SHOCKING SERVICE & MISLEADING FREE TRIAL – Takealot, DO BETTER

I recently had one of the most frustrating and disappointing experiences with Takealot. I was on the app trying to buy a few items when I got a pop-up offering a FREE trial for Takealot More. Naturally, “free trial” means exactly that—FREE. So I went ahead and entered my details.

To my surprise, instead of receiving the free trial, my card was charged. No warning, no clarity, nothing.

I immediately contacted Takealot thinking it was just a simple mistake they would fix. Instead, I received absolutely no satisfaction. I was told that their “policy” does not allow them to refund someone who has already used a free trial before. First of all, their own system clearly does not match their policy, because even as of today, the app is STILL showing me the free trial pop-up—meaning many other people can and will be misled the same way.

That’s the core issue here: Why is the system still offering a free trial to someone who apparently “doesn’t qualify”? Why is Takealot comfortable charging customers for something that is being advertised as FREE?

The consultant I spoke to was not helpful at all. They kept repeating the same line about “policy” and completely ignored the fact that the system is faulty. They didn’t try to escalate the issue, didn’t transfer me to a complaints department, didn’t offer any real assistance. Instead, they simply sent me their policy and told me I could go complain to the Consumer Ombud if I wasn’t happy.

At that point I even said, fine, at least refund me for the mistaken subscription charge and I’ll pay for my delivery separately. Still, they refused.

The whole experience was distasteful, unprofessional, and honestly shows that Takealot does not care about customer experience or fairness. If this is how they treat customers over their own system error, then I cannot trust them with my money again.

I will not be buying from Takealot going forward, and I am posting this so that other people know exactly what they’re dealing with. Their system is misleading and their support team is unwilling to assist even when they are clearly in the wrong.

Takealot, fix your system. And fix your attitude toward customers.