UPDATE! VODACOM IS BETTER AT PROVIDING EMPTY PROMISES AND RUNAROUNDS THAN THEY ARE AT PROVIDING SERVICE! UPDATE!

UPDATE FROM MY ORIGINAL POST DATED 22 MAY 2020 Despite having responded to this complaint twice, to promise me that someone will be in touch, I have not been contacted. I am convinced that Vodacom is prolonging attention paid here so that I will never be given my right to return this contract even though I tried all the available options! Where Vodacom is concerned, the only thing I can be confident of is that you will be misled. Vodacom will lie to you. Vodacom will give you zero courtesy as a customer. Vodacom will hold you responsible for their empty promises and mislead advice, Vodacom will disappoint you.

ORIGINAL POST - 22 MAY 2020 Some time at the beginning of this national lockdown, I took out a Vodacom data contract. On April 17, 2020, I received delivery of the device and sim card. Within days, I noticed that the device was not holding a charge for more than 30mins. There is no point in having a mobile router if it needs to be attached to a plug point at all times. Ever since, I have tried to get this contract cancelled and returned. Vodacom stores were initially closed. So I contacted the customer care centre. The agent advised that I should contact the cancellations department. The number provided, after all, it's prompts would lead me to voice prompt telling me that they were unable to service my call at this time due to CoVid-19 restrictions. I contacted the customer care department again. They assured me that the 14-day return policy will be amended to account for the restrictions put in place. Vodacom retail stores were allowed to open, and I took the device and contract details to a store. They advised that the only way to cancel this contract would be to contact the cancellations department... They attempted to contact the department from the store, with no luck. Fast forward to today, after multiple calls every week to a voice prompt system that leads nowhere, and multiple calls to a customer care centre that leads me back to the unreachable cancellation/returns department, I was finally able to speak to a consultant. Imagine my disappointment and anger when I was told that there is nothing that can be done, as the 14 day period has passed and I am not eligible to return the device... Stuck with a device that does not work properly and a service provider (Vodacom) that makes empty promises, gives incorrect advise and simply cannot be trusted. If you are thinking about taking out a Vodacom contract, it would be in your best interest to use other service providers.