Pathetic Service from Hi-Fi Corp Carnival Mall, Connect Financial Services and Hi-Fi Corp Customer Care

If ever you want to experience non-existent customer service, I invite you to deal with Hi-Fi Corporation and their related company, Connect Financial Solutions.

My story. My trusted dishwasher of almost 8 years is preparing itself for retirement, and I decided on 14 May 2023 I must start looking for a replacement. I found, what I perceived to be a fair deal, at Hi-Fi Corporation Carnival Mall. I app**** for credit, was approved and I ordered my dishwasher for delivery, seamlessly. It was delivered on 19 May 2023 and I tried to install it, but it gave me an error which translates to "no water supply". Water is getting TO the machine but not INTO the machine. A friend, who is a well-connected technician in the field, advise me to have the unit exchanged. And that is where the fun and games start.

I tried reporting it to the shop where I bought the unit. However, I cannot get hold of the store manager. I get put through (to the store manager, I presume), but the phone just rings and rings and rings. A few of these calls. No offer to take a message or return my call.

On 22 May I receive a call from Connect Fin to find out if I am happy with my purchase, to whom I express I can't say as it is not working and I can't get hold of someone in the shop to report it. Said person says I must report it to ***, which I promptly do (22 May 2023). On 25 May 2023 I send a follow-up email stating that this is now becoming urgent. No reply.

I try phoning the shop on a few occasions, only to be put through to the ringing phone (we are talking ringing longer than a minute to 2 minutes, not just seconds). No offer to take a message as I just do not get back to the switchboard.

On Saturday, my friend asks me if the problem was sorted and I said no, upon which he phones his counterpart in the manufacturing company of the dishwasher (please note that my gripe is not with this company, hence not mentioning their name - I understand fully that a factory error can happen to ANYONE and that the company cannot be held accountable for that). He follows up on their systems with my ID number and phone number and states nothing was reported to them by Hi-Fi Corp.

On Monday 12 June I email BOTH *** and *** to elicit some form of response, no luck. The manufacturer of the dishwasher however was pro-active and phoned me to follow up (my friend gave them my number), I explain the situation to them, and they say that I must supply them with an invoice as proof that I bought this equipment from Hi-Fi as stated. I have not received an invoice from Hi-Fi, as yet. I received a statement from Connect Fin though. So I phone them. Connect Fin can only give me a statement, not an invoice but the make and model does not appear on the statement. I phone the Customer Care Number for Hi-Fi Corp, Plus i email them, they can't help me I must phone the store. I explain about the store (Carnival Mall) not answering phones, they could not care less. So I phone the store, only the experience the ringing phone for the UMPTEENTH time.

So now I shall exercise my rights in terms of Section 54 of the Consumer Protection Act. If this is how a relationship STARTS with a place, I shudder to think how it will end. I am of the opinion that almost a month of patience is much more than the patience one could reasonably expect from a consumer.

At the time of publishing this review I was STILL waiting for a response on any of my emails