Vodacom Tambotie Mall: Faulty Phone, Delayed Repairs and Unresolved Vodacom-Upgrade Cancellation Request

Extremely disappointed with Vodacom Tambotie Mall – I was left without a phone and now cannot get the upgrade cancelled. On Thursday 10 September 2026, I went to the Vodacom store at Tambotie Mall to hand in my existing phone for repairs. Because I was going to be without my phone while it was being repaired, a Vodacom consultant advised me to take out another phone since I was due for an upgrade so that I would at least have a working phone during the repair period. I agreed to take a new Samsung A37 because, at the time, this seemed like a reasonable solution to my situation. Unfortunately, the A37 Samsung immediately started giving me problems. People could not hear me properly during calls, and the phone would mute during conversations. I rely on my phone for work, this was a serious problem. On Monday, 14 September 2026, I returned the phone to Vodacom and reported the problem. I was told that the phone would first have to be booked in for OBI/testing before I could receive feedback. The phone was booked in with Job No.***. At this point, I was once again left without a usable smartphone. I had to ask Vodacom to provide me with a loan phone during this whole process and I was given an old loan phone, which was extremely slow and difficult to use, I eventually had to borrow a phone from my cousin. What made the situation even more frustrating was receiving communication from Vodacom Repairs on 25 September 2026 (almost 2 weeks later) indicating that my phone had only then been received by Vodacom repairs. I went back to the store and spoke to Mapule, who I understand is the store manager. I asked why the phone had only been received by Vodacom Repairs after 2 weeks of me returning the phone back to the store. I was informed that the phone had apparently been misplaced at the store and was only booked in for repairs on Thurday and was collected on Friday. This was extremely disappointing because the entire reason I agreed to take the upgrade was to have a phone while my other phone was being repaired. Instead, because of what happened at the store, I was left without a reliable phone and had to make alternative arrangements for me to have a phone to use during that time. I then made it clear to the store that I no longer wanted the new phone or the additional upgrade. The phone had not served the purpose for which I agreed to take it in the first place. I was told that Vodacom first needed feedback from the repairs department before they could consider cancelling the upgrade. I have now been informed that the phone is back at the Vodacom store and that it was tested and apparently "nothing is wrong with it". I do not accept this resolution. The fact that Vodacom's testing could not reproduce the problem does not change the experience I had with the device. I reported a specific call-related problem almost immediately after receiving the phone, returned it promptly, and explained that I needed the device specifically because my original phone was undergoing repairs. I also returned the phone within the first few days of receiving it and requested cancellation while the matter was still within the initial period following the transaction. I am therefore requesting that Vodacom urgently review the circumstances surrounding this transaction and cancel the additional upgrade without penalty, rather than forcing me to continue with a phone and contract that I no longer want following this experience. I hope Vodacom will resolve this matter fairly and without requiring me to escalate it further to the appropriate consumer dispute-resolution bodies.