Pathetic Retentions Service

On Wednesday, 8 March 2023, I called into the Vodacom Retentions team to cancel one of my cellphone lines linked to my contract main number ***). I wanted to stop the recurring airtime on that line and to convert it to prepaid once the contract reached end of term which is 30 April 2023.

I spoke to an agent from the Retentions team. He offered me a reduced subscription package for both my numbers as he indicated this will "save you money". Upon giving the deal some thought, I accepted it later in the day when he called me back to follow up.

I asked a lot of questions on the call and it is all recorded. I specifically enquired about the billing of this new deal and he confirmed that it will only be charged on my bill from next month and that my old contract price would fall away but that I would still be liable for the handset last installment. I ensure he confirmed this a few times.

I am attaching a screenshot from my Vodacom app. I went in on Wednesday evening and got a shock to see an astounding bill for R1,745.35 that is payable by me.

My complaint goes as follows:

I made a call to the Retentions team on *** yesterday 9 March 2023 at 8h15 and complained to an agent about this and she confirmed that the agent who sold me the contract and management would call me back within 5 minutes.

I did not receive any call from anyone at Vodacom for 3 hours at approximately 11h05 and then I called back once more. I spoke with another agent and made a noise about no one making contact with me to fix this and I was handed over to a Manager. He mentioned that agent had made a mistake and repeated that this was a mistake whereby he actioned the data and minutes to be sent to me on the wrong date. It was only meant to appear on my contract from 1 April 2023. He further added that because these items were sent to me that I would be liable for the bill nonetheless.

The manager then added that they would listen to the recording and IF the agent did not mention that I would be liable for the bill, however if he didn't then they will credit me.

I am NOT SETTLING THIS BILL FOR R1,745.35 as this is not what I agreed to nor was informed thereof!

The manager confirmed that once he listens to the recordings, he will call me to confirm. I have not yet received any calls from Vodacom to confirm the status of the incorrect bill and today is 11 March 2023.

This experience has been nothing but unprofessional and frustrating! I should just move my account to MTN where people are respected!

Please will someone assist me by rectifying this nightmare or I will completely cancel both my Vodacom contracts and move to MTN from April 2023.