Vodacom Is Predatory To Their Clients

To begin, I’ve been a contract client of Vodacom for years. I’ve used most of their product and service offerings over my lifetime of being their client, and this is why I can firmly stand in my conclusion that their service has become deplorable. If you can take your money somewhere else, save yourself the headache and do so.

I have a cellphone contract with Vodacom. When getting the phone (on contract) I also took up Vodacoms insurance package which would allow me to receive the same phone or an equal one should something happen to my device.

On the 8th of March this year, I took in my iPhone 12 to be repaired. The back and front of the phone had shattered. I was told the phone needed to be sent to a repair centre for repairs and would be returned within two weeks. I received a job ID (***7).

The month of March passed, and I as the customer had to be the one to follow up for progress. I was told that the phone had yet to be looked at, even though the Vodacom app showed that the damage had been categorised as “Cosmetic Damage”.

A while into April, I start querying progress AGAIN and I was informed I would need to call the insurance department because the repairs team was waiting for the quote to be signed off. Again, what would have happened had I not checked in?

Further into April, I was informed that in order to get an iPhone 12, I’d need to pay an excess fee of R1000.00. This contravened what was said before about my Vodacom insurance covering the full value of the phone. As I urgently needed my phone, I paid the fee.

I followed up AGAIN, and I was informed, via sms, that repairs had not began and that due to the time it had taken the process had been cancelled due to me not accepting the repair quote. NO ONE HAD FOLLOWED UP WITH ME.

Before I could even process what was shared, I received another sms with another Job ID (***7). This clearly informs me that someone decided to cancel the first job ID and create a new one so that they could cover their bases for the amount of time it has taken to resolve this. Time that is still ticking as I still do not have my device.

It is now the 22nd of May, and I still do not have my phone. Vodacom has collected their monthly premiums with no delay, but I’ve essentially been paying for thin air.

On the 16th of May, I sent a complaint to Vodacom, via email, with screenshots of the sms’ received and a request for my device to be brought back to me by 20 May 2022. I further requested that nobody make contact with me without a solution to this months long issue.

I then received a call on the 18th, this call is to inform me that I must be the one to call the claims team as my email could not be attended to by those who received it. Customer Care was supposedly the wrong department for a customer’s complaint.

I was then given the number to claims, which I know off by head at this point, and I had to go back to square one. Once I reached the claims department, I found a bit of respite from a lovely lady by the name of Cynthia.

Cynthia didn’t resolve my query, but I appreciate that she didn’t make Vodacom’s problem mine. On investigation on her end, she was able to revert to me and inform me that Vodacom no longer had stock of iPhone 12s as those had been discontinued. She further relayed that I’d have to pay an additional excess amount in order to get a new iPhone.

This is where my query with Vodacom sits now. So to summarise.

- Sent my phone in on the 8th of March. - Received an sms saying my device would be returned unrepaired on the 30th of March. - Received another sms on the 31st of March informing me that my phone was back in for repairs. - In April, I am requested to pay an excess fee of R1000.00 in order to receive an iPhone 12 back. - On the 19th of May, I am informed that I need to pay an additional amount in order to get an iPhone 13 because the 12 was discontinued.

I have also requested a refund for my device and insurance premiums for the month of March and April, I was informed that I’d have to be the one to take it up with the accounts department.

Please stay away from this company. They will take your money and send you from pillar to post for services they gladly advertise as being efficient and fair.

To the Vodacom personnel seeing this, I want my NEW iPhone delivered to me before the end of this week. I want my premiums refunded for the two months I paid for products and services I didn’t have. I will not pay an additional excess on top of what was originally relayed to me ON A RECORDED CALL.

It is quite obvious that I am being sent left, right and center as a way to dissuade me from continuing to asked to be treated with fairness, but thankfully we have Ombudsmen for such instances.

Fix your mess and stop trying to make it the clients’.