Atrocious Vodacom Online order: still waiting after 18 days

Vodacom Online Order

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I ordered a special deal from Vodacom Online on Saturday 27-01-2018. The deal comprised a Samsung J5 Prime phone plus Samsung Note 10.1 with S-Pen on a uchoose Flexi 200 contract for R428.99 per month, with R200 call time on the phone and 1 GB data on the tablet. I am not currently a Vodacom customer (I am with Afrihost on an MTN sim), so this was a new contract. I received an email to confirm my order.

A Vodacom agent called me at 9:53 Monday 29-01-2018. The deal was confirmed and I received a Vetting Application Notification email at 10:13 on 29 January. The agent said that they were struggling to get stock, so it might take a few days to complete the order. Later that same day at 14:57 I was phoned by another Vodacom agent who asked me credit check questions. She then said I would receive my phone and tablet on Wednesday 31-01-2018. I asked whether I would be able to port my existing number to Vodacom, and she said no. I have had my current number for 20 years and want to keep it.

She helpfully suggested I should cancel the order, reorder online and select the "keep my number" option, which is what I did. I ordered the same deal at 16:21 on 29-01-2018 and received an email notification, stating: "We have received your request for a new deal and your reference number is C4FLLY." "A Call Centre agent will contact you within 24 hours to complete your new deal request."

I assumed the second order would proceed as smoothly as the first order, with calls from Vodacom agents, and the phone and tablet dispatched within 24 h. But I received no call within 24 h, i.e. nothing on 30-01-2018.

So on 31-01-2018, I called 082 178 44 at 10:51 and again at 10:53. This number is free from a Vodacom cell phone but not from an MTN phone. I was called back by a Vodacom agent at 11:00 to confirm the details and again at 10:53. I received an emailed quotation at 11:04 and a vetting notification application email at 11:35. The quotation listed the two devices I ordered and the small print stated "quote valid for 60 days". The emails were not followed by a call from a second agent as in the case of the first order.

I followed up by phoning again on 01-02-2018 at 14:25. I received a call back at 14:34, with the agent irritably reminding me that they had problems with stock (although at 14:57 on 29-01-2018 I was told they had stock and I would receive the items by 31-01-2018).

At no point did I receive any communication by phone, email or SMS on the status of my order. I only received the three emails mentioned above. If I wanted any information on the status, I had to phone Vodacom and pay for the call: 06-02-2018 at 11:50, 11:51, 12:02 (8 days since placing order) 07-02-2018 at 12:35 (9 days since placing order) 08-02-2018 at 9:34, 10:39, 15:22 (10 days since placing order)

In fact, on 08-02-2018 at 15:22, I was told that I had no order, since I had requested the order to be cancelled during an earlier call! I was also told that I could not have the order reinstated, as the special deal was only valid for January, and it was now February! I insisted that I had not requested the order to be cancelled, and that Vodacom's quotation clearly stated that the quote was valid for 60 days. I was told that they would have to listen to the recorded calls to verify my complaint.

On 09-02-2018 at 12:10 (11 days since ordering), I phoned Vodacom again and was told that a new order had been placed for me at 20:15 the previous day, I assumed after they had listened to the recording. I asked the agent to check which devices were listed. They came back confirming the Samsung J5 and the Samsung 10.1 tablet. But, added that this new order had been cancelled that morning. At this point, I requested to speak to a manager. I was told that the supervisor was on lunch but would call me back. I requested that the supervisor call me back before 14:00. It didn't happen. I called again at 14:29 and asked to speak to the supervisor. I was put through to a person called Shadé or Shaday who said she would try to get to the bottom of the problem. She called me back at 14:38 and again at 14:41. She gave me an alternative option: the same devices, but with R150 airtime on the phone and 2 GB data on the tablet. She also said I had to to a SIM port before the order could go ahead, as they could only port from a prepaid Vodacom number to a new contract. I subsequently bought a Vodacom prepaid SIM card to do the port and phoned her at 16:20. She called me back at 16:30 and I confirmed that I would accept the R150 airtime/2 GB offer and that my number would be ported over the weekend. The SIM port occurred during the afternoon of 11-02-2018.

I called Vodacom again at 10:13 on 12-02-2018 (14 days after ordering) and spoke to the same supervisor to say that my SIM port had gone through. She phoned me back at 11:05. She informed me that they were having a network-wide problem with getting "double deals" going through.

I had no further communication from Vodacom over the next three days.

I phoned again at 16:24 on 15-02-2018 (17 days after ordering) and spoke to an agent who said that there was no record of an order on the system except the cancelled order. At least my ported number now works on the Vodacom network and the number is free.

Today is 16-02-2018 and it is now 18 days since placing my order. At no point have I received any communication by phone, email or SMS on the status of my order. I have made a total of 14 calls to Vodacom Online, with a total duration of 1 h 4 m 5 s. In addition, I have made a total of 6 calls to Vodacom Sales, with a total duration of 12 m 31 s. Added together, 20 calls to Vodacom, totalling 1 h 16 m 36 s, all of which I have had to pay for. I have also had to pay for additional prepaid airtime and data as my Afrihost account has been deactivated, but my Vodacom contract has not been activated. This amounts to R15 prepaid airtime and R12 prepaid data. I have documentary proof of everything mentioned in this post.

This order should have been processed within 24 hours, with two calls from Vodacom to me, as happened for the first order I placed. I want my order of a Samsung J5 Prime phone plus Samsung Note 10.1 with S-Pen on a uchoose Flexi contract for R428.99 per month to be reinstated, expedited and delivered within 24 hours, as promised in the Vodacom online blurb. Courier services do deliver over weekends; you just have to pay more. In addition, I want Vodacom to refund me, either in the form of credit or airtime for the expenses I have had to incur because of their incompetence and non-communication. HINT: as an apology for your atrocious service, you may want to include a free gift, such as a cover for the tablet.