All they do is promote greed!

I signed up for Discovery Medical Aid in May 2024, and the agent offered me Vitality for 3 free months. I was sent a link the same day to create my profile, but when I tried to cancel my previous medical aid, I was told I needed to give 30 days’ notice, meaning I couldn't start with Discovery until July, not June. I emailed Discovery and resolved the issue, but what I didn’t realize was that Vitality was already in effect. Why would it be, when my medical aid wasn’t even active yet? Plus, my dependent wasn’t even granted access to complete any of the health checks required to access the full benefits.

I attempted to use a few benefits, like Virgin Active, but my number didn’t show up in their system. I registered for Ster-Kinekor, HealthyFood, and HealthyCare, but my Dischem and Clicks cards weren’t updating either. Naturally, I assumed my Vitality membership would be postponed to align with my medical aid in July—an entirely reasonable assumption, especially since I wasn’t getting any benefits!

What followed was four months of absolute hell—July, August, September, and October—dealing with *********** agents, ridiculous turnover times, unresponsive staff, and even getting hung up on. I had to fight tooth and nail over the simple fact that I did NOT receive the 3-month trial, nor did I have access to full benefits during that time. The agents tried to gaslight me, saying that since I activated my rewards cards, my HealthyFood benefits were running. That’s a flat-out lie—I never received any cashback in May or June! They had the audacity to claim it was because I didn’t spend enough. But in July and August, I got significant cashback for exactly the same purchases! So which is it?

They then tried to shift the blame on me, saying I should have called them when I noticed it wasn’t working. Why would I? My medical aid wasn’t active, so why on earth would I assume Vitality would work properly? Eventually, after countless hours wasted, some agents finally understood that the system was fundamentally flawed. They agreed to give me August free. What happens? They charge me for August anyway.

Cue endless back-and-forth emails and phone calls—one call lasting over 65 minutes, with agents passing me around like I’m a hot potato—before they finally said they’d give me September free too. Did they? Of course not. They charged me for September as well. After months of chasing them, I finally escalated to the complaints department. A Vitality manager contacted me, promised to call back, never did, and then, when I demanded a call, told me, “Sorry, nothing can be done.”

Excuse me? After five months of this circus, you’re telling me nothing can be done? I wouldn’t have chased this for months if your agents hadn’t promised to give me August free! If you had just said back in July that you wouldn’t honor the free month, it would have ended there. But no, this greedy, dishonest company dragged it out and wasted my time.

And let’s not even get started on their pathetic HealthyFood catalog. They’re out here pushing the most expensive options—telling me to buy almond milk (triple the price of regular lactose-free low-fat milk) as a “better” choice. What a joke. It’s clear Discovery is only in it to milk every cent out of you, and now they’re even switching cashback to Discovery Miles? What a ****. I don’t want to waste miles on a coffee; I want actual cash to buy groceries. Discovery seems to think they can control every aspect of your life, but all they do is create stress.

Instead of feeling relieved and supported by Discovery, I feel completely ****med. They are more of a burden than a benefit.