Vodacom : Enduringly ****e

On 15 May, I wrote the below review. I was immediately contacted telephonically by a person from Vodacom's hellopeter desk - yes, so many complaints that they have to have a dedicated answer team? She undertook to investigate and get back to me shortly. She seemed offended when I said that I doubted that I'd hear from them again. So guess what? 19 June, which I guess is 5-6 weeks, and still nothing further. Maybe in terms of Vodacom "customer service", 5-6 weeks is pre-shortly? Summary : Dishonest sales practice, five unanswered emails to "Customer Care" (Vodacom does, indeed, have a sense of humour) telephone calls and a hellopeter callback, but then nothing. Vodacom 2- 0 Customer. In the meanwhile, the monthly doubled billing continues to go through.

I really can't wait for this contract to run it's course, so that I can go elsewhere. Will they care? Not at all - I am a tiny, individual customer....but I have been a loyal contract client for, I would guess, 25-30 years. They should care.

"Around mid-March I was contacted by a Vodacom representative who said that they were restructuring their packages and wished to change mine, which has two lines on it, to one with more data and minutes. I told her that we did not use what we had already and had no wish to upgrade it. She told me that it was simply part of the package restructuring and that it was a better package at no extra cost. I asked her, twice, to confirm that there would be no additional charges to me, which she did, in a conversation which is apparently recorded and available for checking. I reiterated that I didn't need a higher data / minutes package. On the basis that there was to be no extra cost, I told her she could go ahead, which she did, and I received sms notification of a different package on my contract. Surprise, surprise - my monthly bill, excluding the handset charge, has doubled (Yes, doubled). After telephoning Vodacom to reverse the change back to the status quo ante, and holding on for 25 minutes, I decided to use the "Customer Care" (sic) email contact address. Commencing 5 April, I have to date sent 5 emails, each eliciting an automated response promising to react within 24 working hours, but have had nothing else/no contact/no response in the month and a half since my first email- an astonishing absence of even the pretence of service and a breathtaking arrogance towards a long term contract holder - not unexpected, I suppose. Vodacom is a disgrace and its "Customer Care" department probably doesn't even exist. Vodacom 1 - Customer 0 Full Time score?"