vodacom esim hassles

i tried to do a sim swop on vodapay app to convert a physical simcard to esim.i paid r25 for the esim and vodacom sent me an email with a qr code.i scan the qr code with my iphone but the esim wont activate.i tried to enter the setting manually but the phone says contact vodacom.so i contact vodapay and they say go to a vodashop.the vodashop says i have to buy a physical sim for r20 in order to convert back to a physical simcard so that i can pay r25 again in order to convert back to a esim(and hope that it works).when i go to mtn the esim is free and takes 30 mins no problem