HYPA/Vumatel refund nightmare

I was shopping around for fibre as we were moving house and the current service provider I was using had no coverage in the area I was moving to. I came across HYPA Fibre/ Vumatel and checked coverage. You have to place the pin on the roof of your house and it confirmed that there was coverage at the new place. I then proceeded to order the fibre on the 05/12/2024 and made the payment on the same day. On the 13/12/2024 the technician from Vumatel came out to do the installation and when he checked the area he told me that there is no infrastructure. I then asked him why it showed that there is coverage and he said that he doesn't know but there is no infrastructure. He then said that he has to call his superior and he will get back to me. On the same day 13/12/2024 I received another email from Vumatel stating the following "We would like to inform you that we have dispatched a technician to attend to your problem with Ticket ref During this visit, the technician may not necessarily require access to your residence, as it is possible that the issue can be resolved from outside your premises. Rest assured, we will schedule a specific appointment with you in the event that access to your home is needed for a more comprehensive resolution. Should you require any further assistance or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), , . Sincerely, The Vuma Team" Then on the 20/12/2024 after receiving no further communication, I logged into my HYPA client portal to track the progress of my order. i then saw a note that said " 3rd party status: cancellation requested. So i then called HYPA and asked what does 3rd party status: cancellation requested mean, The gentleman I spoke to said that because there is no infrastructure, I need to send them an email requesting the cancellation. I asked him then for them to refund me. he sent me the following email " Good day, Thank you very much for entrusting us with your service request. Please note that to process the refund request, we will require the following to be submitted: 1. Email requesting cancellation to *** 2. Banking confirmation letter not older than 3 months in PDF format 3. Proof of payment confirmation email from Payfast Do note the refund process takes 14 business days to be completed. We are always more than happy to assist you. Please contact us on WhatsApp *** or call *** or email *** between hours of 07:00 - 22:00 Monday-Sunday. Kind Regards, Hypa Support

I then sent an email with all the attached documents on the 20/12/2024 @ 08:46am. I called in again in the afternoon to find out if it was received. I spoke to a lady this time and she said that the email was received but that I had to take a screen shot of the payfast proof of payment email and send that through and then my refund will be sent for processing, which i did immediately on 20/12/2024 @14:19.

I then started counting the 14 business days from the 20/12/2024 and on the 06/01/2025 which would have been 7 business days, I sent an email asking when my refund will be processed. I then decided to Whatsapp them to find out what the status of my refund was. Conversation went as follows; [08:35, 06/01/2025] Lucinda: Confirmation of HYPA email request, assigned reference number: HYPA457852 [08:35, 06/01/2025] Lucinda: Good day, please advise when my refund will be processed [08:38, 06/01/2025] Lucinda: When will my refund be processed, all documents were submitted on the 20/122024 [08:38, 06/01/2025] Lucinda: 20/12/2024 [10:45, 06/01/2025] Hypa: We have not received the requested documents. [10:45, 06/01/2025] Hypa: Once these have been sent, your refund will be processed. Thank you for contacting HYPA. Please enjoy the rest of your day! Say "Hi" if you would like to chat with us again. I then had to start the whole automated process over again by choosing the relevant department. I was advised to send a cancellation request through because there is no infrastructure. I did not request this cancellation it was requested by the provider. I asked so why cant infrastructure be installed and was told that it requires planning and there are costs involved to which i rep**** that this is a complex with 50 potential new clients if infrastructure is installed. I then sent an email with all the requested documents and then called in and was told the documents were received I need to take a screen shot of the payfast e-mail and send that which I did. Now I am asking when I will get my refund and I'm being told I did not send the documents. This was sent on the 20 December already. I will not be sending no emails again. And I want my refund processed today. I will be taking this further if this does not happen, and I attached screenshots of the emails that i sent on the 20/12/2024. This was the response I got from Hypa [13:25, 06/01/2025] Hypa: Kindly note that your refund request was submitted on the 20th of December to accounts, but due to the account's team not being available throughtout December it is yet to be sent for processing [13:26, 06/01/2025] Hypa: They have however returned to office today and the 14 business day processing time will begin today [13:26, 06/01/2025] Hypa: Thank you for contacting HYPA. Please enjoy the rest of your day! Say "Hi" if you would like to chat with us again. So I had to now wait again. I then sent another whatsapp on the 17/01/2025 the 10th business day. [16:01, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: I requested a refund on the 20th December, was told accounts was closed so 14 day process started from the 6th. Would like to find out how far the process is [16:01, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: ? [16:39, 17/01/2025] Hypa: Please note that your refund has been approved by VUMATEL. Please may you respond to this with your banking confirmation letter in PDF format not older than three months. [16:39, 17/01/2025] Hypa: Thank you for contacting HYPA. Please enjoy the rest of your day! Say "Hi" if you would like to chat with us again. So I had to start the whole automated process again in order to send the proof of banking details, Conversation as follows; [18:00, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: I received this message [18:00, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: Please note that your refund has been approved by VUMATEL. Please may you respond to this with your banking confirmation letter in PDF format not older than three months. [18:00, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: This is my banking confirmation letter [18:01, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: When will my refund be processed [18:01, 17/01/2025] Lucinda: ? [18:49, 17/01/2025] Hypa: Still pending approval Requested feedback for you No ETR yet [18:49, 17/01/2025] Hypa: Thank you If you wish to follow up you can contact us on WhatsApp *** or email *** between hours of 07:00 - 22:00 Monday-Sunday. [18:49, 17/01/2025] Hypa: Thank you for contacting HYPA. Please enjoy the rest of your day! Say "Hi" if you would like to chat with us again.

I then sent a whatsapp on Monday 20/01/2025 as follows; [13:05, 20/01/2025] Lucinda: I am following up on my refund that is due to me [13:06, 20/01/2025] Lucinda: Refund that was requested a long time ago, on Friday I sent my banking details again for the 3rd time. Please. An I get an answer [14:55, 20/01/2025] Hypa: Requested feedback for you No ETR yet [14:55, 20/01/2025] Hypa: Thank you If you wish to follow up you can contact us on WhatsApp *** or email *** between hours of 07:00 - 22:00 Monday-Sunday. [14:55, 20/01/2025] Hypa: Thank you for contacting HYPA. Please enjoy the rest of your day! Say "Hi" if you would like to chat with us again.

I then sent a Whatsapp on Tuesday as follows; [08:31, 21/01/2025] Lucinda: Lucinda Elias I am following up on my refund again. I was told it was approved but now I keep getting responses that say "requested feedback no ETR. This refund is a long time over due and these answers are just not acceptable anymore. I sent the necessary docs, I need an answer from someone. This refund was requested on the 20 December 2024 already, come on now really, it is literally a month later and still I'm not getting answers [08:35, 21/01/2025] Hypa: Please note that we have escalated the matter to Vumatel. We will contact you with feedback as soon as we receive it. Please allow 14business days for your refund to be processed

I then sent an email today 14 Business days and the conversation once again went as follows; [09:43, 23/01/2025] Lucinda: I have requested a refund on the 20th December 2024, was then given the run around and told 14 business days, on the 6th Jan 2025 was advised that accounts was closed and that request will be sent and 14 business days starts from the 6th, I have been following up and keep getting responses like escalated no feedback, will give feedback etc... The last communication on Tuesday was that I should allow 14 business days for my refund. We are on day 14 business day and still no feedback no nothing, what more must I do as this is really frustrating and if I don't follow up, nobody else follows up with me. When will I receive my refund? [09:56, 23/01/2025] Hypa: Kindly provide a screenshot of the Payfast payment confirmation email as we require the transaction ID as per our email sent [09:57, 23/01/2025] Lucinda: I did provide the screen shot as requested [09:59, 23/01/2025] Lucinda: On the 20th December already [13:51, 23/01/2025] Hypa: Please note that we have escalated the matter to Vumatel. We will contact you with feedback as soon as we receive it. And I whatsappped all the screenshots that I initially sent on the 06/01/2025.

I do not understand why I have to pay immediately for the service but when a refund is due to me by no fault of mine, then i have to wait 14 business days and keep following up with them. Each time i get a different response, its like nobody has a clue what is going on. The support is very pathetic and the whatsapp communication platform is very unprofessional, they give you a response and end the conversation without even confirming if the issue was resolved. I have never encountered a refund situation such as this ever, it is my money that they are delaying in paying back to me. Its not like they have to refund me millions of rands its R524.00.

I would not recommend anyone signing up with HYPA as an ISP, their customer service stinks.

Im also looking for ways to take this matter further,