Terrible Service and Incompetency

On the evening of the 14/03/22 I went with my ID and proof of address to a Cell C store for a sim swap and was greatly assisted by an Indian guy whose name I can’t recall. Unfortunately, on my way home I was in an accident and lost that sim and was forced to wait for the first chance to visit the store again since it would be suspicious to do another sim swap over-the-air just after visiting the store. On the 22/03/22, bearing the internal pains of the accident I went to the same a cell c shop in Galleria mall, Amanzimtoti, for a sim swap. Mind you, I went in store for security reasons (DPA) with my POA and ID. I do forex trading for a leaving and I am self-employed with other businesses and therefore I cannot afford to be out of reach or not have access to certain apps. Londiwe Shange, the main reason my family and I are now porting to Telkom, showed great disrespect and incompetency with the service knowledge and basic, logical understanding of customer service. Below is a dialogue, word for word, of the conversation with her, a Consultant at the Galleria Cell C store; L Shange: I will need your last five dialed numbers and other security checks in order to assist you. Myself: Ma’m I am in no condition to remember those details as you can see I am not well and the sim may have been in use since the night that I lost it but I do know after the sim swap they loaded R9 airtime in this very same store because they had no change and same time I bought 20 all-net minutes. Hence, I came in-store but I do have my ID and proof of address. L Shange: I cannot confirm that this is your number if you don’t remember the card usage history. Myself: how can you say there’s no proof that I am the owner of that number because I have my proof documents which includes my ID unless you’re implying this is a **** ID card. L Shange: The sim may be in your names but that doesn’t mean it’s yours, it could be used by someone else. Myself: (while shocked) If someone else walked into the store and requested a sim swap on a number register with my ID, as long as that person knows the sim usage history you will allow them the sim swap based on what they know instead of what they can prove? L Shange: Yes, because their knowledge of the sim history proves that it’s their sim card. Myself: With third-party control features, if I buy a sim for a friend or my spouse and they abuse the services I will not be allowed to do a sim swap or suspend the sim because i’m not the one using it in spite that it’s registered in my names? L Shange: Yes, you have no control over it if you do not have the sim history. But please contact the call center they might help you. In that, I then asked for the Store Manager Adhel Chetty whom I thought will understand that Data Protection Act and RICA are purposefully to avoid the sharing of personal data that is why we pass security check by confirming unique details (ID, names, address). A Chetty walks up to me and verifies what I have be told by L Shange, that I will not get a sim swap in store without knowing the last dialed numbers, airtime and data on the card because this is how they can only prove the I am the owner of the sim card but, I can call the call centre. “But we’ll give you a sim card and phone the call centre for you”. L Shange then hands me her cell phone after speaking to a call centre agent who asked me for the same details I did not have, and said I failed the security check and hung up. L Sghange, the consultant then demands R5 from me for a sim card yet I did not get what I had come for, a sim swap. “Your blood pressure can rise until you faint I don’t care I just need you to pay for the sim card that I just bought for you”, say L Shange. I left the store without the sim card. And now that I have had to pay R1800 to retrieve my call history needed for a sim swap I am definitely moving away from cell c.