Vodacom's complete lack of customer care

On the 15th of FEBRUARY this year my iphone 7 screen cracked, which was 100% my fault. I still used it for about a month and then I sent my phone in to have it repaired. After about a week I got a call telling me that they checked my phone and there is nothing wrong with it. I explained how the screen was cracked and waited for the repair to be done. I received the phone back in the third week of March and the first time I switched it on I realized that this phone is not the same one I sent in. The phone was freezing every time I took a call or sent a voice note and was seriously slow. The camera was also not focusing and the phone heated up pretty quickly. NONE of these problems existed before I send the phone in for a screen repair. Now tell me how you sent in a perfectly functioning phone for HARDWARE repairs and receive a totally non-functioning phone back?

I took the phone back on the 27th of March and explained the problem after which the lady informed me that it was a good thing it was within the 40-day period after I received it back otherwise they would not have attended to my query. We live in an outlying area and I most definitely did not have the phone with me for even ten days! The lady told me they counted from the day it was booked out by I phone repairs in JHB, and not when I picked it up. But since they took it in I did not make a fuss to my despair.

I waited untill the 5th of April only to hear there is a quote of R7358.85... I tried to explain the situation as above but the lady made no effort to assist me and only told me that its fine she will inform the workshop to send the phone back because I reject the quotation. I felt like I have no option so I said its fine we will speak when the phone arrives. I was beyond furious.

I waited to get a call to collect the phone only to receive another phone call on the 4th of May (ONE MONTH LATER) from the same lady, who I will not name here, telling me there was a quote of R7358.85 to have the phone fixed and asking if they could proceed. I was so shocked with her complete lack of customer care. I informed her that she already called me and that I am waiting to have my phone send back. She asked me to explain the problem to her. Which I did, AGAIN... She then said she would have the phone send back and speak to me when it arrives and see what she can do. I finally thought she was going to assist me.

I again got a call the 7th of May saying the phone arrived and she finally understand whats going on. Just when my hopes got up she continued by saying: "the phone was at first send in for a screen repair and now there is a problem with the software. Unfortunately they refuse to repair it because I had the phone for 40 days before I reported the problem so it must have been my mistake." I asked to speak to the manager, and she said she was the manager. Clearly I had no resorts left and she was unwilling to assist me.

Just to top it of when I went to collect my phone, my screen protector was missing. No excuse, no explanation. All of the problems I stated was not even noted on the job card and they did not even try to help me.

In the meanwhile I am paying thousand of Rands for the last three months for a phone I cannot use to a service provider who could not care less! Why on earth am I still loyal to this company, who clearly don't care about customers.