MultiChoice Africa / DSTV
reviews and complaints

We bought 2 extra view decoders yesterday and had an installer come out to link them to our main decoder. After at least 5 calls to the call centre someone finally escalated the problem to technical support. We were told at around 7 they would call us back by 8 :30. Surprise no callback. Is this really the kind of service we pay for. It should an E43 error which we were told happens with the new decoders. Strange thing is that the picture appeared and then disappeared again showing the E43 error.

Leslie Petzer
[protected]

I bought a DSTV Model 5S decoder at Game store in Kathu, Northern Cape on 3 May 2018 with full installation. However the installation company that was suppose to do the installation and every time i called them they say they dont have stock and waiting for delivery, the phone just rings non stop or they hang up on me.

Today is 11 May 2018 and the installation company hasnt come to install it.

I called the Customer care hotline they refered me to another installation company (Appliance Warehouse) but they just hang up on my ear when they hear i need installation.

I need to know how long can these guys stall me or should i take back the decoder and get my full refund as my wishes as a customer are not being fullfilled.

A charge of $40.00 was made on 5/9/2018 to my debit card by MultiChoice Africa. This was not authorized and as far as I am able to ascertain the charge was for Television service of some type in Africa. I am a native Arizonan and still reside there. I have never heard of your company until being made aware of this occurrence. We would have no use of television in Africa.
We will be expecting either a cancellation or refund of the damages within 5 business days

I have tried sorting my account out now from last year may and yet still no luck. I have even gone into the Multichoice office's and yet still no help. Even though the lady behind the counter helped me a lot the problem is not solved. They still have 2 accounts on my name where I only have one. Cancelled my 1 account from May 2017 and still having problems and they kept on cutting my DSTV for not paying but I didn't owe them any money. I have asked for people to give me a recon of my account like I did for them via email so I can sort it out or try but still nothing. I am so tired of fighting with DSTV. It was the worst move ever I made to move over to the price lock. I have even sent them banking details to try change my account details last year in August but still today it has not been changed. Does DSTV actually care about their customer or are they just in it for the money? I am awaiting an urgent response.

Very disappointing service. very disgruntled customer. Annual payments can never be simple it seems?
I am having a nightmare of a time trying to get an account manager to send me a personal email address so I can try and sort out my account. I have been informed of the amounts that are due, which I pay, then I get cut off because I have short paid... when I paid what I was told to, but it seems that each person has a different formula... to try and explain the situation over the phone takes ages, and every time I have to try and re-explain the history of many years of problems which just leads to complete frustration. I would like to correspond in writing first, so that the account manager has the opportunity to review the history and then when they phone me it is with the correct background.

I have been trying to have my extra view and now my primary decoder problems rectified, my problems are have now lasted almost a month, I have 5 different reference numbers, [protected], [protected], [protected], [protected], [protected], I have replied numerous times and received numerous emails (which I can forward), and each time I have been told that something will be done... I have not yet received any call or improvement in service, Firstly my secondary decoder 1110i was faulty, it was replaced at Randburg in the second week of March, I was told that I needed an installer to install they came on 21/04/18 (not covered by insurance which I have been paying for such an event, and it is not my fault that DSTV cannot supply the existing unit I had), and that all that would be needed was a diplexer, the installer came out and informed me that the new unit was not compatible with my existing PVR and that I would need an Explorer, I called DSTV on 21/04/18 and was informed that they would call me back with details of pricelock and explorer within 24hrs, I have not yet received a call. I returned home 1 night 31/03/18 and found that my primary decoder was not working, as it was 23h00 I had to wait until the next day to rectify this (DSTV had made the new decoder which is not connected as it is incompatible the primary decoder thus rendering my primary decoder ineffective as it was no longer the primary), after having my pvr reinstated as the primary decoder it then functioned again but now approximately every 15-20minutes it freezes and reverts to channel 100, this interferes with recordings and viewing, I have emailed many times and just do not receive service.

I have sent the details of the installer 3 times (Aerial & Satellite Expert [protected]), I now have 1 decoder that only partially functions, 1 decoder that does not work, a diplexer that I have paid for that is of no use to me, I have taken time off work when the installer came 21/03/18, and I am wasting time every day sending e-mails.

I would at least expect the problems to be resolved and a refund for this months subscription as I have not had use of the extra view for at least a month and my primary decoder has been giving problems since 31/03/18

I am beyond disappointed

L. Rogers
[protected]

Good day,

Very frustrated and feel it's ridiculous that in Botswana you can only have 2 boxes in a household, only one on Xtraview, yet we pay much more for our monthly fees in general yet the service is the old system.

It causes people who live in Gaborone, rather to open DSTV Accounts in South Africa to avoid this and use their smart cards in Botswana.

I really hope this would get resolved, and possibly even their Rates to be checked.

1. We went to namibia for holiday had trouble with our old smartcard so multichoice namibia changed our smartcard because it was faulty the gave me a new one so we watch for 5 months dstv in namibia and botswana so before we went back to south africa we asked to shift it back to south africa so we called dstv africa they told us it's already shifted back he also send us a email I called send them all the info decoder no old and new smartcard the paper that it say faulty smartcard etc I phoned about r600 out to get some service I am really frustrated I tried now for 2weeks that my dstv must work no success I using my data to watch my program

Good day. My name is Millicent Sithebe. I have the DSTV app on my phone where I check my account. I checked on the 2nd of May 2018 on my next payment and it showed an amount of R680 which is due on the 1st June 2018. To my surprise I get an sms saying that my account is behind by R550 which I need to pay before the 7th May 2018. My first call with the customer care I was told that I need to pay R175 which I explained that the DSTV app says that my account is due on the 1st June. I made a second call and I was told that I need to pay R475 since the debit order did not go through. Which information is accurate at this stage? Customer care told me that the app is incorrect. What is the point of having this application if it gives incorrect information. I just need clarification on the matter as the application is supposed to simplify our lives as consumers. My customer no : [protected]

I really can't believe or understand why my account is been suspended do to so called "lak" of payment.

On the 21/04/2018 almost two weeks before month end i made an payment on my dstv smart card no. [protected] via Internet banking from Bidvest bank to multichoice with refno. [protected]. I even got a conformation report from my bank showing ."R405.00 was paid to you from J PRETORIUS at 13:11 on 21/04/2018. Your ref: [protected]."

On 05/05/18 my account was suspended...after numerous calls costing me a further -+- R150 for airtime nobody could help me at dstv or multichoice. I had to travel all the way to the bank (70 km) just to get another conformation that the account is being paid to multichoice. Once again after numerous calls nobody could help me? So who is stealing or sitting with my money? Now I'm charged with reconnecting fees ext?.. this is not aacceptable.

DSTV's new 'Action Attraction' Super Sport schedule, while aesthetically pleasing, is pretty pathetic on the simple premise that it has become incomprehensible when it comes to finding out the entire day's sporting schedule at one quick glance/ scroll down. Which is what most CUSTOMERS want!
We don't care for fancy bells and whistles, we just want info at one quick go, so KISS (Keep it Simple, Stoopid) ;-)
ps. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

ever since February 2018 we are being billed incorrectly. My ID Number: [protected].

ever since I call monthly and is put on hold to rectify this every month. The customer service agents always esculate to managers and they came back and give me an amount which is paid monthly on time.

nobody compensates me for the call as again today the 4th May I am again with a consultant who put me on hold for more than 17 minutes @2.30pm.

I feel this is the worst service we are getting from Dstv if my child didnt watch these movies I will disconnect immediately.

I mean nobody needs to be treated like this every month poor pathetic customer service with absolutely no solutions.

i am wondering if this month I should go on hello peter as I am sure somebody there will see and maybe having the same pathetic problem like me

I ordered a new decoder at the beginning of April - with price lock (R899.00) received the unit - a week later the installer removed the old decoder and installed the new unit. All seemed fine the unit was in working order. I was asked that the monthly payment must be done by debit order to which I agreed (R899.00) only to discover that R2334.00 was debited from my account.

On querying it I was told that I have been billed for the unit from date of delivery although the unit was not yet installed and also been billed for the old decoder not in use, was removed by the installer. I had a similar problem when the previous decoder was installed two or three years ago with being over charged. For that reason I never made payment by debit order, now I'm having the same situation with money charged not agreed to at any stage.

I will appreciate your assistance in this matter to have it rectified, I have been paying my subscription fees every month for years without any issues - every time I upgrade there seems to be financial issues.

My ID Number - [protected]

Thank you

Shane Booysen

Complaint :
Installer based in Alberton Johannesburg at the Lemon Tree Shopping Mall, I had an installation booked for 13h00 03/05/18 and when they did not arrive at 14h00 I went over to check if everything was still on track.
The lady I spoke to at the reception counter was Shaney, who was very rude and unhelpful.
What she advised was that 1 of their installer's did not arrive at work and they were running behind, this is understandable, as these events do occur, but the attitude and the way she addressed me is not what a front end person does.
Tone and manner of speaking was not warranted.

I asked if it was possible to give me a time frame of how late they were and her answer was no.
I asked if possible to contact the 1 installer that they had covering both jobs and she replied no.

Next I asked whether the installation could be done over a weekend, no.

My next question was could I cancel my installation request, she without answering picks up the phone to someone and says installation for Naidoo is cancelled and then pages through her file to find my installation request.
I really should have kept quiet, as she proceeded to pull out the application of another Naidoo and proceeds to cancel without even checking.

I then asked if there was a complaints department I could address and she said, you can contact the Head Office, and then proceeded to speak to the person behind me.

If this is the kind of service levels that Multi Choice offers to the public it is surprising that you still have customers.

I do not know the name of the agency, but the telephone number for them is [protected].

I would really now consider ever referring anyone to use your services and I am unfortunately bound by a 24 month price lock package and cannot move away.

Looking forward to your comments or a way forward.

Kind Regards
Claude Naidoo

On the 25 April 2018 I made a payment for my subscription of R574 via FNB cellphone banking Multichoice is a public recipient listed under FNB beneficiaries .. Like i have been doing to months.
Ont he 26 April the checked my balance via *120*68584# double checking whether payment has gone through, balance still reflecting. 27 April I called the call centre ********** 222 and spoke to Lebohang and she requested me to send her the proof of payment and email it to ********** as well which i did.
The reply below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enquiry Reference Number:
********** 1

Dear Shanalee

Thank for your email, please be advised payment is delayed by your bak.Since your details are correct there was supposed to reflect normal

Kind regards,
Lesiba Raphadu

I then called FNB and was informed that payment has definitely left my bank account.
2 May I called again this to speaking to a supervisor "Larshan" who tells me that the payment reference or the DSTV account number was incorrect. I called FNB again! FNB confirmed that that is the correct account number as multichoice has multiple bank accounts of which ********** 3834 is one of them! This morning my services is disconnected! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! I am actually so fed up with having to phone dstv everytime to have this sorted out. What more must i do? The bank has done there part by sending the proof of payment! Why is dstv not sorting this from their side? UTTER Rubbish service!

Morning

On the 02 May 2018, I took the explora decoder to DSTV Festival Mall, because the day before it was showing exclamation mark and wasn't working. So the lady who was helping me named Constance, said that what is causing the problem was the power supply priced a R350. So before I bought it, I asked if it wasn't the problem will I be refunded and she said yes.

Unfortunately it wasn't the problem, and I returned it. On my arrival, the lady (Constance) shouted at me and told me that I was not going to be refunded. when I asked to speak to the manager, the manager never come to see me.

I am disturbed by the way I was treated at this Festival Mall DSTV shop and now am stuck with a power supply which am not using.

I am not happy what DSTV has been belling me, This months they charged me for the recording of a decoder that 's broken and replaced and I called them to inform them to cancel all the service on that decoder and replaced it with another one but they still charged me for both !
I also cancelled Shomax a couple of months back but they're still charged me for it till today ...
It's a bad idea to pay DSTV by debit order

Good day
My PVR Decoder was damaged by Lightning last year and I have received a new decoder end of Apr 2017. Ever since, I was not able to receive my Box office movies rented. As I am a debit order payer, I do not need to pay cash into some account, as per just one of the many answers given to me about my complaints. The last time I tried to rent, before yesterday, was Sept 2017 - which was unsuccessful as well.

Nobody seems to have an answer for me. The last consultant proposed I defragged the decoder as he thinks my hard drive is corrupt. So was I given a decoder then with a corrupted hard drive from the beginning? As I was never ever able to rent from box office since I received the new decoder. Someone even said that it is those upgraded decoders - 'Eish - lots of troubles"

These so called "troubles" are not my problem. I fail to see why I should pay my full monthly amount if I can't even use one of the simpler features of the PVR!

This is not acceptable

Please help

I was emailed today from my debit card saying i was declined for a purchase from mutichoice Africa, luckily i do not have international charges set up on my card. I do not even know what Multichoice Africa is nor did i try to charge something for their service, very upset, i will find out whom tried to order with my card though. What kind of business is this

My price lock contract came to an end on 24 March 2018 and I was paying R934, around 15 March 2018 I notified the call centre that I would like to take up another price lock but this time just the subscription and I was told I will be paying R848.

To my surprise my debit order for March 2018 was R1068 and I was told it was because I took another price lock. In my mind I should have been charged R934 to conclude the 24 months price lock contract.

I complianed about this on twitter and through call centre and DSTcare said someone wiull contact me. I have been waiting since.

This month I have been debited R983 and I don't know for what now because I am expecting a debit order of R848. To top it all I havent been receiving any statements from multichoice when I queried this I was told I must log onto my account to view my statements, I mean surely multichoice has an obligation to send me my statements like all other service providers.