**Account hacked and *****ulent order — extremely disappointing lack of urgent customer support**

I have been a Takealot customer for over 13 years and, for the most part, have had a good experience with the platform. They generally get things right, which is why this recent experience has been particularly disappointing.

On Friday August 21st, I noticed that my Takealot account had been compromised. An order had been placed using the available credit on my account and was being delivered to an address that I do not recognise or have any connection to. Unfortunately, by the time I discovered the *****ulent transaction, the order had already been delivered.

What made an already serious situation even more frustrating was trying to contact Takealot urgently. The only customer-service option available to me was to log a query through the website, with various prompts, rather than being able to speak directly to a customer-service agent. I also tried telephone numbers I found online, but they either went to voicemail or simply rang unanswered.

I immediately reported the *****ulent activity through Takealot’s available “log a query” process, but I have still received no response, almost a week later.

I have since changed my password and enabled two-factor authentication, but I am left wondering whether my account is actually secure and what Takealot is doing to investigate the breach and protect my account.

I understand that security breaches and *****ulent transactions can happen, but when they do, customers need a **clear and immediate way to contact the company and speak to a person**. A logged query and automated prompts are simply not sufficient when someone’s account has been compromised and money/credit is being used *****ulently.

After more than 13 years as a customer, I am extremely disappointed that I could not reach Takealot when I genuinely needed urgent assistance.

Takealot needs to seriously reconsider its customer-support model and provide a reliable telephone escalation channel for situations involving *******, compromised accounts, unauthorised transactions and other urgent security matters**.

I would appreciate an urgent response confirming that this incident is being investigated, that my account is secure, and what steps are being taken regarding the *****ulent order and use of my available credit.