Vumatel and their ISP SADV have very poor customer service

Item: Vumatel
Rating: 1
Author: Mzukisi M

I’m based in Mthatha (Kwezi) in the Eastern Cape and I have a Vumatel Fibre at my house which was installed by SADV(South African Digital Villages) the ISP and it was working perfectly ever since it was installed last year. Last week on 12 February 2024 I called in to change my payment method from Easy-pay to Debit and the lady assisted me with everything and I paid the full monthly payment of R399 via debit to confirm my card details and authenticate the debit then had an arrangement that they will debit on a specific day of each month. 2 days after paying my entire area that uses the same Fibre as I am went down, I logged cases with Vumatel and I was told that the technicians will attend to it within 24-72hrs which is 3 business days, but until today I’m still without Wi-Fi/internet connection yet I paid for it. When I called Vumatel on 19/02/2024 to enquire about the Fibre problem a very rude lady told me that Vumatel doesn’t debit my account, the ISP does that and I should speak to them and not Vumatel then I asked for the contact details of the ISP and I was given a WhatsApp only number which you text and never get a response. I logged another case on the WhatsApp number on 17 February 2024 and was told that the first Reference I was given on the 14th is no longer there. I am now on day 6 without connection and no communication whatsoever is sent to explain to us as customers what is happening and if the problem is fixable and being attended to or permanent, in order for us to look for alternative options.

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Mzukisi M's updateReviewer Update

22 Feb 2024, 16:54

I have been trying to contact the ISP SADV from the onset and I don’t get any response even after sending Aton of messages, last time I sent a WhatsAppmessage at 18:07 and the respondent/robot only rep**** at 03:54am. Which company in their right state of mind does that yet they know very well that that’s their only way/form of communication they use for their customers? Remember when we registered for this Fibre it was Vumatel on the forefront and SADV is like a subcontractor under you guys and when we pay our easy-pay accounts in-store it references as “VUMATEL” and not SADV, so I think now that the are these issues and we are unable to get a hold of them “SADV” or your subcontractors, you as the main contractor need to contact them and get them to sort out this mess by refunding us our monies because it’s your name as Vumatel that is being tarnished. I’m sure that this problem in the uMthatha area did not start now because areas like Kuyasa, Southernwood etc have been cutoff a while ago, but still debit orders are Authenticated by your customer care people. I only change on the 12 of February to Debit and the lady assisted me knowing very well the area that I’m at and that the are challenges that the subcontractor “SADV” is facing, because when connection was cut off on the 14th for our area, at the areas that i mentioned above connection was cut off a long time/months ago and your customer care personnel already knew that the is an issue at the uMthatha area but they still assist with the payment switches and say we should authenticate debit orders to confirm our card details as if everything is still running smoothly. So you guys need to get a hold of your subcontractor and sort out peoples refunds including myself and stop the bank debits with immediate effect and also send a communique to all your customer care people to stop assisting with onboardings and payment switches. Thank you

Mzukisi M's update22 Feb 2024, 16:54

Reviewer Update