Vodacom Increased My Contract Without Consent and Refuses to Fix It

This is my first time ever having a cellphone contract, and unfortunately Vodacom has proven all the negative feedback I’ve always heard about contracts to be true.

I first noticed in November that my monthly bill had increased without my knowledge or consent. I immediately contacted Vodacom to query this. Since then, I have been calling the call centre repeatedly, but I have received no proper assistance or resolution.

Each time I call, I am given a reference number, promised a callback that never happens until the reference expires, or I am told to go to a store because the change was allegedly made in-store. What is extremely confusing and frustrating is that I have never gone to a Vodacom store to request any upgrade or increase. I app**** for this contract online, yet I am now expected to go in-store to reverse changes I never requested in the first place.

To make matters worse, I am now being told that I must pay a penalty fee to downgrade the contract with different consultants giving different amounts, some saying R3 000, others R600. There is absolutely no consistency in the information I receive. Every consultant tells a different story, and I am expected to just accept it and pay with my own money for changes I never authorised.

Vodacom keeps saying my data was increased, yet I never asked for more data. I am already paying for uncapped Wi-Fi and hardly even use mobile data, so it makes no sense why I would request an upgrade.

I am now being told that because I “called after three months,” I must pay a penalty to downgrade which is completely unfair. I called the moment I noticed the increase on the VodaApp. The first consultant I spoke to told me she could not assist and advised me to call back after a month. In December, I called again and was given a reference number with a promise of a callback that never happened. I continued calling and was repeatedly sent from pillar to post. In January and February, I called again, and I am still not receiving any real assistance.

Instead of resolving the issue, Vodacom consultants seem more efficient at wasting my time and money. I feel completely ignored and treated unfairly as a customer.

All I want is for my contract to be reverted to the original amount I agreed to, without being penalised for changes I never requested or authorised. At this point, it feels like it is either Vodacom’s unfair way or no help at all and that is extremely disappointing.