Vodacom expects free assistance from non-customers with ***** cases.

Unfortunately I cannot give negative stars on the website.

In December 2017 I was contacted by RCS who alerted me that an individual was opening several accounts in my name with a ********** ID document. RCS was immensely helpful and I cannot thank them enough for all their help.

In January 2017 I was contacted by Vodacom regarding a ********** Vodacom account. They insist that I need to provide them with an affidavit indicating that I did not open a Vodacom account since it is their company policy in dealing with *****. Since I do not have a contract with Vodacom, I don’t see how their company policy can force me to spend time (which equals money) on an issue to assist them to satisfy the determinations in their policy. Secondly Vodacom made the allegation that I have an account with them, which means that the burden of proof is on them. Ultimately Vodacom got ****med, not me.

After telephonic harassment by Vodacom over some weeks, I made the mistake of calling them on 8 February 2017. The first call was at 08:40 to 082111 and after almost 16 minutes the operator promptly cut me off. At 09:34 I tried again. I was put through to several operators, and since they do not share information had to repeat the story several times. Eventually I reached the (I believe) supervisor call centre who informed me once again that in line with their policy I must submit an affidavit to them. I responded that I’ll assist Vodacom in return for payment. The operator indicated that this was not possible and I asked to speak to her supervisor. She indicated that she did not have one. I find this very difficult to believe since according to Vodacom’s website Shameel Joosub is the CEO, which leads one to believe that there must be some kind of organisation structure. I was then asked for my cell number so that they could send me an SMS with the instruction. At this point I ended the conversation.

Vodacom’s conduct in this matter is unacceptable for several reasons: 1. Vodacom was de*****ed, not me. Therefore Vodacom needs to sort their problem. Rather than give me instructions, they can request my assistance. 2. Nobody appreciates being **** to: No supervisor? Really? None believes that. If it is your company policy is that the public cannot talk to Management, then you should say so. 3. Vodacom’s website does not make provision for e-mail communication, which means that when one deals with Vodacom there is no written record available to you. This will make it difficult to hold the company to it’s word. One wonders whether the system was set up this way to hide bad service or incompetence. 4. The call centre revolves around a Vodacom phone number. It is almost impossible to navigate one’s way through the computerised call distributer without it. In short: If you do not already have a Vodacom number, the call centre is not interested in you. 5. I do not appreciate the arrogance in Vodacom’s policy in dealing with ***** (apparently according to the policy I must provide them with a very specific affidavit, obtained on my time and provided to them for free). Since they were de*****ed, the right way to go about it would be to make an appointment with me and arrange to check their records against whatever information I am willing to provide. Failing that, they can open a case with the South African Police Service and subpoena whatever information they need. It would have helped a lot to get into contact with someone in the (supposed) chain of command that actually has the authority, knowledge and s****s to deal with the situation without making my life unnecessarily difficult.

To anyone considering doing business with Vodacom: Beware! A company whose Management refuses to talk to clients and potential clients, and apparently instructs it’s call centre to blatantly lie, will be difficult to deal with at best and will cost you a lot of time and money.