Horrible service received at Vodacom!

I am so disappointed with the service I received from Vodacom. I called in to upgrade my contract and arranged for a delivery for a phone, watch and earbuds. I received my order on Tuesday the 13th of January 2026 and when I tried charging the phone when I got home the phone was not charging. I tried different plug points thinking that could be the issue but nothing worked. I told myself I would change the phone the following day at my place of work to confirm if the issue was plug points of the phone. I did that the following morning and the phone was still not charging at that point. I proceeded to work and later tried it again and this time it charged, I let it charge to a 100%. The following day I woke up and the phone's battery and I had not used it from it being charged to a 100%. That's when I called back the same number I had called to upgrade and explained what was happening and they transferred to a department that would assist me. I was transferred and I explained again what was happening with the phone and the consultant I spoke to advised that I take the phone in to any Vodacom store to have a technician assess it and confirm that there is a technical issue with the phone and once they confirm I must call back while I'm at the store and arrange for a collection and replacement would be arranged. I was truly frustrated with the fact that I had to make the effort of taking a phone in when I had explained what was happening. I took it in any case. I ended up going to 3 different Vodacom stores o different days and in all these stores I was told that their technician was not available, they were off. None of them were willing to assist and I could tell that they were visibly annoyed and frustrated that Online sent me there. At this point I was extremely frustrated that I spent my time and money and I could still not get assisted. Today, I called Vodacom after sales (which I was advised to do so the next time I called back) and I explained the situation and the consultant I spoke to advised that a collection should have been arranged the first time I called in as the phone is still within the cooling off period. When I asked asked the consultant if a replacement would be arranged she said No, they can't replace the phone. They would have to cancel the upgrade and I would need to call in 3 days after they have collected and confirm the cancellation. I explained that I do not want to cancel I just need the phone to be replaced and she insisted that cannot be done. I would need to call and upgrade again.

I am truly disappointed with service I received at Vodacom and how one department would have different information and the other doesn't. This has truly caused so much frustration and inconvenience and I have truly lost any faith I had left in the brand. I have been a Vodacom customer for years and I have overlooked the many issues that I have experienced over the years but this was the last straw. I can confirm that I will be cancelling all contracts I have with Vodacom.