Line suspended everyday and been happening for 19 days now.

I took out this contract on around the 28th Nov 2017 as a personal and business line (business part starting in Jan 2018). I noticed the line telling me it was suspended when trying to make calls early in December but I figured it was part of the sim swop and upgrade system so I did not worry about it however by the 4th it was still doing it which I decided was too long and I called the accounts department.

They informed me that my line was suspended and after some time they told me it was due to a credit limit. Back track, When I took the contract out at Cape Gate vodashop I was told by the sales guy that I am a “P700”, not knowing what that is I asked him and he said I was of the highest credit tier or something like that, which in practical terms means that I can take out any contract with any phone. This did not surprise me considering I have never missed a payment on anything in my life and I do not spend money I do not have.

At this point on the 4th of December, I am confused and frustrated. My logical mind tells me that 1 of 2 possible things has happened here, either Mr sales men has **** to me about my credit rating which I don’t think is the case, I am sure that will bring him more trouble than it is worth and I do believe I am in the top category of credit ratings. Or Vodacom has implemented a “spend cap” on how much I can spend with them a month which is also super stupid in my case but mistakes happen and it should be an easy fix. The thing at this point on the 4th December that really rubs me up the wrong way is that the system should have flagged this when I was trying to take the contract out. Either the sales person did not check or they checked and sold it to me anyway, I have no idea how that is possible. its like selling a new car to a person without a drivers licence...

The lady I phoned at the accounts department said she has opened a issue and it should take a few days to resolve. She will open my line but it will lock itself everyday until the credit limit is changed. After hearing this I am less than please because in my company which is big enough to trade on the JSE, it takes an email and a phone call to increase a credit limit (about 15 to 20 minutes). Why this needs to take “a few days” absolutely blows my mind.

Jump ahead to the 7th or 8th. My phone line is still being suspended everyday. I have now tried to phone the cape gate shop 3 times the day before to ask the sales guy and the manager to try and assist resolving this problem from their side, no one answers the phone at this shop. I do not know why they have a telephone number. So I go into the shop. The sales guys who sold me the contract is helping another customer so I sit with one of his colleagues. He can tell that I am very unhappy at this point and as he can remember me, he cannot understand why my line is locking. At this point I am wanting to tear up the contract and take my business to another service provider because I do not want to support a company so *********** that they cannot change a credit limit. The guy at the Vodacom tells me that cancelling will be very difficult and Vodacom will make me pay the contract out. I ask him what I need to do to fix it, who do I need to phone, where must I go? He suggests going to canal walk. Now I need to drive 35km to a big shopping centre and pay for parking to get a problem resolved that I did not cause?

I decide to give it a few more days. Most days phoning accounts to get them to unlock my line. The dates are all blurring together as I am phoning Vodacom so often but on one of the days, It was a Saturday morning I decided that enough is enough, It dawns on me that I am technically paying for this. Come 30th December you guys will debit my account for roughly R1200.00 and here I am paying for a contract that technically I cannot use properly, at least not within the agreement that I give you money and in return I get a solid cell line and data. I did not sign a contract that said I would get the use of the line only after phoning accounts every day to unlock it.

I ask the guy who answers on the Saturday to please put me through to the supervisor after explaining the situation because I have had enough. He apologizes profusely and agrees with me that this is unacceptable only to follow up with the fact that his supervisor is not there because it is Saturday and very hard to get through to someone who can get things done at a high level on a Saturday.

My next step was to try and cancel the contract altogether because I cannot continue with Vodacom, Not after the way I currently feel. Phoning cancellations which was a nightmare on its own, I kept getting put through to Customer care. After finally getting to cancellations, I am told that I can cancel but will need to pay Vodacom R16000 odd rand to cancel. I have explained the situation to her and she agrees with my sentiments that Vodacom is the party that has defaulted on the contract at this point and not I but she does not have the power to cancel the contract out right. She says I must call legal on ********** .

After trying to contact legal at least 5 or 6 times and constantly getting through to customer care I discover that you cant actually call legal... you need to email them. I emailed them on the 11 of December (8 days ago) and I have heard nothing back from them. No email nothing, I put my contact numbers in the email and I asked them to please phone me so we could discuss it.

At a desperate last attempt I went back to Cape Gate yesterday, on the 18th. phone line still suspended every day. At this point my fight is gone, I am like a dried up leaf blowing in the wind, I just sat there while she typed away on her keyboard and every so often I would beg her to call someone who could help me cut ties with vodacom. She believed she had fixed the problem, I said I wont hold my breath. Low and behold it is the 19th today and guess what... My line is suspended still.

I just want this to be over. I am a feisty person and believe in standing up and defending your believes and I believe that Vodacom has seriously dropped the ball here and defaulted on our legal agreement. I wanted to scream it at the top of my lungs and go to news papers and social media and really put Vodacom on the map as a bunch of *********** *****s so that you guys can address your problems. Im sick of big corporates being bullies. Your level of incompetence it has completely broken my will. I have spent so much energy on this the past 3 weeks I have no energy to go on an anti vodacom campaign. Please just get someone who can nullify this contract to contact me so we can do that. I just want to put vodacom in my rear view mirror as soon as humanly possible. the thought paying vodacom R1200 monthly for the next 24 months after the service I have received makes me physically ill in my stomach. and all of this after being a loyal vodacom customer for 14 years. At this stage I have likely spent around R100,000.00 with Vodacom and this is the thanks that I get for it.

I am of the opinion that a judge in a court of law will agree with me and rule to void the contract with all costs to vodacom. Having said that I do not want to take this mater to court. Please can you guys just man up and admit you are wrong and let me go on my merry way so we can both continue with our lives?

Sincerely broken Darren