Penalty fee for changing your package

Hi,

Ive been a Vodacom customer for many years. I have recently inquired on changing my contract to something cheaper (considering that I am about a year in to my current contract). I was told that I would have to pay a "penalty fee" of R4000 for changing my package. This is a ridiculous amount to charge a customer for changing a package, considering that the amount payable towards my handset remains the same.

Why is the fee for downgrading so high and how is it justified? As a long standing customer, who has had multiple contracts worth thousands, am I not legible for at least one free downgrade?

I am very disappointed and shocked by the greed your company shows, let alone the poor service.