********* Behaviour and Practice

I would like to submit the following information and present it as a complaint. My name is Olivia Shillito (nee Fick) and I am writing on behalf of my family. My mom became unwell in March 2019, and went for a biopsy on Monday 6 May 2019. Following the biopsy, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer, which was inoperable. My mom passed away on 16 November 2019. While this was going on – and while my mother’s mental capacities were impaired by her illness - I became aware of a contract which my mother had taken out with your company on Friday 3 May 2019. I then had to wait till Monday 6 May to call you so as to make contact during office hours, as it became clear that your company had called my mom and sold her a mobile phone contract she simply did not need. And that the phone was delivered days before she had her biopsy. I therefore called your customer service team on Monday 6 May 2019. I explained and provided all the information around the events. They asked to speak to my mother and for her to confirm that I had her permission to handle the matter. Your company rep**** that they will take the phone back, as it was within 7 days of delivery as long as the phone was not used (which it wasn’t). It was also made clear that if the box in which the phone was delivered was open (which it was), we would be charged. I asked to speak to a manager as I was clearly being given policy read off a sheet, while these were extraordinary circumstances. I was told that no manager was available to speak to me as they were in a meeting. I said that I was willing to wait. And so I did. After a long wait, the customer service adviser came back to me to say that she had disturbed their meeting and that they said that even though I am waiting, they will be unable to talk to me. I said that I was prepared to wait until a manager was able to talk to me. The adviser explained that if I kept holding on, she would have to put the phone down from her side, as nobody was going to talk to me. And so she did. I called your company three times over the next few days, and was eventually passed on to a more senior member of staff. Disappointingly, there was nothing recorded on the file. However, the first thing she did was to cancel the contract. She also made me aware of the cost were the box to be open but did ask me to provide information from the oncologist (Dr Loots) in the form of a letter. We did request the letter and forwarded it to ***. This letter clearly demonstrated that as a result of my mom’s medical condition, she was mentally unable to enter into any form of contract. We do have the evidence that this was sent and received by your company. And subsequently the phone was collected by your company on Wednesday 8 May 2019. Following the biopsy results, once we had a confirmed diagnosis, a very emotional time for us as a family began. And our focus was to ensure that the changes were made to ensure that my mom was comfortable as she began the process of dying. To be honest, the issue with a mobile phone, one she would never be in a position to use, was no longer considered important. During this time, Mr Price Mobile made the decision to hand the matter over to debt collectors. Members of a company in Durban began calling us up to six times a day asking for the money, R350. We explained the situation to them; they persisted with the calls and told us that they were only acting on the instructions given to them by Mr Price Mobile. They took turns to call my mother on her cell, then my father, and even me and my brother who are not even resident in South Africa. Just before my mom passed away in November, we had to attend to the required legal matters with her bank account. We noticed that Mr Price Mobile had taken the decision to remove further funds from my mom’s account (the R350) without our permission or authorisation. However, at the time it was not a priority to follow up as nothing we had done had made any difference to your firm. We are currently managing the final matters of my mom’s estate and we now find that Mr Price Mobile has made an additional claim of R598, even after R350 has already been taken from my mom’s account. I am therefore submitting this as a complaint for your consideration and action – it cannot be an accepted business practice to claim money under such circumstances. I cannot understand why an additional claim has been made for a phone we no longer have, from the account of someone who died of brain cancer. I am concerned that your company has an ********* culture, and it would certainly appear that vulnerable people and families are being taken advantage of. I had wanted to write to your company following my mom’s passing - however it has been a very difficult time for us. But as a direct result of your company’s decision to pursue further funds from my dead mother, it seems that I must write and seek an assurance that you will no longer make any further claim on my mother’s estate. I look forward to your reply to my complaint. The contact number on my registration details is for my brother. He has given permission for you to contact him directly. Failing that, you can e-mail me directly.