MultiChoice Africa / DSTV
reviews and complaints

A.Samuels customer no. [protected]. Ive just about had it with Dstv n there service delivery, its been many months that I've had a problem where by i pay my acc. But it does not reflect or it does but only in my box office acc. I've spoken to countless ppl in your service delivery to fix this problem n every month they assure me its been fix, just to find my dstv cut again n again n again every month. Last month i was told that my residential acc. was not set as my default acc. n that it has now been fix but yet again today my dstv gets cut. Is it just me or do you have a bunch of retards working in your service delivery room or is it that your system is so messed up that they dont know how to fix this problem? Im redlined and im considering canceling my dstv for good n just go over to Netflix because you pepeol reali don't care about your customers. This problem can go on every month n be fiex every month after i waist time n money to call n hang on a line for you to find the problem...i dont get my money back! Dstv got my details let hope i get a response.

I was a keen viewer of the windeck series on ETV. We reached the climax with the star Kiluanji proposing to Anna Marie on a plane, while Victoria and Henda continued planning to rob the home of the Vos's. Next day the series was taken to old episodes which we had already watched, I thought it was just a mistake, unfortunately since then Windeck a beautiful Angolan series has not been aired. Why? May we please see how it ends. I am a disappointed viewer from Zambia.

DSTV service is pathetic. I called to change my debit order date multiple times. I have requested for my method of payment to be changed as dstv is not able to debit my account and then proceed to disconnect my service. This is unacceptable, i have to go through days of no service and still liable to pay. I will be canceling unless someone knows how to do their work, I can't be inconvenienced due to incompetence.

I used the self service SMS number and checked my account for any amounts owing and it showed none also showed next payment due next month as payment was received for this month already I then called customer care to verify this and was told yes payment was received and next payment is next month..bear in mind my date for debit order payment is the 26th of each month..
I then drew out the money I had in my account and today I get a SMS saying account was not debited for the month and will be done tomorrow..
Get your damn system sorted out and perhaps send your consultants for training or how to read the system..
Your stupid error has now cost me time and money I don't have as I took the info your agent and system provided and drew out my money from the bank
Now I must go get money and make a deposit just so you can debit me tomorrow and to top it of the SMS came so late.
Catch a damn wake up multi choice as it is your programming sucks big time I just can't wait to get out of this price lock crap and move onto something better especially after this debacle

I am responsible for the payment of my parent's DSTV account, therefore the debit order comes off my account on a monthly basis. This arrangement has been in place for over 7 years. Last week my parents DSTV account was suspended and upon enquiring of the call centre as to why this was the case, we were informed that there was an outstanding balance on the account of R2300.

I could not understand how this could be the case as I have always had a debit order in place for this account and consequently could not have any, let alone a balance of R2300 owing...

Upon calling the call centre 3 times I was finally able to ascertain that there was a system error on the part of DSTV and instead of debiting my account every month with R799 + R35 for the decoder insurance, they were in fact only debiting my account with R735. This error apparently occurred for a period of 15 months and consequently along the current month subscription was now R2300.

Needless to say, I was astounded that a company as large as DSTV could make such an error and not identify it sooner than 15 months and then simply proceed to cancel/suspend the DSTV subscription without properly trying to rectify the error with the customer concerned due to this error not being the fault of the customer in the first instance.

It is grossly unfair to now expect the customer to pay this additional amount which was short-debited each month. Whilst I have no objection, to having to pay the higher premium going forward it is contended that the short payment of R1, 500 should be written off due to it not having arisen through any incorrect action on the part of the customer but rather a long on-going system error on the part of DSTV/Multichoice.

I await your urgent feedback in this regard as the next debit order of R2300 is schedule to go off my account on 1 September 2018.

On the 31st of July 2018 I made an EFT payment twice into your account due to technical problems with my bank.

I requested for the one EFT (R509) payment to be reversed back into my bank account ASAP.
I attached my DSTV and bank statement as proof and that's where all my troubles began. On the 2nd I received the R509 for the EFT.

On the 1st of August 2018 my account was debited and I reversed that with my bank since I had already made an EFT payment on the 31st.
My services were disconnected due to non- payment. I sent numerous emails trying to get this resolved and my reference was #3346, I received different "technicians" who were clueless as to what was happening, I was told I owed different amounts but no one could tell me what they were for.

Today I went to my DSTV account and found that I owe R803, why am I owing so much when I'm on a DSTV compact Plus package which is R509. On my DSTV statement the is a R410.48 reversal. Where was this amount reversed to because I don't have it on my account. I only have the one EFT reversal of R509 and debit order of R509.

I am super frustrated and angry at the incompetence multichoice staff has shown on this case and I'm ready to lodge the complaint with the ombudsman.

Every month when we pay the DSTV account, for some reason we have difficulties with the cable or something. We normally spend more time calling the customer service than watching TV. We asked for someone to come out and connect the cables properly for us and was advised that we can do it and they gave us a guideline over the phone. however when the phone gets cut off nobody calls us back but they also don't send someone out to fix the problem. I am really upset about this because I pay a lot of money for no service at all

After writing all this I wish someone would attend to it. Since the increase of subscription fee I have made my monthly payments promptly. To my surprise I was told that a different amount is due this month, I have called the call centre for this to be resolve, however it was not resolved.
I have attached all my proof of payments to this email address [protected]@gmail.com.
Alternatively please provide me with any other form of assistance I would get in this regard.

I have reported fraudulent Multichoice payments prior to this (June 2017) but have had R599 deducted from my account on 22 August. Ref M-choice85955595. See attached screenshot.

I did not authorise this payment and want it returned with the R18.50 service fee.

I pay R474 to DSTV every month, client ref [protected]. Why do I pay DSTV and Multichoice?

Karen Senior
[protected]@karensenior.com
[protected]

Why is no prior information given to Easy View subscribers that as from August 22nd 2018 DSTV will no longer broadcast SABC 1, SABC 3 and E-TV in South Africa. Because that is the current situation that as a subscriber I find myself subject to. No explanation, no prior warning, nothing.
If you go to the DSTV news website on the internet, these channels are still listed as broadcast to Easy View subscribers. My subscriber account no is [protected].

Good afternoon.

On the 13th of July 2018 our DSTV service was off (again) - so I made a payment of R919 to try and see what is going on (this is the amount reflected on the DSTV App as being outstanding despite a debit order). It then contacted DSTV through FB Messenger and was told that for months our payment has been credited against someone else's DSTV account. We have been trying for 15 years to get this sorted out and that was the absolute final. So I told DSTV through the FB messenger to cancel our premium account and refund me the payment that was made. It was confirmed that a payment was indeed received and that it accidently went off against a Mt vd Merwe's account - our account is Nakkie Pike [protected]). I was told the refund will take 7 days and I submitted ALL THE DOCUMENTATION requested - ID, Bank Letter, Proof of Payment - EVERYTHING. Then the REAL chaos started - I started querying why I hadn't received the refund and suddenly I get different answers from different places - every time it is a new person with a new reason and a new request for documentation I have already submitted. This absolute incompetent administration system and a clear lack of communication between DSTV employees were the main reason we cancelled in the first place. I am being lied to about when the refund will take place, one person said I will receive a refund of R1088 - the other says I need to provide proof for some odd R500 payment made in June (where that comes from God knows) because I simply want the R919 I paid on the 13th of July - the same day our Dstv was cancelled, and such cancellation was confirmed. This is not only completely unacceptable customer service, but it is absolute unethical business practices since there is clearly different promises made by different employees. I expect the refund to be processed - and I am certain you have the capability to track all conversations from [protected]@gmail.com, anne.[protected]@sasol.com and FB Messenger Anne van Niekerk-Tromp that includes all the information and all the bloody documentation I have had to submit and submit and submit.

Date of incident:27/07/2018
Client Number: [protected]
Full Description: I accidentally made payment to my DSTV account, and requested a refund that very same day. I was told to sent my send Proof of payment, Bank statement and ID which I did but till now I have not received that money. Im told my account number, the one I make payments with every month apparently does not match with my ID. All I want is my 4500 returned back to my account. Its been a month already and this has been dragging.

I nought a Explora from someone. Today I filled in a change of ownership form for my Explora. There is no communication between the change of ownership department and multichoice. A big company like Multichoice can be so useless. Every time I called Multichoice to switch on my Explora they gave me a different explanation for why its not changed yet. From my Id and then the serial nr thats not right. The xhange of ownership department confirmed that Explora shows its activated on my account but everytime I spoke to Multichoice they gave a different reason for it not being changed. I even offered the telesales lady that I'll send her the email where the change of ownership department confirmed that the Explora is activated. She still refused to help me. I really think for a big company like Multichoice they can do better with their service level. So I sit without watching Tv tonight Thanks Multichoice

Firstly, I don't think there is competent people to solve the problem. First I had to replace the eye and pay for the call out. Problem remained. Another call out, now it was the cable to the dish. Aparently cable eaten by rats. Never had a rat problem.
I personally think there is a time frame, where Dstv is shared. Why, today, we could watch after nearly 5 days and got switched off again. If it was a cable problem, why can we still connect now and again?

Good day, I am very unhappy with DSTV. For more than 2 years I have had numerous issues where my DSTV gets turned off although I am up to date with my payments. This has probably happened at least twice a month. When calling the DSTV help line, they are able to turn my DSTV back on but always require my proof of payment which I email to them, but yet a few days later it turns off again.

I've been given 3 different reasons from the help line for this happening, namely:

* there are two accounts under my name and the one has not been closed. I've tried multiple times to close it, I even went into a DSTV centre where they assured me that there would be no more issues. The call centre staff are never able to assist me and are always quick to only temporarily resolve the problem even though I ask them to please assist me in making sure it doesn't happen again.
*They have also said that I use the wrong reference number when making payments which is strange since I always use the same one which they gave me.
*They have also said that they have my ID number registered differently for the other account(the last digit is different) which I am unable to close.

I am unable to provide email correspondence due to only being able to phone their help line. They should have recordings of the multiple times I have phoned, as well as my daughter on my behalf due to me recently losing my hearing. It has become a huge frustration as I can no longer call them myself.

My DSTV details are below:

Smart Card no - [protected]
Customer no - [protected]

My personal details:

ID Number - [protected]
cell - [protected] (I can't answer the phone due to my loss of hearing, call my daughter if needed)
My daughter, Bronwyn - [protected]

I have attached my last payment which my daughter has already emailed to DSTV help centre, however, it has been turned off again. I have also attached an older email that my daughter also sent to them in 2016 with my proof of payment.

My desirable resolution would be for DSTV to finally sort out any issues that are affecting my subscription and account. I would like to be given the service that I am paying for and it would be fantastic if I could have 2-3 months free for all the airtime I've had to spend phoning the call centre and the hours wasted over the last few years.

I received an SMS on Saturday 18th August, telling me that my DSTV services has been turned off as I owe them R63.87 and I must pay them immediately to have my services re connected. I was not happy as I pay monthly by DD and I have done for the past 18 years! Never in that time have they not been paid on time all the time.
I telephoned them and the lady confirmed i did owe them R63.87 (i have not been able to conform this as I do not receive any form of invoice, just an SMS every month to say we are debiting your account on the 4th of the next month.
It appeared that THEY made the mistake but the R63.87 was owed, OK fine so please just take the money now as you have my permission or take the extra on the 4th September... NO, we cant do that you must pay now by EFT.. so I refuse to do this, it's not my fault, I was given zero notice that i owed you R63.87, no email, no SMS, no letter, no what's app.
So after 24 minutes arguing on the phone the lady went to her supervisor for the 2nd time and sense prevailed, they will debit the R63.87 on Monday and I had the services re connected.
Stupid, shocking waste of time. we have little to NO choice in ZA as to how we buy TV programs... what we have is VERY costly compared to the UK and the quality of the content is getting worse by the month...shame on you DSTV, if I had a choice I would move...a monopoly does NOT appreciate it's customers...
To the young lady who helped me, you told me time and time again that you understood my situation, but it was clear that you did not... training to say sorry and that you understand means nothing if you dont understand or offer a common sense solution to the problem. I have to push and push and waste my time with this to get a satisfactory outcome for the customer...the people who ultimately pay all DSTV employees wages!

I'm [censored]en pissed off with you guys. I made a payment of R5 240.00 on the 15th of August 2018 to you by mistake supposed to pay an amount of R524.00. My remaining refund was R4 716.00 suddenly my credit is R4 241.00...what the [censored] is going on? I'm still waiting for u to refund my money back by you still deducting money from my credit...now you decide to deduct R475.00 from my credit, what the hell am I supposed to do now? I haven't even paid my accounts and you busy deducting some [censored] from my credit. I want my money all of it ASAP. And after all I want to unsubscribe from Dtsv completely. Respond as soon as you receive this complaint. I'm livid now...like really now.

Customers name: Nathalie Sello
Customer number: [protected]

On 6th August I called your call centre to enquire on re connecting my DSTV service so as to re establish my subscription to DSTV. I was told the it would cost R954.09 to reconnect until the 30th August then the next installment would be due. I paid the said amount of R 954.09 at Pick and Pay. It was reconnected, but has been suspended frequently since then. When contacting the call centre they said that I owe an additional amount due to the service being extended beyound the subscribed amount I could not affort your subscriptions at the time. I was not able to continue beyond the term paid for. The services should have been terminated on the last day of subscription, like normal business practice.
If I was owing any additional amount, then the consultant should have advised me correctly. I would then have reassed my options.

I have paid what was to be reconnected, according to your consultant - R954.09, and have been continuously suspended over numerous days and then reconnected for a short period. I paid R954.09 on the 07/08/2018 at Pick and Pay. I have had interrupted service from you for 8 days and am still not able to view any of your DSTV channels. I spoke to your consultant on the number [protected] at 12:12 for 10`07 minutes on the 10/08/201. You owe me my money back and I will no longer subscribe to your services. Please advise when you will refund me my money. My banks account details are:
ABSA, Account No: [protected], Acc holder : H. R. Bell, ID [protected].

I am not happy with the fact that Multi choice is deducting 442.00 on my account for Compact which is 385. i requested to cancel insurance when i was downgrading to 100 6 months ago. i have recently upgraded in July then took 485 if not less and this month the took 442.00.

I would like multichoice to cancel insurance on my decoder and stick to 385.00

Ms Brenda Masemola
ID NO: [protected]

At the start of the SWC I called in to have my package upgraded so I could watch the soccer. Today I called in to revert back to my previous package to get a lot of technical jargon thrown in my face as to why this could not be done. I spoke to 2 people who's names I've got, the last being a supervisor. She was going to get an operations manager to call me as I refused to accept the argument as to why it can't be done today. DSTV can upgrade no problem and slap you with a pro-rata charge, etc. When you want to downgrade they can do the same but why would they want to lose money. This is an unfair practise that need to stop. I refuse to be bullied by DSTV and will take this further.