Discovery Health – Misleading Information, No Response, Incorrect Debits & Extremely Poor Service

I am writing this complaint out of complete frustration with the service I have received from Discovery Health. My experience has been misleading, stressful, and financially unfair. On 16 May 2025, I emailed Discovery to clarify when my medical aid would cover me and to confirm my savings amount. I was shocked when the consultant informed me that I have no savings and that my plan is actually a hospital plan, not a medical aid option. This is completely opposite to what I requested when I signed up. When I originally app****, I made it very clear to the sales consultant that I needed a proper medical aid plan, even if it was the cheapest one, because I am pregnant and needed assurance that my baby would be covered at birth. The consultant told me: • The pregnancy waiting period is 12 months • My baby would be covered once born • Pregnancy-related matters would not be covered, but the baby would be At no point was I told that this was ONLY a hospital plan and NOT a medical aid plan. If the consultant had explained this clearly, I would never have signed up. To make matters worse: • Discovery never responded to my email sent on 16 May 2025. • I had to call multiple times, and every consultant gave me different and conflicting information. • When I gave birth, yet again the information changed from what previous consultants had told me. I app**** to add my baby as a dependent, but after discovering again, through several calls that it was a hospital plan and not medical aid, I cancelled the application. My baby had only been on the plan for two weeks, and no benefits were used by either of us. Despite this, Discovery still debited both my monthly instalment AND my baby’s instalment. I can understand if my own instalment processed before cancellation, but I do not understand why my baby’s fee was debited. The application was cancelled almost immediately, and neither of us used any benefits. There is no justification for Discovery to debit a dependent fee under these circumstances. This feels completely unfair and unacceptable. What I also find extremely ironic is that when I eventually sent a cancellation email, Discovery responded immediately with a cancellation confirmation. Yet they never once responded to my important and urgent email sent on 16 May asking for clarity. It is unacceptable that the only time Discovery responds promptly is when a customer wants to cancel never when we need assistance or accurate information. Because of the misinformation, lack of transparency, and inconsistent communication, I decided to reverse the debit and cancel everything. This entire experience has caused unnecessary stress during an already sensitive time!