Vodacom - Pathetic service, disarray and incompetence

I took a new data contract ***) on 19/09/2022 that was supposed to lapse on 19/09/2024. On trying to cancel it I was told that it was a 36-month contract and not a 24-month contract. I obviously disputed this as I was in possession of a document printed at a Vodashop clearly indicting that it was a 24-month contract. I eventually requested a copy of the audio recording at the time of the contract activation only to be told that Vodacom will review it or that I could listen to it at a Vodacom outlet. Needless to say, nothing came of that so in October 2024 I eventually just gave up after numerous calls and ridiculous quotations for early termination. It was the same story over and over without any resolution.

Fast forward. On 18/01/2025 I received a call from a company that informed me that they investigated my claim and that they found it to be valid, Ref RCO***. (I also have a SMS to this effect) I requested them to cancel the contract immediately which I was assured that they would. I also requested to be credited from September as I was not using the line. They promised that it will be escalated to the back office. Needless to say, but the contract was not cancelled nor was the credit request processed.

On 27/02/2025, I phoned again with the same promises. The request will be escalated to the back office. More alarming is that the cancellations department could not even locate the note on the system referring to the positive investigation that was concluded in my favor. Interesting though is that when I was phoned for new products is that those individuals could actually see it. Again, no action from Vodacom; no SMS and no email.

On 05/03/2025, I phoned again only to start the entire process again. At least I received an SMS confirming the conversation. How difficult is to cancel a contract? Vodacom can phone me ten times daily to sell a product but when it comes to cancelling, well …...

The sad part is that I gave up on this and would just have continued paying until September 2025 at which time I would have cancelled all contracts with Vodacom. But then, the phone call on 18/01/2025 from Vodacom informing me that my claims were valid. I thought finally, we can conclude this matter but how wrong was I. In the meantime, Vodacom is just so happy to bill me every month for this line.

This entire situation is unacceptable and shouts disarray and incompetence.

Note: The last two call center operators really tried their best to assist, but I am of the opinion that their supervisory structure failed them. This makes for bad business as it places them under unnecessary pressure from aggrieved customers.