BIG COMPANY IGNORING LITTLE FISH BULLYING THEM INTO ACCEPTING ITS INCOMPETENCE

<p>Vodacom, too big to synchronise its activities! Billing does one thing, technical services does another, and the victims are the consumers who just have to keep quiet and pay or be threatened with legal action...</p> <p>Red Premium business contract concluded on 13th May 2015, MSISDN ********** , business account number B0233***, then transferred to individual account number NM025*** in December 2015.</p> <p>24 months to termination should then equal 12th May 2017, or is my maths wrong???</p> <p>In any case, like all law abiding citizens do, I give formal notice to Vodacom at end February 2017 of my intention to terminate this contract and that I do not want to continue with it after the termination date, refer Vodacom's call reference EC-0BG3-2P4***, even receiving back a mail on 27 Feb 2017 11:18 to the effect "Please be advised cancellation has been loaded for the 2017-05-13" thinking all is well.</p> <p>Somewhere in this tragic tale I even receive an SMS informing me of the pending termination of this number on Saturday 13th May 2017, so this portion of Vodacom's department received and most importantly, actioned their next step in this process.</p> <p>8th May 2017 comes around and I receive an invoice B756805*** indicating a full subscription for May 2017 ?!? Still not too upset, I call the call centre and after being transferred a zillion times, I resorted to email, quoting my initial reference number and all relevant detail stating my concern, just to receive a mailed answer to the affect that I have to pay the full month's subscription as it is a 24 month contract! My response was that I agree this was not a 24 and a half month contract thus I should be receiving some form of pro-rata subscription fee... Hoping against hope that maybe Vodacom will make a mistake and allow the service to then run up to end May 2017 then I will at least not pay for something I have not received, or have access to use.</p> <p>Call centre assistance, even for so-called Red Premium customers, totally unprepared for any query that is more complex than "how are you" and "why is it so noisy in the background that I have to keep repeating myself", transfers me from pillar to post and eventually I just left it to see what happens.</p> <p>Sure as whatever, Sunday 14th May 2017 the SIM card becomes inactive (as was my request and wish right from the beginning).</p> <p>Monday 15th May, Call Centre just keeps on playing their famous musical headset transfer game, and I loose it completely. Calmly going to the walk-in helpdesk at Vodaworld in Midrand on the 16th of May, I join a queue and was eventually helped by someone who really tried to help. I unfortunately lost her name, but she logged call reference S4-OLK2U-U4*** cross referencing the original call, so if Vodacom really wants to retain good people, this resource is worth looking after as she went out of her way to call everybody and his/her dog and cat to assist, but still not resolving this matter or being able to give me a specific answer.</p> <p>Needles to say, end of May the full subs for May is deducted via debit order.</p> <p>Month-end of June comes and I can confirm that at least I was not billed for the June subs, but I was hoping that at least by end of June 2017, whatever consumption and charges not included in normal monthly subs there may have been in May would have been recovered in June, and that the credit for the last half of May 2017 would be processed and appear on my bill as my SERVICES WERE TERMINATED MID-MAY? All as per contractual notice, etc.</p> <p>I once again tried to call the call centre with all my call references and dates, etc. on hand but after the second transfer I just dropped the call.</p> <p>I have one more contract running on this NM-account mentioned above and will certainly terminate it at its expiry date when it is contractually due to expire as I have had enough of being bul**** by big corporates.</p> <p>All I am asking is admit that you have made a mistake, credit my existing account with the pro-rata subs billed in error (if your technical operations can terminate the service mid-month, surely your accounts/admin department can also figure out a pro-rata bill?) I was the administrator for a corporate customer of Vodacom and Vodacom was quick to provide my employer with credits when I pointed out similar idiotic billing issues, so why not do it for a consumer?</p> <p>TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED IN VODACOM, I WILL IN FUTURE WORK THROUGH SERVICE PROVIDERS SUCH AS AFRIHOST TO MANAGE MY PAINS WITH BIG CORPORATES SUCH AS VODACOM AND OTHER BIG BULLYING CORPORATE GIANTS</p>