cell C have the phone and sim cards in their possession since January 2017. However, they continue to deduct the instalment from my mother's account every month for this contract despite them having all the equipment in their possession for the last 8 months.

I have tried calling and emailing to no avail. I do not know what to do anymore!!