Miscommunication, Misinformation & Zero Urgency – House & Home Fails Its Customers Again

@Zanele Mdakane — what you didn’t tell me when confirming my refund mention of any further process or complications.. I specifically asked if it could be EFT’d back into my bank account and you said NO — that I must go to a House & Home store to collect my money.

I went to House & Home in Tygervalley Mall on Saturday morning. There, a staff member named Carmen assisted me. She informed me she first needed authorization to process the refund — again, something that was never communicated to me. I followed the instructions: bring my ID and proof of payment. That’s all I was told.

When I called your office number ***) at 09:55, another lady named Zanele answered and said you weren’t in — and then expected me to explain everything all over again. I had already explained everything to Charmaine and you. Then I had to explain it all over again to Carmen. How many times must I repeat myself for the same issue?

I asked Carmen why the money couldn’t simply be EFT’d back to me — and guess what? She said it could… it would just take 7–10 working days.

Back on 29 April, I told Charmaine I was happy to wait that long if necessary. Yet she insisted no EFT was possible, and that the banking details I used “did not belong to them.” She even asked a manager to check the account number and came back saying they didn’t recognize it.

Carmen tried to help by contacting Kobie for quick authorization since Kobie was in Cape Town.

She took my ID, proof of payment, and scanned everything through.

She also informed me that I could collect the money at OK Furniture in Westgate Mall — not only at House & Home, which contradicts what you told me, Zanele.

Carmen coordinated with a staff member named Shameema at OK Furniture.

Once she got authorization from Kobie, she called me at 13:18 to confirm it — but by then, the store had no cash available and was closing at 14:00. Yet another dead end.

Here are my questions: 1. Charmaine — You’ve been with the company for 20+ years. How could you confidently claim the bank account details weren’t yours, and that no EFT was possible? 2. Zanele — You work in Finance. Why didn’t you tell me about the process when collecting money in-store? Did you just leave that part out to get me off the call faster? 3. To both Charmaine and Zanele — How do you plan to resolve this? I have wasted my time and energy since 29 April, repeating myself to multiple people and being given misleading and conflicting information.

I refuse to drive to a mall again to collect R1550. I also refuse to wait another 7–10 working days because of your internal miscommunication. If Charmaine had investigated properly on 29 April, or if Zanele had simply taken the EFT request seriously on 30 April, my money would have already been in my account by 13 May. Instead, I wasted my Saturday. If I had waited for that authorization, I would’ve sat there for 3 hours. That’s unacceptable. As I told Carmen, your in-store staff like her go above and beyond — but it’s the people sitting in air-conditioned offices from 9 to 5 who give your brand a bad reputation. Customers aren’t just inconvenienced — they’re treated like afterthoughts.

Fix this. Immediately.