My absolute worst first time customer experience with Vodacom

I hadn’t had a cellphone in a while and figured I’d give vodacom a try for a contract seeing my go-to service provider had said my credit score was too low. I entered the Vodacom Gugulethu Branch end October 2018 to apply for the contract. I qualified for the Huawei Y6 2018 on a Smart Top Up at 329ZAR P/m. I’d also opted for the insurance in the package. Since October ‘18 I’ve been paying for this device come end January where i am unfortunately ****** and my device is taken. The very next morning I head to my local police station to enquire how to claim for insurance. I get everything sorted out in the station and make my way to town to do other errands and stop by the Vodacom4U on Adderley to claim for the insurance. I’m told by the Branch Manager that this will not be processed because the insurance was removed. I ask how & why which is where i am educated that my Vodacom sim card need be in the device at all times for insurance to remain active. I then discuss with this branch manager that was never discussed with me at the point of sale and all they asked was whether I would like to add insurance on the device and I asked one simple question that if i were to lose the device within the next 3 months would i get a replacement device to which the assistant quickly agreed and we continued with the sale.

He then states the only way for me to get this claim approved is to have the Gugulethu Vodacom branch escalate the issue to head office abd have it approved. I hurried over to the branch the following day to get this done and the assistance to date has been nothing but condescending, poor and just a downright horrible experience from it’s floor staff to the store manager and branch manager in Sea Point. I have made up to 16 trips to the same branch regarding updates on the matter. I have been promised too many call backs from the store manager. It got to the point where i headed back to the Adderley street branch and requested the Sea Point store manager’s number to see what they can have done for me. Right after calling the Sea Point branch, I was promised a call back from the branch manager who to date I haven’t heard from. This was in February. My last trip to the Gugulethu Branch 2 weeks ago I was fed up and waited in the branch for nearly 2 hours to speak to this store manager. In my wait for the branch manager I’d requested the number of the sea point manager again to inform them I’ll be coming to see them directly. Im given a cellphone to contact the store manager where I get through to a shop front assistant who says the Sea Point Branch Manager is currently busy and that they’ll pass the message over to them, i requested to be put on hold as they get it sorted out for me. The Sea point branch then contacted the Gugulethu Store Manager to assist me with this issue. 10 minutes later i finally see the Store manager who says the exact same thing that I’ve been told the previous 15 times that they’ll have the query escalated and I’ll be getting a call back of which TO DATE I HAVE NOT RECEIVED. I have heard no communications from anyone whatsoever. Not any feedback on anything. Instead whenever I go into the store im greeted by the same giggles and the same empty promises and no further updates but i have repeated the issue on multiple occasions expecting a different response.

This experience over the past few months has caused nothing but stress on myself as i have gotten to point where i gave up and have had to take out another contract with another service provider in the meantime as it appears that I’m never going to get a response to this issue and I’ll just have to continue paying for something that I was never made aware of and is no longer in my possession.

Vodacom as a company has given me nothing but a horrible experience and grief as a first time customer. I’m now seeking legal help for this matter as I was never at fault.