********* Charges

I have two contract with Cell C, existing line for R149 and a new one I took up on the 14th of August, SmartData 2GB at R129pm for 24 months with Cell C at Woodmead Retail Park. On the 20th of September I was surprised to come across a failed debit order of R5,667.21 and was penalized R115 by my bank. I went to the closest Cell C at the time, Sandton City, where they picked up that a cap had been loaded on the new contract thus I went over limit. The cap was only loaded by head office on the 18th of September when they realized that I had gone over limit. I was asked to go back to the branch where I took up the contract to query this matter as this would affect both contracts.

On the 21st I visited the Cell C at Woodmead Retail Park and discussed my dilemma with the consultant who assisted me with the new contract and the Manager. I was advised that this was not at all my fault and the matter would be taken up and I would get feedback within 48 hours. A week went by with no feedback so I went back to Cell C at Woodmead Retail Park on the 29th of September to understand how far my query was and I was advised that the matter is still in progress and someone would call me back.

I went back the following week where I was informed that someone was busy with my query and that my account would be rectified, calls were made to someone at Head Office and I was informed that as my account was suspended, it would be re-opened and the incorrect amount would be reversed from my account. All I had to do was to manually pay in what I was meant to pay for my two contracts (R280). On the 11th of September I went back asking for an account statement to determine if the incorrect charges were reversed and to my horror I noticed that a further R3,530.28 had been added to my account there by increasing my total bill to R9,197.49 including the failed debit order of R5,667.21. I was still advised to not worry and only pay what my contracts stated. I asked then what would happen to this balance as the debit order has already been scheduled for the 20th and I was informed that this debit will not go off. I decided to contact the call center to find out what exactly is happening with this account. According to the consultant, In August I went over limit by 6.68GB and in September I went over limit by 5.76GB where I was charged out of bundle rate of 99c per MB as compared to the normal rate of 5c per MB. I discussed my dilemma with the consultant that I was not informed that my account could go over limit nor made aware of these rates nor penalties should I go over limit. I explained that I had been going back and forth with their branch and I’ve been promised feedback however I was informed that there is no record of a query being logged and that I have to go back to the store. The amount of R9,197.49 has already been scheduled and will be processed on the 20th of October.

After the telephone conversation I had with Cell C's contact center I decided to address my issue on Email and sent Cell C an email on Monday 16th of October. Little did I know that they were intending on attempting another debit on my account, this time two debt orders were presented R667.21 and R5,000. As can be expected, the debit orders were unpaid due to insufficient fund and I was charged R115 twice. To date I have not received a response to my email nor has anyone from the store gotten hold of me to provide me with feedback.

It’s completely unacceptable that I’m expected to pay R9,197.49 which I did not agree to. I have already been penalized R345.00 by my bank because of something that was not my fault and no matter how many attempts I have been doing to try and obtain assistance from Cell C I have not received any help. This is not only affecting my account adversely but my credit rating as well. I want a refund of all the Unpaid transactions (R345.00) back into my bank account and for the mess that Cell C has caused due to their incompetence and negligence rectified. I signed a contract for R129 and refuse to pay a cent more.