Pure Internet Misery

I experienced unacceptable conduct by their call centre agents, Unathi, during a support call on 5 August 2025 at approximately 16:15, lasting around 20 min. I had called to request clarity on which of my accounts was being debited for my fibre internet service (via Afrihost as third-party vendor to Vumatel). This was in the context of a recent quishing ****, which resulted in my bank account being compromised and my bank issuing new cards. From the outset, Unathi was dismissive and unhelpful. When I asked for confirmation on whether the payments were linked to my business account or credit card, he was unable to provide an answer. Instead, he insisted that monthly statements had been emailed to me. However, upon checking thoroughly, I had received no such statements. His repeated insistence that “you don’t get it,” “we seem to be missing each other,” and “you’re not understanding,” was condescending, inappropriate, and indicative of poor customer service. He eventually confirmed that it was a bank card payment decline, and sent a Payfast link via SMS to update my card details. However, the link failed to open and gave an error message. He also unhelpfully suggested I visit a “big-name retailer” to make payment — a suggestion that was impractical given my situation. He insisted he could not provide any details as the service provider was Vumatel, yet Afrihost collects the subscriptions and hence the only point of contact. How bizarre? Why offer a service when unable to render proper support? This frustrating experience prompted me to call back. I then spoke to Riccardo, who was polite, professional, and solution-oriented. Upon reviewing my details, Riccardo informed me that the statements had been sent to an outdated email address — one that I haven’t used in years. This was never verified or corrected, and yet Unathi had insisted the statements had been sent to me. Riccardo also clarified that the reason the payment link didn’t work was because I had signed up for the service in 2022 — before reference numbers were introduced in the new process — another important detail that Unathi appeared completely unaware of. Riccardo advised me that an email would be sent to Payfast, and that I should receive a working link to update my card details. He also asked to be copied on that email to follow up on the process. I’m pleased to confirm that I received the link this morning and that the issue is almost resolved — thanks entirely to Riccardo’s competent and courteous support. While I appreciate Riccardo’s efforts, I must formally express my dissatisfaction with the way I was treated by Unathi. His conduct was dismissive, his tone patronising, and his knowledge of internal processes demonstrably lacking. This is not the level of service one expects, particularly when dealing with sensitive billing and account issues.