Vodacom Insurance customer service poor

I have had an iPhone 13 Pro Max and have had insurance with Vodacom for the entire duration of the phone contract. Recently the screen stopped working and we submitted a claim 9 days ago.

We have since learnt that Vodacom did not insure the phone to the full value - which is not okay as they are the ones who are responsible for checking those details. The consumer does not calculate the insurance value, it is up to the service provider to communicate the cover given fully, which was not communicated.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max has been discontinued and the only option is to upgrade to an iPhone 14 plus or 14 pro max. The problem that we are now facing is that on top of the excess we now need to pay a betterment fee, which means that Vodacom is now asking me to pay in R10 000 instead of R3000 to get a replacement phone. It is not the consumer’s fault that the 13 pro max has been discontinued.

Furthermore, we were in contact with someone this past Saturday who communicated that we could review the insurance to help with the betterment fee; we have been waiting since then to find out if it is possible. The issue now is that they keep escalating the matter but we are told daily to wait until the next day for feedback. At this point I am frustrated that the phone has been under insured and that we cannot get any feedback on the progress of the claim and the settling of the betterment fee.

Vodacom have fallen short in providing good service.