Fed up with threats and poor service, going to Ombudsman

My case is still not resolved after more than a month of trying to communicate with the faceless TFG group. I would love to work with somebody who takes responsibility for their mistakes - I have yet to speak to such a person.

SUMMARY: I was contacted via my husband's phone on 26 May 21 (as they lost my phone number - which I believe is a violation of the POPI act) and was informed that I have been handed over to debt collection. I was shocked, as the last statements I received (Jan 21) indicated that they owed ME money, and I didn't purchase anything after that, nor did I receive any further statements or communication from them. Apparently I was charged for various junk items like some kind of KID TV AND MAGAZINE which I never signed up for and never received. I was also charged R20 per call that they apparently made to another number, which was not mine. I was unable to get a hold of them to sort it out, after trying multiple times. I had to drive to Total Sports in Tygervalley to use their phone to call customer service, as the lines were very unreliable. After finally being able to speak to someone who sounded somewhat competent, they promised to update my number on their system. They did not:(

I then wrote my first Hello Peter review of TFG on 4 June 2021, to try and get help to sort this mess out. It took TFG 2 weeks to phone me after this. The gentleman kindly said that he will reverse everything as it is obvious to him that everything was the fault of TFG. He said that he will also rectify the situation at the credit bureau and that he will call me at latest on Wednesday 23 June at 09:00 to confirm that the account has been cleared.

Sat 19 June 2021: I received an SMS to say that my query CS-331050 has been resolved.

Tuesday 22 June: SMS from TFG: You have been handed over to administration. Pay R21 immediately.

Wednesday 23 June: Nothing, no contact from TFG. (Probably not Wednesday yet, as they did not call?)

Thursday 24 June: Phone call received from TFG group asking when I can settle my account.

Today (28 June 21): SMS received demanding: "Pay R21 immediately to prevent legal action."

Looking at the above situation together with my review on the 4th of June of this group, it is clear that they are unfit to be a credit provider.

I feel very wronged and insulted by TFG. I never signed up for any of the nonsense that they billed to my account. They then never bothered to let me know that I "owe" them anything. The first communication I received was from debt collectors with threats of legal action. Is this how you treat customers? You are basically making up nonsense and then threatening me to pay up...to me this feels close to ********.

As I was unable to resolve this with TFG after numerous attempts, and considering that the FAIS, TCF, POPI and CPA laws are all on my side, I demand that this matter be resolved NOW, otherwise I will now escalate and log a complaint to the OMBUDSMAN and get legal advice. I also demand that you clear my record at the credit bureau, which has been messed up because of your utter incompetence and lack of responsibility.