Read the fine print!

Please consider your options before signing with Rentoza. I had two completely different experiences; the second time, they deducted a large sum to buy my device after I had paid for it for a year. Mlungisi called me and explained that while this "buy-out" is not mentioned in my contract, it does state that Rentoza has the right to update their terms and conditions clause, which they updated with a new policy of paying yourself out of the contract. R12660 was deducted from my account today; I was unaware of this amount and would not have signed for the device if this had been the case.

Rentoza appears to have changed its contract policy, which I was unaware of. This is the second product that I took out with Rentoza, the first one was the iPhone 11. I assumed that the new contract arrangement would be the same as the previous one where I paid a monthly fee for 12 months and afterwards the device would become mine. Financially it makes sense as the value of the device adds up plus extra when you pay it off over 12 months. This buyout claim is entirely new to me and was not discussed when I took out the second contract. I cannot find this buyout clause in the contract that I initially signed.

My concern is the following:

I was not aware of the buyout option, I was, as my previous experience with Rentoza, aware that once I made the 12th payment on the device, it will become mine automatically. I am stressing here again that this was how it was always done, from my previous experience with the iPhone 11.

How can Rentoza justify a monthly rental of R2460 and expect the customer to buy the device after 12 payments? The total amount I paid for this phone is R42180. This is extremely high for the device and is absolutely ****************.

I am extremely concerned because Rentoza has not communicated that this buyout amount will occur when I initially signed the contract.

To be clear, all of the information about the buyout was not mentioned in my contract, however, I can see the website has been updated since then, and that information is now clearly visible on each product landing page. This was not available to me when I took out my deal with Rentoza a year ago. Regarding "Buyout prices increased last year due to the fact that we dropped all our monthly Sub fees by 30%. We then recently dropped monthly fees even more. All buyout prices..." I never received a reduction in the monthly subscription fees, I paid a clear amount of R2460 every month for 12 months without being notified in any form of communication of an additional Buy-out clause that was added to my contract. Mlungisi from Support informed me that Rentoza updated their terms and conditions during my contract term and instated the buyout policy. I argued that I did not sign for this, but Mlungisi stated that Rentoza has the right to change its terms and conditions at any time. Rentoza has the right to charge me whatever amount they deem appropriate, and I must comply. I did a little digging on HelloPeter, TrustPilot etc, and I am not the only one who was not aware of this Buy-out clause. After the initial R12640 was wrongfully debited from my account, I had to cancel my Debit Card as my bank suspected *****. Rentoza has since then attempted to debit another R12640 another 7 times in one week, with every attempt I get an email from Rentoza of an "Unpaid Subscription" and to UPDATE my banking details. Rentoza also blocked my phone by mistake. I do however acknowledge that Support & Mishaan informed me that was a fault on their side and will be sorted out asap. Regarding your comment about how Rentoza could be more clear about the costs, this information would be in my contract and not buried somewhere on the website by the time I signed for the device. I'll admit that this situation is very stressful for me, and I feel like my rights as a consumer have been violated.