What a nightmare!!!

<p>I have been a Vodacom contract customer for over 3 years, never missed a single payment in all this period. I have 2 contracts with Vodacom and for the two together I pay an amount of R177. In September I was offered a data deal where I was told I am going to get 5 Gigs data for R199. I told the sales consultant that even though the deal sounds good I am not willing to pay anything more than R199 to Vodacom but she misled me into thinking the two existing contracts that add up to R177 will be discontinued. Further to that, she did not disclose any other costs that will come with this data deal even though I probed as much I could with regard to what taking this deal would mean for me financially. </p> <p>To cut the story short, I took it. Few days down the line I was hit with a massive bill where upon inquiry I discovered that I was charged for the following: </p> <p>1. R119.00 Router +Sim Card </p> <p>2. R196.50 Connection Fee+ Pro-rata Data- Please note that contract was taken after 15 Sept and I only received 2.5 Gig data for that month</p> <p>3. R100 Unpaid Debit Order Fee- My debit orders are set for the 1st of every month, I was not informed that there is going to be a debit order on the 22 Sept, otherwise I would have made a provision. This transaction cost me R130 more because the bank also had to charge me an honouring fee.</p> <p>Come 1 October- no debit order went through and I had no idea why. The money was there as always, waiting for Vodacom. Days following that I got automated recorded calls regarding non-payment of my account. Now you cannot ask a recorder "what do you mean, can you?" On 10 October I received an invoice of R969.20. So I PHONED Vodacom to inquire about this and I was told I actually owe R 595.20 , the rest is for the following month. Now, in my simple maths R177+ let's say R 99.50 for the 2.5 Gig data does not add up to R595.20. I was told to log a dispute and that they are going to remove my debit order so that the money that I was billed does not go through on the 1st of November. I did not like the idea of removing the debit order but was told it is the only way and that I must phone back in when the dispute has been resolved to re-instate the debit order. I was then told to pay the R177 towards my two old contracts to avoid disconnection and I did so on the same day. </p> <p>The router was never used for the whole month of October. By 30 October, my two old lines were disconnected without notice. Dispute is still not resolved, I still have no idea how much I need to pay, it's not even November yet! On the 2/3 Nov I got a call concerning the outcome of the dispute. I was told the agent I dealt with was found guilty in that she misled me into believing I will be paying only that R199 going forward. I was also told I was not supposed to have been charged for the things stated in the 3 points above, they do not charge them for telephone orders...something like that. An apology was made and part of the terms of the apology was that I will be paying only R159 per month towards the data contract- I accepted. </p> <p>The lady I spoke to supposedly put me through to Accounts at the end of our call so I can get an indication of what I needed to pay that moment now that the matter has been resolved. Never thing call was dropped, I do not know whether she forgot or what. Now with my lines disconnected, the only number I could get through is the ********** . I phoned this number soooo many times to inquire about my balance and could never get a satisfactory answer. They still gave me that R595.20 saying that is all they can see. I do not have a problem with paying but I cannot pay for something I do not know. Every time I asked for a breakdown of this amount, I could never get a satisfactory answer. Mind you every time I phone I need to authenticate myself, imagine doing that 15 times in a space of 30 minutes. </p> <p>After many calls I discovered that even though the dispute was removed, whoever was supposed to have done this did not attach a credit note as a results no one can tell me how much exactly I need to pay. So I decided to pay the R177 towards the two old so they can be re-connected. I did that and phoned again but was told I cannot be re-connected because my account is still in arears, that I will be charged reconnection fees and that I should avoid late payments in future as if I had anything to do with this. The classic moment was when I phoned at around 11am and was told I owe R287 and after making a payment of R177 an hour later I was told I owe R595.20....how many systems is Vodacom using? How am I supposed to pay when not even your agents know how much I owe. I asked for my statement to be sent, instead I received a 'warning letter' saying I need to pay an amount of R 595.20. I do not know how many times I was being transferred to Accounts but never made it there, instead was taken to the customer satisfaction survey or back to Subscriber collections.</p> <p>I kept on phoning until Friday 4 November I got a reply saying we have noticed that you have made a number of attempts to contact us, please leave a number we can contact you on. I left my cell phone number, up to this day Vodacom has not contacted me. My lines have been disconnected for 2 full weeks!! The security system at my place uses the phone to get in and out, I am a stranger in my own place because my phone cannot make phone calls, I must wait outside the gate to be let in. I cannot make calls or send messages in a phone that I have paid because someone at Vodacom did not do their job. I have heard and experienced poor customer service before but this! Unbelievable!</p> <p> </p>