Incredible Connection Issued Me R26,999 in Gift Cards, Then Cancelled Them Without Notice

I am extremely disappointed with the manner in which Incredible Connection Pavilion has handled my warranty claim and subsequent complaint.

I purchased an Apple MacBook Pro 13” M2 from Incredible Connection Pavilion on 14 April 2023 for R26,999. The laptop was covered by Incredible Connection’s 3-year warranty.

On 7 June 2025, I booked the laptop in for repair due to a screen flickering fault. The fault was accepted under warranty and the laptop was sent to the repair centre.

On 11 July 2025, I was contacted by the store technician and informed that I would be receiving credit to the value of R26,999. On 16 July 2025, I attended the store and was issued with two activated gift cards, one loaded with R20,000 and the other with R7,000. I accepted the gift cards in good faith as settlement of the warranty claim and left the store believing the matter had been resolved.

The following day, I was contacted and informed that I should come back to the store (not mentioning any mistake). When I went in store a few days later they only then notified me that the vouchers had allegedly been issued in error and that Incredible Connection now intended to repair the laptop instead. I did not agree with this position as the gift cards had already been issued, activated and handed over to me.

What concerns me most is that the gift cards were subsequently blocked without my consent. I received no written notification that the cards had been cancelled. I only discovered this when I attempted to use them and was informed that they were no longer valid.

Throughout this process I experienced numerous frustrations, including multiple trips to the store, conflicting information from staff members, and interactions that I found unprofessional and dismissive. The entire situation has caused considerable inconvenience and has resulted in a complete loss of confidence in both the product and the way this matter has been handled.

Incredible Connection has since acknowledged that the vouchers were issued and that the situation resulted from an internal error. However, I do not believe a consumer should bear the consequences of a retailer’s internal mistakes after gift cards have been issued, activated and handed over.

I am requesting that Incredible Connection review this matter at executive level and return my gift cards. At a minimum, consumers should be able to rely on representations made by a retailer and should not have activated gift cards cancelled after they have been issued.

I hope Incredible Connection will take this opportunity to restore confidence in its customer service and resolve this matter fairly. Other consumers, please be weary of Incredible Connection and their misrepresentation. Incredible Connection has destroyed consumer confidence and trust in me so much so that I will never support this brand again. I hope fellow consumers never get to experience this level of hurt and anguish due to the staff, management and the brand Incredible Connection.

I am an online studying student and use my laptop daily for my studies. As one would understand, this causes a major inconvenience to my studies and my future. Incredible Connection is far removed from the human element of this situation and I feel like it is about Rands and Cents only with this brand.

I have yet to be contacted by high level management with the intent to resolve the issue appropriately.