Terrible Experience with Vodacom, stuck with a bad phone

I have tried to get hold of just anyone in authority at Vodacom Country wide -To NO avail. I spoke to all shops concerned including Kevin. Kevin wasn't of any guidance or help so have waited for Wesley to return from being away. On the 6 January 2021 I went to the Vodacom shop at Midlands Liberty Mall. My cell had just gone black & wouldn't charge. My daughter was with me and witnessed what happened. The consultant looked at my phone an S7. On contract. And stated that they couldn't do anything with my phone. I needed a phone as All my appointments for my business and everything I do is on my phone. So the only thing to do was to buy a new phone. My daughter then suggested we go to Samsung at Cascades to check why my phone was broken, incase it was the battery etc and could be fixed/Replaced and if Samsung couldn't help come back the next day if I needed a new phone . The Vodacom Salesman said no the Samsung Customer care centre was closed so we couldn't do that. The next day at Samsung they told me they closed at 6pm that night, so the Vodacom salesman was dishonest with us. So now we have to get a new phone immediately. I insisted that I have the same quality phone as my S7. The salesman pushed the Galaxy A31. He assured me that it was better than my S7, better in quality than my S7 and replacement of the S Series. We spent a long time interrogating the salesman and questioning over and over - are you SURE its a better phone than the S7 I currently have. He convinced us that yes the A31 would definitely be an upgrade from the S7. So I agreed to get the A31. He went to fetch the phone and cam back to tell us that there was no stock - after all the time it took to convince us that this was the best option. We spoke about going to MTN and he quickly made a call to the Vodacom4U shop. He then walked us down to the Vodacom 4U shop where Richard; as per the request of the Vodacom salesman; had the phone ready and waiting. Richard concluded the Sale in the Vodacom 4U store and the Vodacom Salesman left. Richard was great but had no interaction with us with regards to my needs - as I had made a decision based on the previous salesman word.

When I got home, I started to use the A31 and realized that it was slower than my S7, the quality of the photos were not as good and the sound was not as good.

I had explained to the salesman that the quality of my screen and photos is very important to me as I do makeup for weddings and take photos for business. Now the quality is awful.

Next morning I go to Samsung Customer Care Centre. I ask them what would you replace my S7 with they say S10 and S20f..? I say well this is what they sold me yesterday and I'm not happy with it. They say no way does the A31 compare to the S range quality wise .

We went back to the original shop and also spoke to the Samsung lady who works at the Liberty Mall. She agreed with us about the quality of the phone and things hadn't been dealt with correctly.

We were referred to Kevin. His attempt to resolve the issue was unacceptable to me as a customer. It left me furious and more disillusioned with Vodacom's treatment. So I now have been abandoned with a phone I'm not happy with in any way shape or form. They said I can't return it. I need a phone and was traveling for 2 and a half hours on my own and needed contact, never mind my business suffering!! So I went back and I managed to speak to Zenzie(only helpful person) who gave me Wesley's email address. I emailed Wesley and he has not rep****.

I have been with Vodacom since cellphones were first available. There is no loyalty to longstanding customers. I have always been very happy with my phones and know this was sold to me purely for the salesman's gain - not mine. Without any respect for what I was requiring and asking for.

Vodacom has also seen that I was being overcharged on my previous package and have done nothing about it.

My daughter even warned me that the salesman was just trying to push a sale and was convinced that the phone was not better than the A7 - however I trusted the Salesman.