1 reviews | Active since Feb 2022
So much for the idea that private sector funders are efficient, effective or accountable
I sent the following email to Discovery Vitality Cashback just over a week ago. I have not heard back. It doesn't give me much faith in their arguments that somehow private sector funders would be more accountable and more efficient at managing the national health system than Government.
To whom it may concern
I would like to lodge three complaints.
1. After a month or more of noticing there was no option to spend my Vitality rewards in Woolworths, I used the whatsapp line to enquire further. The consultant told me this was the fault of Woolworths, and that Woolworths would be restoring their vouchers by the end of February. As Vitality rewards are a service advertised by Vitality and not Woolworths, it’s unclear to me why Vitality would not take responsibility for their service delivery failure. Also, a month later, I still am unable to utilize a Woolworths voucher. 2. When Vitality used to pay my awards into my bank account, I could then spend them as and when I liked, and I could track these funds on my bank account statement. However, since Vitality changed to paying my rewards into a Discovery miles account - and limiting me to spending R100 at a time and only at select stores - there is no longer a mechanism to track transactions. The company’s decision not to prioritise transparency in these transactions is a governance failure that concerns me, and should be addressed immediately. 3. Today, I allocated time to shop and spend my Vitality rewards. At every shop I went to, I was unable to access my funds. The error says, ‘Could not load data. Please try again later.’ I understand that there may be odd system failures, but this is the fourth or fifth time in the last couple of months. It is unacceptable that I am unable to access my own funds.
Like many people using Discovery products and services, I am constantly suggested to join Discovery bank. As some feedback to you: The customer-provider trust is broken at this time. Discovery’s failure to provide access to my funds, or transparency on transactions related to them means that I cannot consider joining a bank run by this company; and will now also be considering moving to a different medical aid.
I would appreciate feedback on how and when these issues will be resolved, as soon as possible.
Many thanks,
"Our Systems team is working on making the Woolworths vouchers available on the Discovery App.
The vouches that have been generated have declined and thus they are working together with
Woolworths to rectify this and once it has been resolved you will be able to generate and use your
miles at Woolworths.
Spending Discovery miles on the Discovery App is limited to the number and amounts of vouchers
that the partner makes available. Please note that the Discovery App was experiencing an outage
which is why you could not convert your miles into a voucher. However, this has since been
rectified.
Please note with getting a Discovery Bank account you are able to monetize, convert them into a
greater voucher, send and received miles and gives you access to more partners where you can
spend the miles. Furthermore, you would be able to see a breakdown on Discovery miles paid to
you."
This does not address my issues. There are still no Woolworths vouchers available. But most worryingly from a governance perspective, they require me to purchase additional services (their banking services) in order to access the same cash benefits as I had before, and to provide transparency in how/when they pay out.
So much for good governance in this private sector system.
"Our Systems team is working on making the Woolworths vouchers available on the Discovery App.
The vouches that have been generated have declined and thus they are working together with
Woolworths to rectify this and once it has been resolved you will be able to generate and use your
miles at Woolworths.
Spending Discovery miles on the Discovery App is limited to the number and amounts of vouchers
that the partner makes available. Please note that the Discovery App was experiencing an outage
which is why you could not convert your miles into a voucher. However, this has since been
rectified.
Please note with getting a Discovery Bank account you are able to monetize, convert them into a
greater voucher, send and received miles and gives you access to more partners where you can
spend the miles. Furthermore, you would be able to see a breakdown on Discovery miles paid to
you."
This does not address my issues. There are still no Woolworths vouchers available. But most worryingly from a governance perspective, they require me to purchase additional services (their banking services) in order to access the same cash benefits as I had before, and to provide transparency in how/when they pay out.
So much for good governance in this private sector system.