Overall inefficiency and inability to reconcile and account

<p>I have been a DSTV customer for as long as I can remember and have been on the pricelock package for the past 2 years. In all this time I have had a debit order for the full amount for payment purposes which has always been paid since being a member.</p> <p>I heard of the new pricelock promotion which was extensively advertised on many platforms during late 2016. I contacted the infamous DPP department via SMS during early 2017. A confirmation SMS was sent on 24 January 2017 that order “406723” has been dispatched. A DSTV installer was contacted and the new decoder was installed on the weekend of 28-29 January 2017. The installer insisted that I contact DSTV immediately which I did to cancel the old subscription and initiate the “new pricelock” package which was done before he left my house.</p> <p>The following payments went off my account between January 2017 & April 2017 tabulated below:</p> <p>Date<br />Amount<br />Description <br /> ********** 0 R835.60 <br /> ********** 8 R811.23 <br /> ********** 8 R735.00 <br /> ********** 8 R3 357.65 </p> <p>I received a SMS on 1 April 2017 from DSTV to state that I had an overdue payment of +-R3K as well as a message of being negatively reflected on the credit bureau.</p> <p>I contacted DSTV (Mr. Lundi) on 1 April 2017 @ 12:51 and the automated service message stated that I had an outstanding amount of zero rand but my services were suspended nevertheless. Mr. Lundi confirmed telephonically that one should have been cancelled and confirmed that he will contact the DPP department and ensure reversal of the extra amount. I also informed Mr. Lundi that I was contacted by the DPP department multiple times to offer me the new Pricelock package and decoder AFTER I have already had this ALREADY delivered and installed. Mr. Lundi again confirmed that the DPP department will contact me and will reverse the charges and escalate my concern.</p> <p>I contacted DSTV again on 5 April 2017 @ 21:58 (Ms. Promise) as DSTV now cut my services. I also received an additional call to demand payment of the outstanding amount earlier that day. I explained the entire story again to Ms. Promise and even she wanted to know why hasn’t the old subscription cancelled and confirmed that the old pricelock was fully paid up already and doesn’t exist anymore on their side and similarly should have been cancelled on DSTV’s side.</p> <p>I received yet another SMS on 11 April 2017 from DSTV to state that I had an overdue payment now of +-R2.5K. </p> <p>Numerous calls to DSTV to try to resolve yielded no results and after begging the consultants to provide me the phone number of the DPP department ended up in them providing either false numbers or numbers that don’t exist as I eventually got through to a fax number.</p> <p>I was debited on 28 April 2017 with +-R3.3K as can be seen in the table above.</p> <p>On 5 May 2017 I decided to go take a day off from work and to drive all the way to the DSTV headquarters in Randburg to try to resolve as this was now ridiculous. I was assisted by Mr. Siya who heard my whole story and took proof of all my payments including the payment of R3.3K. Even though I had proof of payments from my bank, Mr. Siya had a hard time tracing these payments. I was refused access to the DPP department even after I tried prompting him to show me where they physically sit. Mr. Siya then proceeded to take my proof of payment to the DPP department I am not too sure how long I was there but I eventually asked around if he may be left for the day as considerable time passed as I waited. His colleagues assured me that he is with the DPP department and will resolve the issue. When he eventually did come back he promised me that the DPP department will phone me on 6 May 2017 to resolve.</p> <p>Needless to say that I received no call on 6 May 2017 but instead received a call on 10 May 2017 from Mr. Luvashan of Blake & Associates (DSTV debt collectors) for the outstanding amount of +-R3.3K but due to ignorance on his part didn’t check before phoning, informed me that they received payment. He now informed me that my account is in credit and could not explain why he phoned me in the first instance. I gave him sound advice on checking his own records before phoning anyone in the future but this was now totally outrageous. This must be a first whereby a debt collection agency phones to tell you that your account is actually in “Credit”.</p> <p>In response to the above call I immediately wrote to Mr. Siya whereby I informed him that I am going to take to “Hello Peter” as well as “Facebook” and to date no response was ever received so even this fell on deaf ears.</p> <p>DSTV claims to have records of all calls which they can independently verify.</p> <p>In summary:</p> <p>The infamous DPP department operates like ***boys and don’t have any consideration for their members and in my opinion don’t know what they are doing as they continuously phoned me even after I have the new decoder installed and delivered and can never be reached. </p> <p>I have been held ransom by DSTV who have profited by their own inefficiency and they can debit any amount they deem fit from our banking accounts.</p> <p>The miscommunication within DSTV is amazing to say the least as one department doesn’t know what the other does even though they may sit right next to each other.</p> <p>DSTV doesn’t know what is happening in their billing department and cannot trace some of their own payments.</p> <p>Raising a concern, even though this is due their own inefficiency, will result in DSTV operating like ***boys as they will hand you over to debt collectors who again can’t even check their own records before demanding payment. </p> <p>DSTV will promise to call you back but never will but instead hand you over to debt collection agencies to threaten you.</p> <p>A simple reconciliation of payments to an account cannot be understood by DSTV.</p> <p>Hours of time, effort, explaining, phone airtime & fuel will get wasted with no recompense.</p> <p>Overall DSTV and their associates are totally inefficient.</p> <p>I still think that the content on DSTV is good but please get your act together and stop treating your long standing paying members like idiots.</p>