Vodashop Commit *****

I recently booked in my Samsung A8 at the Vodacom Tygervalley store, as the phone stopped working. At the book-in I was advised my charging block was lose, which was not. The phone was checked for any physical damages and noted no damages. I was informed of a R57 quote rejection fee, should I reject the quotation to fix the phone. I mentioned that the phone is under warranty.

Now the funnies start....

The next day, or day thereafter I receive a SMS with a R5k+ quote to repair the phone. I rejected the quote and when in-store, had pay the R57 quote rejection fee. When asked what was wrong with the phone, the consultant said there is nothing on system and the printout had no information either.

Feeling frazzled by all of this, I posted my experience on Vodacom's Facebook page. I was then asked via comment from the social media team if store management was informed and was advised to inform them. I informed the social media team of doing so, when I go to the store. Not long after the first suggestion, Vodacom said I should contact Samsung and pursue the matter with them. I asked if Samsung issued me the Samsung A8 or Vodacom Tygervalley. No response to the posed question. I was then advised to return to the store and book the Samsung A8 in again for investigation.

When I went to the store to book the phone in again, as advised by the Vodacom Social Media team, the first thing I confirmed if the charging block was lose and was confirm it was not. The assistant then mentioned that if the charging block is lose the repair will be treated as non-warranty. Then, after booking in the Samsung A8 again, it was discovered that the returned phone was in fact a Samsung A5! And along with this Samsung A5 the damage report suddenly surfaced.

I booked in a Samsung A8 and was return Samsung A5. After posting this on their facebook page, I was advised to refer the matter to the repair centre.

Yesterday I received a call from their social media team, who conferenced a call with the repair centre to "get to the bottom of this". No resolve was reached. After the conference call, I received another call from the social media team. I want to commend this agent for trying, but that's it. He mentioned the store said the cause of damage was a crack running the length of the LCD. This is a stark contrast of the report when the phone was booked in.

What I'd like to know is after the initial walk in and abysmal service: Why are they sending me from pillar to post? Why have they given me a different phone from the phone I booked in? I have the receipts with different IMEI numbers Why after I made some noise was the damage report was found? Why was the phone booked in as a non-warranty repair? Why would they con me by saying the charging block was lose, to make me pay?