Contract dispute.

Dear [Vodacom]

You have been my network provider of choice for the last 15 years. I’ve had contracts with you for 12 of those. It’s upsetting to see that after all this when my device, a [Sony Mobile ZA] Experia Z5, that was still under warranty, couldn’t be repaired and that you refused to give me a replacement.

I’ve been told that due to the internal damages to my device voids the warranty, the damages which weren’t fully disclosed to me. I was just told. “Unfortunately your device’s damages voids the warranty.”. The strange thing to me is, my device isn’t in poor condition, it has minimal scuffs for a phone that gets used for about 10-12 hours a day and there isn’t even a dent or a ding on the body, a crack on the screen or a faulty part on the exterior(Headphone jack, Volume and Power buttons, USB port, etc..). I find it very hard to believe that the device I took so much care to not have any damages has internal damage and that you can’t tell me the exact nature of the breakage.

I booked my device in at Vodacom’s Technical Department in Centurion Mall on the 7th of February at 11:37 because of my phone not connecting to your network. It seemed that something was wrong with my antenna. On the Job Receipt form it also notes that there are only fine scratches on the phone. I received an SMS stating that the repairs for a warranty repair will take approximately 2-3 days. From there my device was sent to the Advanced Repair Centre on the 8th of February and that warranty repair would now take 5-7 days. I received an SMS stating that my device is in the Quality Assessment process(Why would a broken device need this?) on the the 13th of February. I received a phone call from Vodacom Shop in Centurion on the 14th of February that my device has too much damage and it will cost too much to fix and that you will not fix it. On the 15th of February I went to pick up my still broken device and expected a replacement device since you refuse to fix my device.

At this point it seems I received either a faulty device from the start because you are not disclosing the exact reason you are voiding my warranty except for “internal damages”(I discussed this above).

To make a conclusion to this message, I expect you, Vodacom, to do one of four things. 1) Give me a valid reason why you have voided my warranty, or 2) Give me a replacement device as my device needed to be repaired under its warranty and you refused to honour that agreement, or 3) Amend my current contract to where my device costs are nullified so that I only pay for my uChoose Flexi 200 package, or 4) Repair my device. Like I stated in the first paragraph, I’ve been a loyal customer for 15 years, do not tarnish this by refusing to live up to an agreement.

Regards, Stiaan du Preez