Vodacom - No Business ethic

In December I entered into a new cell phone contract with Vodacom. In the first month, the phone provided (Xiaomi Redmi Note 12) developed a fault - I took the device - January 5,2024 - to a Vodacom Shop in Canal Walk Cape Town. They confirmed that there was a problem. They said that they would have to send it to their Johannesburg repair centre, who in turn, confirmed that the phone was faulty -they said it was a defective ear piece which needed to be repaired -Job no ***2 has reference. I only became aware of my rights as a consumer in terms of the Consumer Protection Act (Act 68 of 2008) a week or so after my first interaction with Vodacom. The Act is very clear when it comes to replacement or repair – it states the following under section 6 of the Act : The Section 56 imp**** warranty can only be evoked within six months after the delivery of the goods to the consumer. The supplier must at the direction of the consumer (i.e. it is the consumer who makes the following choice and not that of the supplier) repair or replace the failed, unsafe or defective goods; or refund to the consumer the price paid by the consumer for the goods. I have tried in vain to take this matter further with Vodacom - via their customer care email address only to be referred to their “Bot”. This “Bot” could not assist – it has no brain – but it did ask if I would like to interact with a human. I elected to do so. At the time of writing, 5 days, I am still waiting for Vodacom to contact me. In a last ditch attempt, I finally made contact with the Vodacom shop where I initially took my phone to. They have confirmed to me, in a written response, that they have sent a motivation to their escalations department for a CPA approval. I have been waiting exactly 4 four weeks for this matter to be resolved. All of the above should never have happened if only Vodacom had elected to do the right thing at the outset. They should honour the conditions of the CPA. As good business ethics demands, they should also inform consumers of their rights in terms of the conditions of the CPA. They choose not to do so. Be very, very wary of having dealings with this Company.