Auto-Purchase Data Bundle

On 26 August I contacted the Call Centre due to automatic data bundles that were charged to my account, to which I did not consent.

My current contract is open to purchasing additional data should I wish to do so, and which I did in the past. However, in July and August I noted that I no longer purchase additional data and my data runs the whole month.

On the 21st of Aug 2019, I noted an sms on my phone stating that Vodacom auto-purchased 500MB automatically to keep me connected. After review, I noted that I have received this sms 6 times in the last month:

24 July 2019 26 July 2019 30 July 2019 07 August 2019 16 August 2019 21 August 2019

To my dismay, I realised that Vodacom have been billing me for something I did not consent to as I have never requested for an auto-purchase option.

The Call Centre agent advised that I was the one who opted for this option. This is so unfortunate as I tried to explain that I only do once-off 30 day data bundle purchases. She however continued to state that I chose this option.

The Agent further continued to say that she cannot opt out on her side and I should do it myself from the Self Service menu at *135#. Upon doing so, the options she provided did not exist.

As if the above is not above, the agent provided an email address for complaints which is not working. The customer care email provided online is also not working. Hence, this platform is now used as a last resort.

Please note that I am quite disappointed in Vodacom at the moment. Firstly, it is clear that since I did once off purchases a few times a month, the company thought it would be fine to purchase on my behalf automatically without my consent and increasing my bill substantially. Secondly, an agent deciding that it's the client's fault and not the company's. Lastly, making me, the client, have to struggle with opting out on a service I never consented to.

I personally hoped my issue will be attended to as the above matter is clearly *******.