Handset repair

<p>I purchased a new Sony Xperia M4 Aqua from Vodacom Kolonnade on a Flexi200 contract on 23 April 2016.</p> <p> </p> <p>Approximately a month later, on 6 June 2016, the bottom speaker/mic suddenly stopped working. I could receive calls and hear the person on the other end, however they could not hear me, unless the phone was put on loudspeaker. I made various calls to test this, with the same result every time.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hence, I went back to Vodacom Kollonade where I originally purchased the phone/contract from.</p> <p> </p> <p>The sales assistant said the device would have to be taken in for repairs. No formal documents were provided, I was asked to write my contact details on a blank A4 piece of paper. The assistant asked me to take the phone out of its cover, and proceeded to wrap the paper I had written on, around the phone, and fastened it with a rubber band. I offered to hand in the phone's packaging, which I had brought with me, however the consultant declined and said it would not be necessary.</p> <p> </p> <p>I asked whether I could have a job or tracking number of some sort, however the sales assistant said that I should just "come back into the store to check up on the progress," and gave me a copy of the paper I had written my details on.</p> <p> </p> <p>I eventually received an SMS from Vodacom a week later stating that my phone had been received by the Menlyn branch. A job number was also provided - ********** 5.</p> <p> </p> <p> I have attempted to track the status of the repair on Vodacom's website, however I receive a "technical error" message the majority of the time when doing so. The few times I have been able to log in successfully, the status remains unchanged: the device is in the repairs process and awaiting spares. I received another SMS on 20 June 2016 stating the same.</p> <p> </p> <p>I am leaving for London this coming Friday, 24 June 2016. I will be abroad for 2 weeks, during which I will require my phone.</p> <p> </p> <p>I am appalled at the fact that it took an entire week to have the phone sent to Menlyn, which is literally less than 15km away. Had I been told that the device would be sent to Menlyn, and that it would take a week to get it there, I would have taken it to that branch myself.</p> <p> </p> <p>Also, the unprofessional manner in which the phone was booked in, is also of concern: without any official paperwork, not packaged in any way - just wrapped in a piece of paper. My device was flawless, and has been in a cover with a tempered glass screen protector since the day I received it. How am I to be sure that the device has not been damaged being booked in, and subsequently transported, in a piece of paper?</p> <p> </p> <p>I require urgent feedback regarding the status of this repair, and would also like to receive confirmation regarding how much longer this process will take?</p> <p> </p> <p>I do not wish to collect my device from Vodacom Kolonnade as it will probably take another week to travel the 15km between the two branches. Therefore, I prefer to collect it from Menlyn directly once the repair is completed.</p>