Vodacom System Error Caused Duplicate Data Transfer and Refusal to Refund

At approximately 05:00 this morning, I took a Vodacom Advance of R350. Although the amount owing immediately reflected on my account, the actual advance amount did not appear in my available balance. This was clearly a system issue.

I then attempted to transfer 3GB of data (approximately R165) to another Vodacom number. The transaction returned an error message, indicating that it had not been successful. Believing the transfer had failed, I attempted it a second time and received another error message.

I contacted Vodacom and spoke to a consultant named Mary, who confirmed that there was a system issue and that the system needed time to update. When she later called me back, she advised that the advance amount was now reflecting correctly, but that both data transfer transactions had been processed and deducted.

I accept responsibility for one data transfer. However, I do not accept responsibility for the second transfer. The second transaction only occurred because Vodacom's systems generated error messages and failed to correctly reflect my account balance.

I escalated the matter and was told that because the data had been delivered to the recipient number, nothing could be done. This response completely ignores the fact that the duplicate transaction was caused by Vodacom's own system failure.

Customers should not be financially prejudiced because of a system error beyond their control. I am requesting a refund or credit of R165 for the duplicate data transfer and a formal investigation into the system issue that caused this incident.