Bad Service & Bad communication

Greetings,

I have been in communication with Vox since last year August, where I initially took a contract with them as I was moving from another provider, through a marketing campaign they was having at the Blyde in Pretoria around that time.

I took the contract on the promotion they had and sales team were great and sold me all the dreams. Problems started when it was time to get the service. Vox installed this small Wifi device in September last year, which as soon as I realised that this network was bad, I called the agent who assisted me (Thabiso), who was very helpful, around the 17 of September. I told him that Bro this network is bad, I can't have it on any of my rooms it only reaches where the "small" device is and kitchen but it can't reach any of the rooms for kids and my Wifi as it used to do on the previous provider. Thabiso quickly referred me to log a ticket to the office to explain all that, so they can send a technical person. He is not allowed to come direct, which I did immediately. Fortunately he was assigned to come to my unit again around the 26th September. When he was done with the service he gave me following feedback "The router is working fine. Your walls are too thick for the signal to be able to go through. I asked Vox to send you a quote for the range extender, and that will help to boost your signal".

I told them that I don't have a budget for that. These are the same walls I have been having and Vox has other clients around so I assume you knew about them. The problem therefore it is not the walls but the "small router" you are having as compared to other providers who are using ones with big ears, yours has none. Then I was given to Johan who is the head of technical and he told me that they will have to charge now for any extra service to come. This was a long call we had around the 10th October with him. He was even surprised when I told him that I even had a router and I told your people about it and why cant they just help to connect that one. Long story he said they will have to charge me for any work coming there. I then said to him bottom line is that I am paying for the service which I can't get and I can't continue like this. You can't claim that then you have installed a service and I am getting one when you are not making sure that I am getting the service. With all of this I then decided to request a cancellation on the 30th November 2022, which obviously came with the penalty of a month notice, which I did honor and make sure that I stay with them with that bad service for a month extra.

MAIN CHALLENGE:

Main challenge was not that but rather Vox expecting me to pay for another penalty called cancellation fee which costed around R1300 which was raised in January 2023. Now I had settled everything except for this. I e-mailed vox a communication around that saying I don't understand what this penalty is about as it suggest that you I am cancelling a service. I told them that since the beginning Vox never installed a satisfaction service and I had communicated all of this to the relevant departments, and now I am cancelling mainly because of that. If you could solve my problem I would still be with Vox, but you could not and hence I am finding a new provider as My Wife and Kids are on my case of the bad network in the house because of your small router and I have to pay more to extend signal while I didnt have too with Home connect.

Around February I continued to communicate with their collection department. besides their main e-mail for collections I also copied Portia & Dane All the above e-mails were rather useless as not even one person on the above saw a need to respond and try to assist. Is as if they knew that the "writing is on the wall" that they will be sending to their legal department. As I write this now I got a call early hours before even 8am from (their debt collectors) saying my account have been handed over as I am a bad payer, and now I owe Vox no longer R1300 which was there 3 months back but rather R2800. I don't even know how it got there, from R1300 in 3 months but hey anyways, it's not like I even understand the R1300 anyways.

Vox are using their power to abuse consumers, and their service is so bad in communication and solving problems for their customers because they know they have all the monies to take customers to their annoying debt collectors and legal. Eventually my name will be on credit bureau I assume, and they will claim I am a bad payer and they wont mention that they are actually the bad service providers. Their finance department is so sharp in collecting funds, but their service delivery is so slow in responding and that is not their problem I am sure. Once a customer sign a contract with them, then for them its good as work is done and we are stuck with them for at least 12 months with that bad service, cause if you cancel you will pay them that R1300. It's bad and it's abusive their approach and that is why I am complaining here and hoping that someone from Vox will contact me to sort this out. If not I will also have to take it to another platform of consumer complaints, where I will need further assistance. Engaging them directly is useless as they never respond to any communication.