I was sold a lie

I was sold a lie

I would like to lodge a complaint about a phone I bought on contract on Tuesday the 8th of February 2022 from Telkom Clearwater Mall. I went there looking for Samsung S21 fe, but they did not have it in stock. Then the consultant who assisted me, Mr Dexter Khoza, told me about this new phone that takes nice pictures like Samsung S21 ultra. Knowing how good and beautiful Samsung pictures are, I then fell for the phone he sold to me, which is called Honor. He did his best convincing me that it takes the best pictures, and I am all about pictures in a phone. He even said that if I am not happy with the phone I can return it within 7 days, reason being that the phone is new and I knew nothing about it.

To my surprise, when I got home, I took pictures and I was stunned as the picture quality was a far cry from what I was told, and the camera is very slow. The next day, Wednesday the 9th of February 2022, I took the phone back to Telkom and the same consultant, Mr Dexter Khoza told me that I cannot return the phone just because I do not like the picture quality. Phones are exchanged only if they have defects, and such exchange means that I will be given another phone with the same name as the phone I bought. This was totally different from what I was initially told.

Indeed, I went into the store to take up a contract, and reasonably expected that a consultant will give me the best advice. I asked him to give me an honest and professional comparison of devices and prices. I specified that my main focus was the camera specifications and quality. I need good quality pictures because I am an active social media user who uses pictures to profile various products that I am selling. The consultant deceived me by firstly rating the Honor phone above Samsung and iPhone quality. Then he further made me believe that even if I take the phone and find that I am dissatisfied I could still return it without hassle. Basically he acted *********ly just to get me to sign their contract.

On Friday the 11th of February I called Telkom Head Office and relayed my story to the person who answered the phone, and I was told that I can return the phone. When I returned to the store, they shamefully denied me interaction and started being unprofessional and became condescending with regards to how the contract is expected to be fully understood by any customer before signing it. The supervisor, Ms Dorcas Shoeshoe, even taunted and stated that the follow up I claim to have made with Head Office, was not even with Head Office, I only reached the call centre which would be of little help to me anyway, as their procedures are different from the store procedures. This behaviour demonstrated an attitude of impunity and utter disregard for customers; going against the National Credit Act (https://www.gov.za/documents/national-credit-act) and the National Consumer Protection Act (https://www.gov.za/documents/consumer-protection-act).

It is reasonable for any customer to believe that a consultant will act ethically and not pressure a customer into signing a conract under any circumstances and in haste. Within 7 days I returned and asked for a solution to the issue but were met with patronising remarks and willful insults to my intelligence. No one in the store was willing to resolve the matter amicably, including the manager. The main point is that I did not necessarily want to cut ties with Telkom but simply wanted to get a phone that meets my needs, even if it meant being raised to a higher contract, so long as the phone would give me higher quality pictures than the one I was duped into getting. The Telkom employees who attended to my case showed total disregard and breach of one of the company's vision statements which is; “being the best place to work for people who are committed and accountable” I want this matter resolved as soon as possible. I am not willing to continue with the contract that I was coerced into signing, and after which I was treated in bad faith when I wanted to change into a different contract category, with the same company. I am willing to remain a customer and contract client with Telkom, but I do not want to remain trapped in the current contract. I wish to be assisted by a totally different consultant because I have lost complete faith in the person who helped me initially. Overall, the treatment I got was appalling. The supervisor was so rude and condescending, pointing her finger at me when she was talking to me.

Kind regards, Thembeka Mgolombane ***