Shocking service from monopoly players is totally unaaceptable

I took out a contract with Vodacom in May 2018 and signed for a 24 month subscription at R199.00 per month. When I received the first bill I noticed it was for R249.00 per month. I contacted Vodacom's customer service to try to get an answer from them as to why i was being charged more than I had signed up for and was told that the consultant would do some research for me and get back to me with an answer. Needless to say this never happened.

Over the following months I tried on numerous occasions to get an answer as to why the subscription had been increased with no prior notice being given to me and because I had signed for a R199 per month subscription. I couldn't get any answers. I asked to speak to managers or supervisors and was told on numerous occasions that they would return my call which also never happened.

I then asked for a copy of the original contract along with the terms and conditions which I had signed. After much effort I received a copy of something which did not reflect the terms and conditions neither did it reflect any amount that had been signed up for. Further requests for the relevant documentation also failed.

In February this year I again phoned Vodacom to try to get some answers. Drew a blank as per usual I then said I wished to give notice that I would be cancelling my contract at the end of the term which would be May and that I wished to give them 3 months notice of this. I was told that I could only cancel my contract at the end of May.

I asked when I would be refunded for the over charged difference between the amount on the contract I had signed and what I had actually been charged and was told to speak to the finance people when I was put through to them and after explaining the situation I was told by them that I should speak to the customer service people. I then advised that I would be ensuring that all the debit orders for the remainder of the contract would be returned unpaid and that I would close my account so no further debits could be deducted. I said that once the full agreement I had signed with Vodacom and the money I had been overcharged plus interest thereon had been refunded to me I would settle any outstanding amounts owing.

I subsequently closed my banking account so that no further debits could be deducted by the service provider. At the end of May and 5 months of unemployment as a result of Covid (I work as a freelance tourist guide and to this day have not received any government aid) I would like to cancel my contract as it had run for the full 24 months. I was then told that I could not do this because there was money outstanding on the account (1 month's subscription) and that they would continue to bill me, notwithstanding the contract period had ended and I was now in no financial position to pay any further instalments apart from the R199 that I should have been billed. I again had to go through the whole rigmarole of explaining the incorrect billing by Vodacom and the fact that they had overcharged me on the agreed contract amount. Customer service then said I had to speak to billing. I asked to then be put through to billing and once again explained the whole saga to them. After listening to the details the person at billing said I had to go back to customer service again as they could do nothing until customer service had authorised the refund. Back I went to customer service knly to be told by them that I needed to speak to billing. I slammed the phone down in exasperation.

I have again phoned customer service to try to sort the matter out only to be told once again that the account is blocked so I must speak to billing. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told by the consultant that it was pointless to speak to a supervisor because they would also not be able to help me. Billing is apparently the only department that can Billing say customer service is the only department that can. No one wants to get their manager or supervisor on the line so that I can escalate the matter. I have also asked for an email address so that at least I have a written record of my conversations with Vodacom and everyone I have spoken to says that it must be handled through the call centre and there is no email address available.

I have also asked for copies of the original documentation as I was not supp**** with this at the beginning of the contract and have only subsequently been supp**** with 1 document of the 3 that I require. Repeated requests have met with no response.

Today I made contact with the Office of the Consumer Protector in Cape Town in an attempt to resolve this matter and in sheer desperation because after nearly 2 years we are no further in sorting out the issue than I was in month 1. I must report that I was shocked at the response I got from the junior person in the call centre there who asked me if I had escalated the query/complaint to a manager. I responded that I have tried to and that I have been refused every time I have asked. The response of the consultant in the office of the consumer protector was, yes you guessed it, go back to Vodacom, we cannot help you until you have exhausted all the channels.

Please help. What do I do now or whom do I approach?