NEGLIGENCE AT ITS FINEST!!

If I could get 0 stars, I would... My partner received a phone in January of 2023 and has not been billed for the phone to date. We have been trying to resolve the issue since then but Vodacom staff are so *********** that it is yet to be resolved. My partner received a call yesterday (21/06/24) which was a survey about how happy we are with the service received. She eventually spoke to a consultant and discussed the entire situation (for the 100th time) and was told that the only way to rectify the issue is to upgrade to a new phone.

She was told that the issue arose as a FAULT BY VODACOM when the initial contract was taken out in January of 2023. She was told "you cannot downgrade on your contract, you need to cancel your current contract and then get a new contract with the phone you want". As a result of this, when getting an "upgrade" online, you will receive the device but Vodacom will cancel it on their side and ta-da, you have a new phone for free.

As great as it sounds, as an Attorney, there are many issues that arise from this. To avoid these issues, we've been trying to get resolved for a year and a half, to no avail. We've even gone into a branch and spoke to someone in person to resolve this. Not sure why we thought this was going to be any better because the staff are just as ***********.

After the conversation yesterday (21/06/24), my partner was MISLED by the marketing team into getting a brand new (more expensive) phone to resolve the situation. In what world does that resolve the situation?

I've been on the phone with Vodacom today for just under an hour to get this resolved and was told that my partner would need to pay the difference from January of 2023 until today. This came out to be R14,800 to rectify the mistake.

I immediately shut that down and explained that I will not be paying R14,800 for a mistake MADE BY VODACOM when we have been trying to rectify the situation since then. This is a joke. I was told that this was the advice of the supervisor. I explained that I would be willing to speak to the supervisor to discuss this, but then I was just transferred to the "after sales" team who I spoke to about canceling the upgrade made as a result of being misled by the marketing team.

Both members of staff that I spoke to stated that I must be careful with the marketing team because, and I quote, "they can be very misleading". How is that an appropriate description of your marketing team?? How can BOTH PEOPLE say that their marketing team is misleading? What kind of image do you want to create?? I know now that in the future, I will 100% remember that the marketing team is misleading and I will always think twice about anything they tell me.

Nevertheless, It came to the point where I have requested a call recording of the conversations had and will be reviewing this and if necessary, make a complaint.

I want to put Vodacom on notice that if we are told to pay R14,800 to cover what has not been paid, and if we are sued as a result of not paying, WE WILL DEFEND.

I've been told I will receive a call on Monday. I will wait for this.