False and Misleading advertising.

Posting on behalf of my wife :

Dear Vodacom Customer Service,

I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the recent experience I had with your online company regarding the purchase of a cellphone. On 29 April 2024, I completed an application for a Xiaomi Redmi note 13 pro 5g cellphone from your online store, based on the adverti*****t I saw which was for the specified model and make along with an airfryer for R399 a month.

I had attempted to do the purchase online however due to noticing a glitch on the system [it reflected a 4g phone when trying to select instead of a 5g] I decided to request a call back. 1 of your consultants from the Durban branch call center by the name of sipho called me back. He first spoke to my husband identifying that there was an error online and then said we would in fact be able to get the 5g phone that we want. My husband asked twice and he assured him we would get the deal it is just an online glitch. When I took over the call to do the process I asked him more than once if the phone is going to be a 5g because online said 4g . He assured me on numerous occasions on the call that I would receive a 5g cellphone. The deal was approved and I was told to wait for a call from confirmations.

However, upon receiving the call I discovered that i was not receiveing what i had agreed upon. The new consultant who called from collections handled the call with very little enthusiasm. When i asked why i would be getting a 4g phone when i had requested for the 5g she rudely advised shes not sure the error is on the system and she will have to send it back for them to get in touch with me to sort out the contract. On the 3rd of May my husband called customer care for assistance and was told they would get after sales to call us back. The consultant who spoke to him said that after sales would honor the commitment of what was advertised and we should get a 5g phone if that was what was published [we have this recorded]. On the same day we went to a Vodacom head office branch in Midrand . Here we were assisted by a consultant who looked completely unbothered with assisting us. Before hearing us completely he said he could not help as it's an online purchase and they will have to assist us . He told us call after sales. We tried the number in front of him and there was no answer. We then requested to speak to a senior in charge who advised that he would escalate the query for us and get back to us within 24 hours. We never heard from him again.

On the 6th May I received a call back from sipho who stated he sees that I did not take the contract. When I questioned him about it stating he had given confirmation that we would be receiving a 5g phone he apologized and said unfortunately it's unavailable. He then tried looking at giving me other offers of phones which did not interest me. I made it aware that i knew the desl would change on thr 7th and how can we rectify this to which he could not give me a definitive answer. Unfortunately as I was busy in a class with little reception the call was cut. Till now I have not received a call back.

Till date there is no action taken to rectify this entire experience. If the online store has falsely advertised something it is up to them to rectify this and provide the customer with what they have posted at face value. Misrepresentation of information is on the consumer not the customer. The store should have compensated or given me a phone with the same features I.e 5g at the same price of R399 as it was the error on your side.

As a loyal customer I am utterly disappointed by this experience. I expect better from a company of your reputation and standing in the industry.

The experience was terrible and it seem vodacom isn't interested in client service . Services has gone from bad to worse over the year.

We have followed the instructions and channels as need but it's time to turn to social media for assistance in rectifying the issue.