Breach of personal information by Vodacom

I took my phone in for repairs to the Vodacom shop in Cresta on the 3rd of March 2024 only to find that my personal information was breached whilst in for repairs with Vodacom. I was made aware of this on the 7th of March and reported the matter to the store and did not receive any assistance till date. They opened my WhatsApp messages and changed settings even removing my profile picture. According to the Vodacom site terms and conditions for repairs the phone is supposed to be wiped upon booking it in for repairs which was not done in this instance instead they went through my personal information without consent which is a violation of my personal privacy and security. This careless act is also in violation of the POPIA ACT. I have escalated the matter to all the relevant parties and have not received feedback or being contacted in regards to this complaint they keep saying they are in investigating till when. Can someone get back to me on this.

Please investigate. Hide quoted text

On Sun, 14 Apr 2024, 12:06 am Victory Annointed, <***> wrote: Good day

I kindly was would like to lay a formal complaint against the Vodacom shop Cresta regarding the breach of personal information on my phone while the phone was in for repairs I have reported this matter on numerous occasions and am yet to be contacted nor given any feedback regarding this. I took the phone in for repairs on the 3rd of March 2024. On the 7th of March 2024 I was made aware that someone was opening my WhatsApp messages and changing settings including my profile picture meanwhile the phone was in for repairs with Vodacom. I made the Vodacom s**** Cresta aware of this on the 7th and was not assisted till today.

As a Vodacom client this is really disheartening as a breach in someone's personal information is a serious offence and in violation of the POPIA ACT. As per the Vodacom site the phone was supposed to be wiped upon booking it in which was not done in my instance and my personal information was breached while still in for repairs with Vodacom.

I have escalated the matter to Vodacom repairs and the people handling my complaint have not assisted me either. The manager at Vodacom shop Cresta Nathi was also not helpful as he said they are just a drop in and drop of stop and do not get involved with such issues. I sent an email to Boitumelo Wanyane to escalate till today no response. It's over a month now.

I fear that this careless act can have severe financial implications on me as my online banking password was recently changed and I had to get my account temporarily locked by my bank as the change was not done by me. This is why I need Vodacom to take my matter seriously and give feedback as a breach in someone's personal information is a serious problem in this current information age.

Can someone please look into this and give me a response as I have exhausted all the processes to escalate this matter and am yet to be assisted.

Regards Minah Motshabi *** ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Laverne Arends <***> Date: Thursday, April 4, 2024 Subject: Fwd: FW: Complaint ***6-----EC-1TIY-17ASN6 To: ***

Good Day

Please see feedback below.

Regards Laverne ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Bernard Cilliers (VD) <***> Date: Thu, Apr 4, 2024 at 10:44 AM Subject: FW: Complaint ***6-----EC-1TIY-17ASN6 To: Laverne Arends <***>

Hi,

Here is the feedback so far.

They will further investigate.

Kind regards

Bernard Cilliers Vodacom Repairs Fourways Mall

Tel: ***

Best Network for Smartphones

From: Markus Muller (VD) <***> Sent: 03 April 2024 14:26 To: Bernard Cilliers (VD) <***> Subject: FW: Complaint ***6-----EC-1TIY-17ASN6

Ek Sien jy is nou nie ge-copy in die mail nie..

From: Ignatius Hlongwane, Vodacom <***> Sent: 03 April 2024 14:24 To: Senzekile Ntuli, Vodacom <***>; OBF Department <***> Cc: Deon Jonck, Vodacom <***>; Vodacom Repairs Escalations <***>; Markus Muller (VD) <***>; ***; Benton Wevers <***> Subject: RE: Complaint ***6-----EC-1TIY-17ASN6

Good Day,

kindly note that we are aware of the legal reputation that comes with the breach of customers information . By saying this we do not want to undermine the trust we have with our consumers by violating the POPIA ACT . And in this we case cannot validate as to when/or where the breach happened . The assessment was performed by the manufacture assessor who comes onsite , I will have to further my investigations with them.

Kind Regards

Iggy

C2 General

From: Senzekile Ntuli, Vodacom <***> Sent: Wednesday, 03 April 2024 13:54 To: OBF Department <***> Cc: Deon Jonck, Vodacom <***>; Ignatius Hlongwane, Vodacom <***>; Vodacom Repairs Escalations <***>; Markus Muller (VD) <***>; ***; Benton Wevers <***> Subject: Complaint ***6-----EC-1TIY-17ASN6

Good Day OBF Team

Please see below and advise:

Regards

Porsche

C2 General

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