Vodacom Repairs Nightmare!

On the 7th of May 2019, I took my iPhone 6 in to Vodacom repairs - Lakeside Mall for repairs because the phone would just reboot randomly and one day it went off with no power. I bought my iPhone from Vodacom in November 2017 and I am currently still paying for the contract.

On the day that I dropped the phone off at Vodacome repairs - Lakeside Mall (07/05/2019), the gentlemen who booked my phone in told me that it would be repaired under Warranty, he even told me that it showed on the system that I was left with six months of warranty, so I already had the impression that I wouldn't have to pay for the repair.

On the 8th of May 2019, 13:41, I received the following SMS, "Your Device has been booked in at VODACOM REPAIRS LAKESIDE with job number ********** 2. The turnaround time for a warranty repair will be approximate 2 - 3 days" and at 13:41 again, I received another SMS saying, "Job number ********** 2 is currently being exchanged and we are awaiting the replacement device." At this point, I believed that what the gentleman who booked my phone in had said to me was true and I was now waiting to receive feedback from them 3 days later, which would be Saturday, the 25th of May 2019.

I waited all day on Saturday and heard nothing, so I decided to call them on Monday 13 May to check on the progress of my phone. A lady in the back office told me that they hadn't even started repairing my phone and that they couldn't start because my 'Find my iPhone' was still active. I then went online to try and deactivate it myself because I was told that my IMEI number didn't match my Apple ID. After doing this, I called the store once again to find out if it had been deactivated because I had tried to do so myself. Another rude lady then raised her voice at me and asked why I was calling again because I had already been told what the issue was. Annoyed, angry and frustrated, I hung up because I had no idea what the problem was or what they were referring to because I'm not much of a cellphone guru so I needed them to assist me patiently and calmly as a customer.

I decided to go to the store later on in the day to inquire about this and why it had taken them sooo long for them to tell me they couldn't start repairing because of this, all they told me was that they were still getting to it and they handed me papers to sign without telling me what they were for. The first lady I spoke to telephonically was the one who handed me the papers and when I asked why she was handing me the papers, she told me she couldn't keep my phone in "HER" store and when I asked why she said she told me numerous times that it was because the Find my iPhone was active. It was at this point that one of the consultants (a lady) then explained to me (thoroughly and patiently) why they couldn't fix it or keep it in the store. It was only at this point that I understood. So the following day I had to make an expensive international call to Apple for them to assist me in deactivating my "Find my iPhone". This was done on Tuesday the 14th of May.

I took my phone back to Vodacom to be repaired on that day (14th of May) and was told that I was going to be charged for the repair and that the guy who booked it in made a mistake. They took it in on the 14th of May and on the 15th of May I received and SMS stating "Vodacom Repairs job no. ********** 7 has been sent to the Advanced Repair Centre for a higher level repair." and another on the 16th of May that says "Vodacom Repairs job no. ********** 7 has been received at the Advance Repair Centre. The turnaround time for a warranty repair at the Advanced Repair Centre will be approximate 5 - 7 days", and another one on the same day that said "Vodacom Repairs job no. ********** 7 is currently in the assessment process at the Advanced Repair Centre.".

On the 17th of May I received an SMS that said " Vodacom Repairs job no. ********** 7. Please contact Vodacom Repairs within 2 days to accept/decline the quote. So I called Vodacom Repairs and again reached the rude lady at back office who told me that the quote was R4500 and something and that they had quoted me for a new phone. She asked if I was accepting or declining the quote and I told her I'd come to the store and decide there. She then decided on my behalf because shortly after the call I received an SMS that said, "Vodacom Repairs job no. ********** 7. You have not accepted the quote for ********** 7, the device will be returned not repaired. For further information contact VODACOM REPAIRS ARC ********** .

At this point I made the decision to go get my phone and take to Apple to get repaired because it seemed Vodacom couldn't and I had been extremely patient with Vodacom and their rude staff. When I got to the store I was told my phone wasn't back from the repairs, I should come back on Monday the 20th of May. I rushed from Pretoria East to Benoni after work to get my phone before the shop closed and I was told yet again that my phone wasn't there. It's taken me 2 full weeks to try and get this sorted out and still my phone isn't back.

I am not satisfied with the service at Vodacom and will ensure that my family and friends know about this. At this point in time I want absolutely nothing to do with Vodacom and if I could terminate my contract with them, I would. I have been patient and trying not to throw tantrums, but I've had enough! All I want is to get my phone fixed so I can retrieve all my data and be able to use cellphone banking. This is unacceptable and I don't understand why some customers get treated like eggs and so politely whereas some of us get given the runaround for good service. I'm disgusted by all of this!