*****ulent Contract Upgrades Without Consent by Vodacom / Like Minds

I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with the ********* and *****ulent conduct I’ve experienced from Vodacom and a service provider within Vodacom called "Like Minds."

On 01 April 2025, Vodacom called me regarding a possible contract upgrade. I made it very clear that I was not interested in upgrading at the time and that I only wanted to look at upgrades during Black Friday in November due to better deals. The agent assured us this would not be a problem and that we would still be eligible to upgrade in November. She also claimed we were paying too much for our current contracts and promised that Vodacom would send us a “free phone.” When my husband asked if it was a gift, she said yes—though she couldn't officially call it that.

Two days later, another Vodacom agent called with the exact same story. We told her about the previous call and made it clear again that we were not authorizing any upgrades. However, she checked the system and informed us that three of our contracts had already been upgraded—without our consent.

We immediately contacted Vodacom to cancel these unauthorized upgrades. After being transferred to several departments, we were eventually told the upgrades had been cancelled.

Then, we received a call from RAM Couriers saying they had a package from Vodacom. I told them I had not ordered anything and refused the delivery. Around 23 April, they contacted us again, asking us to sign simply to confirm that we were refusing the package. My husband signed and clearly wrote that we were refusing the phones, as we never agreed to any upgrade.

We assumed the issue was resolved.

From 28 April to 03 May, while away in the Eastern Province, Vodacom contacted us again and offered to upgrade only our data contract. We agreed to this. The tablet was delivered around 06 May.

On 26 May, I went to a local Game Store after seeing incredible deals on their website for their 55th birthday: 2x Samsung A26 phones for R379 and a Samsung Note 24 Ultra for R799. However, the consultant told me I could not upgrade because two of our contracts had already been upgraded on 06 May.

I was completely shocked and confused.

I called Vodacom and was told I had upgraded those contracts. I explained that the only contract I upgraded was the data contract. I was then told to contact the cancellations department. I have been calling every day since 26 May. Each time, I’m promised the issue is being resolved and the upgrades are being reversed — but it is all lies.

On Saturday, I finally spoke to a helpful consultant who told me which internal department handled the upgrades — Like Minds, a provider within Vodacom. I explained everything again and was told the upgrades were now being cancelled.

However, I then discovered that one of the contracts that was previously cancelled had been upgraded AGAIN — without any consent.

This is unacceptable. The way Vodacom and its internal service providers handle accounts and customers is completely *****ulent and dishonest.

We made it very clear that we were not interested in any upgrade unless it was on our terms, and specifically during Black Friday in November.

To make matters worse: If we miss out on the 55th birthday deals at Game (Samsung A26 x2 for R379 and Samsung Note 24 Ultra for R799) because of Vodacom’s unauthorized upgrades, then we expect Vodacom to match those prices and provide us with the exact same deals.

We never asked for any upgrades. We were misled, **** to, and manipulated. I even tried emailing Vodacom, only to receive an automatic message saying the mailbox is full. This shows a complete lack of customer care.

Vodacom has failed us completely. I am now seeking legal advice and will be reporting this matter to ICASA and the Consumer Protection Office.

This needs to be sorted out immediately.