1st for Women: Im livid and disapponted

I have never received such bad service from any company like I did from 1st for Women. My car broke down on the N2 to Piet Retief at 12:40 pm. I immediately called 1st for Women and a consultant by the name of Sbu answered. I explained to him that my car broke down and I need my car to be towed. I gave him my exact location that I was at Whitecliff, I also sent the GPS location via WhatsApp so that they can have my exact location. He told me that he will send a tow truck to me to take my car to the nearest dealership. I asked him to get my car towed to Nelspruit. He contacted me and told me that the nearest dealership is in Trichardt and I told him that the nearest dealership is in Ermelo. But then he told me that from the system the nearest dealership is in Trichardt. After ending the conversation, I checked on my GPS and I found that the nearest dealership is in fact at Ermelo. I then called again and told them that Trichardt is further than Ermelo and I want my car to be taken to Nelspruit. I was told that I will have to pay R 3000 to get my car towed to Nelspruit. I also explained that they must also take me and two family members to Nelspruit. I was told that I will have to take a taxi to Nelspruit which disputed as 1st for Women promises to take you home. Then I was told to wait for the tow truck.

Andre from the tow company called me and told me he’s on the way as he was called by my insurance. After waiting for over an hour I called Andre and he told me he’s on the road to Golela and I asked him why he was going to Golela as I was on the N2 towards Piet Retief? He told me that the insurance told him that was close to Golela. I then called 1st for Women again and no one was answering the lines on the Road Assist lines. I would have to call claims and get claims to transfer my calls to Road Assist.

This time I spoke to a guy called Thato. I gave Thato my ID number and asked him why the tow truck driver was sent to the opposite direction then where I was? I explained to him that I was waiting from 12:40 for a tow truck to come tow my car and for us to be sent to Nelspruit and at that time I had been on the side of the road for over 2 hours in the heat with a pregnant family member who was panicking. I asked him to check on the system where the driver was sent to, he confirmed that the driver was sent to Golela? He then said that probably it was a mistake. He then kept me on the line and asked checked with the tow truck and found that the town truck had cancelled the service. I asked him when were they going to tell me that the tow truck was no longer coming? He didn’t respond. I asked him what I was paying the insurance for since I was not getting the service that I was paying for. I also asked him if I was his sister who waiting in the heat without anyone checking if she’s ok or safe will he be happy with the service that I was given? He told me to stop taking things personally. I asked him, how can I not take things personally as I was not getting a service that I am paying for. He then said that I do not know him and he can answer me anyhow if he wanted to. All this happens as we are told that calls are recorded. then asked to speak to a manager I was not finding joy with all the things that I told by Thato. He said he will get someone to call me and dropped the call without transferring me.

I then was called by Tebogo (male). I narrated the whole ordeal again to him and about how rude Thato was to me even going as far as telling me that I do not know him. I also explained to him that at the time that we were talking with him which was 15:30pm there was to way the car could get to Nelspruit before the dealership closes. He promised to get another tow truck to tow the car and get us to Nelspruit.

Then a guy called Marais from EMS towing called and told us that he is coming it will take him 1h15 minutes to get to us. Then Sbu called I asked him why was he not checking on us to check if we were safe and still ok? He said he was organising a town truck. That time I was livid as I felt that no one care about my safety. 1st for Women promises someone to wait with you on the road so you are safe but I had to call every now and then just to get assistance but they were not checking on me or sending someone to come wait with us at least. Sbu then told me that a tow truck is coming and they will take us to Piet Retief, he assured me that when he get to Piet Retief a car with a driver will take us to Nelspruit as the tow truck did not have the Family Run service.

Marais came and got the car and explained that he is taking us to Piet Retief and the insurance will organise a car for us. As we were about to get to Piet Retief another guy called and I don’t remember his name. He told me that there is no car available for us to take us to Nelspruit. 1st for Women will pay for one persons accomodation and they will only pay R500 and I we will have to wake up and take a taxi to Nelspruit. I told him that when I was speaking with Sbu he promised us a car with a driver that will take us to Nelspruit . He said that now they will pay for accomodation and 2 adults can share 1 room and the other will have to pay for themselve. 1st for women can then refund me the R500 for accomodation next week. I asked if they can then get me a car hire as per the promise that they will get us home. He told me then I will have to get car hire myself. I asked why as I was promised a car to take me to Nelspruit. He was then shouting telling me that I will not get car hire. I then told him that I don't understand why I have to pay for accommodation. He told me that priority was ME the member of the insurance, I asked about my family members safety if they were not important? He said they can only pay for one room and they will not be liable for payment of the second room. I told him that I will not take the offer to get accomodation but I want to stick to the insurance taking me home. I then asked to speak to a manager, he told me he was a manager there was no one else to talk to. We then argued about the car issue him talking about the car hire while I was talking about the car to Nelspruit. I then asked him to wait and let me talk as I could hear that we were just arguing. I asked him why I can’t get the family run he told me that service is not available in far flung areas such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Bulawayo. I asked him where in my policy documents did it state that in Mpumalanga you can’t get a car. He said that the pink BMWs are available in big cities such JHB, Pretoria etc. If a client stays outside those areas they should get R500 for accomodation. I then told him to send me that clause as I don't have it on my policy documents. He told me that is was their rule. I told him that I cannot accept something that was not explained to me when I took the policy. He then said that he’s offering R500 as I am demanding a car hire I explained to him that all I want is a car to take us home. We argued again till I told him to let me speak. I asked him that the insurance promises a service to take clients home, he said yes. He later agreed to get another tow company to take us tome. At that time it was 17:45. The entire time Marais was with us and he left us at a safe place.

At 18:35 I got a call from a guy from Ermelo that he’s sending his driver to take us to Nelspruit. The driver arrived at 19:45 and we arrived home at 23:40. We spent almost 12 hours on the road.

1.Why does 1st for Women promise a guardian angel when they let women wait on the side of the road for so many hours? 2. What was 1st for Women going to do if we got ****** or ****d on that side of the road? 3. Why did it take so long to organise a Family Run service? 4. Do they train their call centre agents since they lacked professionalism and empathy? 5. If we were a white family were they going to be told to take a taxi with all the luggage we had in the car? Will a pregnant family member be made to stay for so many hours without food?