Mweb Activated Fibre Without Installation, Ignored Cancellation, and Continues to Bill ********ly

Review: On 20 March 2025, I placed an order for fibre internet with Mweb via Openserve. On 21 March, I submitted the required debit order mandate. According to Mweb’s own website, a consultant would contact me to arrange installation. This never happened.

Instead, on 27 March—without any prior communication—Mweb sent two emails within hours: the first confirming the order was accepted, and the second stating the fibre service was “active.” At this point, no installation had taken place and I had not received a router.

Given the lack of communication and sudden activation, I sent a cancellation email on 28 March 2025, less than 24 hours after Mweb claimed the service was active. This was done well before the router was even delivered, which only arrived on 31 March—still sealed in its original packaging, and to this day it is unopened and unused. I received no response to my cancellation request.

What followed was even more troubling. Mweb continued to attempt to debit my account for both monthly fees and a cancellation penalty exceeding R2,500. After repeated efforts to get in touch, I was finally informed via web chat that this fee would apply—despite the fact that I had cancelled immediately, had not used the service, and had never been given an installation opportunity in the first place.

Mweb has since processed debit orders after the cancellation date, for a service that was never installed, activated with no consent, and never used. I have had to reverse these transactions and continue to monitor for more unauthorised billing attempts.

This conduct is unacceptable. I am formally requesting the following:

That the account be closed immediately without any cancellation fees;

That a full refund be issued for all debits processed after 28 March 2025;

That written confirmation be provided to acknowledge the account closure and removal of all charges.

The entire experience reflects a serious failure in both customer service and operational transparency. If this matter is not resolved promptly, I will have no choice but to escalate it to ICASA and pursue further action through the appropriate consumer protection channels.