Check online reviews carefully before using any service providers

You shouldn't have to open a case of theft with the SAPS to get your non-repaired device back, but that's what it took for me to get my phone back.

Their advertised address is in Dunvegan, Edenvale, which is why I chose to use them. They do not operate from Dunvegan, but rather from a residence in Boksburg.

My initial experience with them was favourable, but changed horribly when there was a comeback on the repair done.

My phone stopped working less than a month after they had repaired it. When I sent it back to them, they said that they would assess it and advise me. They then claimed to have already carried out a repair, while I was waiting for their assessment, and that it would be cost me another R2500 over above and what I'd paid initially.

When I asked them to return the phone, all calls and messages were completely ignored for three weeks.

It was only then that I checked online and saw the negative reviews from people that have had similar experiences.

I opened a case at Edenvale SAPS and posted a message on my local community WhatsApp group.

Another of their customers, that lives in my area, was able to get hold of them to let them know what I had posted and that a case had been opened.

The owner of iPhix then contacted me and offered to return the phone to me that same day, if I would agree to delete the WhatsApp post that I had shared.

I did not agree.

He then met me at the police station and returned the device to me in exactly the same condition that I had handed it to him.

The fact that he came to the police station to return the device, says that he's perhaps not a ****mer. Although that doesn't explain why he tried to get me to pay another R2500 when the phone wasn't repaired.

When asked why he had ghosted me for three weeks, his response was "I had no feedback so I didn't take your calls."

The severity of the negative reviews on Google, Hellopeter and Facebook, should serve as cautionary tales.

Given the quality of repair and the subsequent things that went wrong on the device board (as verified by iStore) - they may not be ****mers, but they're not very good at phone repairs.