Vodacom permits 3rd parties to Charge Customers for Services they neither Requested nor Authorized

Despite allowing a reasonable time for Vodacom to investigate and respond, I have received no meaningful communication addressing my complaint i.e. other than their automated response customer service desk. I then escalated the complaint to ICASA where I was advised that the matter was beyond their jurisdiction. I must log it with the National Consumer Commission, for a resolution or mediation.

It is completely unacceptable that Vodacom permits 3rd parties to charge customers for services they neither requested nor authorized. As the service provider, Vodacom has the responsibility to protect its customers from unauthorized billing practices, not facilitate them.

THE PROBLEM: I contacted Vodacom’s call centre re. depleted airtime on one of the numbers linked to my account. The objective of the call was to track and trace usage. At the beginning of the call I specifically declared my suspicion of unauthorized automated subscriptions that deduct daily or weekly charges. Something I could not be responsible for, and I stated my reasons, which included: 1. The number belongs to my 11-year old daughter and, following a previous incident of unauthorized airtime usage, I instructed that all subscriptions be blocked. 2. Any billable service or subscription must be authorized by me before it is activated.

The agent advised that there were no active subscriptions on the number. He proceeded to call out the data bundles that had been purchased using the available airtime. As I was still not convinced and wanted more evidence (to know if there were any data/airtime transfers to another number - a portion of what would have been purchased), I called again at 17:05 and spoke to a different agent who informed me that there had in fact been an active subscription but it was cancelled earlier that morning. I immediately remarked that the cancellation must have been done during my call with the agent I had spoken with, given the timestamp. THE VERY AGENT AGENT WHO ASSURED ME THAT NO SUBSCRIPTION EXISTED...

This raises troubling concerns. Rather than disclosing the existence of the subscription, the agent silently cancelled it while misleading me into believing that none existed. To make matters worse, he credited my account with R50 worth of airtime, despite the subscription deducting R10 per day until the airtime was depleted.

I find this conduct dishonest, deceptive, and completely unacceptable. Customers deserve, and have a right to truthful information, not selective disclosure or behind-the-scenes actions to conceal the facts. All this said, I still demand: 1. A full refund of all amounts deducted through this unauthorized subscription, not merely the R50 credited. 2. AN EXPLANATION AS TO HOW THIS SUBSCRIPTION WAS ACTIVATED WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT, DESPITE MY EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION THAT NO BILLABLE SERVICES ARE PERMITTED WITH MY AUTHORIZATION.