*********** online sales

On the 31st October I tied to take out a contract through Vodacom online as I assumed it would be quicker than going into a store. Within 30 minutes of entering my details online, an agent phoned me back and we spent a good 30 minutes on the phone capturing all my details for the contract. Finally, at the end of the phone call the agent said that they cannot port my number as I was on CellC. Really, can’t port a number in 2017??? Anyway, after an hour sitting in a Vodacom store I managed to get the number ported. However, the Vodacom online team stated that it would take another 2 to 3 days for the port to finalise before they can finish the application. So, on the 3rd November I finally got the finish the contract with Vodacom online. The phone was then received on the 7th November. However, when phoning the activation number, I was told that the contract was the uChoose Flexi and not the Smart contract I requested. I told them on the phone that I did not want them to activate the contract as that is not what I requested. Immediately I phone the Vodacom Online sales and voiced my issue and their answer was that they could not change/migrate contracts. They would need to collect the phone, cancel the contract and then a new contract would need to be processed. I was shocked by this as I thought it would be a simple switch as the contract hadn’t been activated at this stage. Even the manager said it could not be done, but said he would investigate it. Regardless of my request for the contract not to be activated, I received an sms late that night advising me that the uChoose Flexi contract was activated. The following day I again phone Vodacom online sales and complained that they had activated the contract package that I did not want. The manager simply said that he would investigate and come back to me. Finally on the 10th November, the Vodacom online sales phoned me to say that they could not migrate the contract and that the only way forward was for them to collect the phone and cancel the contract. I was advised that the collection would take anywhere between 3 and 5 working days and the cancellation would talk a further 7 to 14 working days. Only once this is done would they be able to reapply for the contract I originally requested. On the 13th November RAM collected the phone which was delivered to Vodacom on the 15Th November. On the 16th November I phoned Vodacom online to see if I could expedite the cancellation as I was currently on a contract I did not want. The call centre agent said that the phone had been received and I was able to proceed with the new application. I was ecstatic as this was much quicker than originally advised. A short call later and the new application was approved. Only on the 20th did the confirmations department phone me when I was advised that they had put the new contract on a new cell phone number and not port my existing number. Shortly after this, the Vodacom online sales agent phoned me to advise that they could not port my number as it was still on the uChoose flexi contract and this would need to be cancelled first. She could say when the contract would be cancelled, but I was given the details of the Vadmin/likeminds department to request the reversal of the debits of this contract. Funny enough, the Vadmin/likeminds department escalated my enquiry and a ‘support specialist’ contacted me very willing to migrate the incorrect uChoose contract to the Smart contract I wanted. However, it was now too late for this option as the phone had been returned and the cancellation initiated. So, the support specialist said that they would reverse the charges once the contract cancellation was finished. Finally, on the 21st November when the contract still had not been cancelled, I phoned the Vodacom online sales voicing my irritation. The new agent said that the contract hadn’t been cancelled as nobody had put in the request. He said he saw the phone collection request on the system, but not the required cancellation request. A few hours after this, the contract was cancelled and I was back on Vodacom pay-as-you-go. Yay! Finally, after 3 weeks of trying to get a Vodacom contract, I was right back to where I started. So I phoned yet again to the Vodacom online sales and stated that my number was back on pay-as-you-go and they could proceed with the application and port my number. However, to my horror, the call centre agent now advised me that due to so many applications/quotations being requested and cancelled that my name/ID was flagged by the system and they would need a whole bunch of certified supporting documents in order to proceed. So, after I have struggled for more than 3 weeks to take out a simple contract, they want me to go sit in a queue in the bank for 3 months statements and then go get my ID certified. I’m just furious with the incompetence of the Vodacom online sales. What I expected to a quick and easy application ended in being a drawn-out fight with *********** people!