Vox telecoms

I recently made and online query for fibre installation - I was then contacted by a vumatel agent to assist me in choosing a service provider. One of the options was Vox - I selected the service provider and the agent sent the request to Vox with my consent.

Shortly after, a Vox representative contacted me via phone call and sent me an email of the quote. The quote had terms and conditions set out which are binding should I accept the quote.

I followed the instructions set out in the quote as well as per instruction of the representative I spoke to on the phone which was to click on the link sent to me via email, write the words “accept [reference number]”, and attach my ID copy in order to accept it .I made payment soon after. I used the reference number given to me on the quote and sent my proof of payment to the email address provided to me which is ***.

About an hour or so after, I received an email with the subject “ Vox Telecom: Q*** Contract Acceptance Request - Failed” and body which reads “ Dear Buhle Twetwa,

Please be advised that the contract acceptance for quote: Q*** has failed validation. The sender (identified by the email address) is not allowed to accept this contract.

If you have any queries, please contact our Support Centre.”

I contacted the support ***.

I then received an email from *** stating “ Dear Buhle Twetwa,

Unfortunately, we cannot identify the quote/contract you are referring to. Please ensure the correct quote/contract number is in the subject of your mail.” which I assumed was correct because I simply copied and pasted the quote number given to me.

I then received another email stating “ Dear Buhle Twetwa,

You have responded with an invalid email reply.

Please reply with the word ACCEPT and your quote number. Ensure your quote number is in the subject line of your email! Contact our support centre for further assistance.

If you have any queries, please contact our Support Centre.”

After attempting t for the third or fourth time and receiving the same response, I decided I was no longer interested because the process was extremely cumbersome. I sent an email to all email addresses I’d received emails from expressing that I am no longer interested in their service and would like a refund.

The Vox representative called me shortly after and ‘explained’ the steps again and I was simply not interested and asked for a refund. The Vox representative proceeded to inform me it would take 30 business days to do the refund and to email *** to express my non-acceptance/cancellation - I said it’s fine, I just want my money and no longer interested in their service.

I sent an email to *** requesting a refund from which I then received an email stating “ We have updated Your Service Request, number VOX***9.

The updated comment to your request is as follows:

"Dear Customer

Hope you're well today. Thank you for your enquiry.

Kindly note that in order to proceed with a refund, we require a PDF Proof of payment together with a PDF Official proof of bank Account not older than 3 months for a refund request

You are welcomed to retrieve these online and Please send them to ***

Refunds may take up to 7 working days to complete.

These documents are necessary for verification that payments was made by you and should be paid back to you.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will await receipt of the above mentioned documents. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We thank you for taking time to enquire on the matter, and we hope we have assisted satisfactorily.

Have a good day further.

Regards Vox team” from one of the representatives and also received another email from *** which stated “ We have updated Your Service Request, number VOX***8.

The updated comment to your request is as follows:

Dear Buhle Twetwa,

Hope you're well today.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Kindly note that in order to proceed with a refund, these are the requirements for a refund:

1. Customers written request for a refund

2. Official bank proof of payment downloaded from their banking app a screenshot of their app or SMS is NOT sufficient.

3. Proof of banking details either a bank confirmation letter or a bank statement not older than 3 months

Please send them to ***

Refunds may take up to 7-14 working days to complete. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will await receipt of the above mentioned documents. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We thank you for taking time to enquire on the matter, and we hope we have assisted satisfactorily.

Have a good day further.

Regards Vox team”

I sent the requested documents listed from 1-3 to ***.

On 13 February 2024, I receive an email AGAIN from *** stating “ We have updated Your Service Request, number VOX***0.

The updated comment to your request is as follows:

"Dear Buhle ,

Hope you're well today.Thank you for your enquiry.

Unfortunately we are unable to allocate your account using any of the given information and therefore we are unable to assist with your request.

Please forward us any of the below information to assist us in allocating your account successfully:

- Your ID number if the account is in your personal capacity - The reference number on your bank statement next to the Vox debit order - Any invoice number received from Vox - Your bank account number which we are currently debiting on a monthly basis

We will be able to assist further upon receipt of the above information.

Kind Regards," Please rate my service by sending an e-mail to ***”

Now the previous email did not state I had to provide my ID number and the quote I’d receive from Vox.

Firstly, the glaring inconsistencies in the acceptance process and refund time frames is extremely infuriating and unprofessional. The turnaround time to responding to my emails was slothful.