MultiChoice Africa / DSTV
reviews and complaints

In September 2019 we cancelled our service with MultiChoice due to us moving from South Africa. We cancelled our contract with an agent at MultiChoice and she sent us confirmation that the contract was to be cancelled on 21 September 2019. We left South Africa believing all was done. We then noticed that MultiChoice was still deducting an amount on the 28th of every month. We contacted them and again it was confirmed that all was cancelled, but the payments kept being taken from our account. My husband then wrote to the CEO of multiChoice to which no response was received. Our payment continued to be deducted from our account even though no service was provided and we had confirmed cancellation. Being at a total loss of resolving the issue, we decided to take all the monies from the account that MultiChoice was deducting the amounts from and we noticed that they were still trying to deduct as we were being charged for insufficient funds by the bank. This continued for nearly a year. In total they have deducted R12,809.52 from a service that we no longer used. The monthly amount has also changed and the references to the transfer look a little suspicious. I am almost convinced that a large Company like MultiChoice would not put their customers through this debacle and there may be some fraud within the company. I feel that this should be investigated. The transcript for ticket number 2021130.

My name its veli david mosehla I was called last week about a dstv rooter special, I then took up the deal which was a 400 gb and was told that it will be delivered within the next 5 working days. I was also told that before they deliver they will phone me, I waited for a call nothing, just today after 7 days, I get a call saying they could not deliver because of wrong address, I then asked what do you mean wrong address, what happened to call before deliver, I never got an answer.

I then ask the lady who call me to ask her supervisor to call me as I'm not happy at all with this nonsense explanation. Till now still waiting for a call. I then decided to call the customer care number only to be told to go to any walk center I will only get help there,

Identity [protected]. This is one of many poor service from multichoice. As for the lies

Good Day.

I'm one of DSTV subscribers.

In March 2022 I canceled my PVR function. I then started to use HD Decor.

It only comes to my attention that Dstv they never cancel my PVR function. I then call them a month ago. And ask them what was happening this was after I see my may statement.

So DSTV was still billing for the services that I was no longer use.

The first she tells me that I must call after 24hours because she wanted to listen to the recording when I was canceling my PVR service. of which I did.

As you are aware that its a call center phone's will be picked by anyone who is available.

The following day another lady answered the call and she put me on hold for 30mins till I run out of airtime.

Today again this guy told me that there's nothing he can do to help me. I then ask him to speak to his team leader he agreed then he let me hold for 40mins.

DSTV they where charging me extra R120 for the last months. They are refusing to refund my money.

I have had a horrible if not horrific experience with MultiChoice/DStv South Africa. I mistakenly paid money into the DStv account instead of the account I had intended to pay. I did this on the 10th of June.

I called in to ask for a refund. I was assisted by a lady who ensured me the refund would take place within 5-7 working days. She asked for my banking details, ID number, address and contacts.

I called in numerous times because I had not recieved my refund which I need urgently. When I called in I was told to wait a further 7-14 working days. I was furious to say the least.

To my shock on the 26th of June 2022 money was deducted from the money I asked a refund from. I found this out because I called on the 26th of June to check the progress of the refund.

Because of the incompetence and lack of professionalism of DStv I decided to cancel my services with them mind you I have been a loyal customer for more than 7 years and after this I do not ever intend on opening a DStv account again or even recommending or encouraging anyone to stay with them.

When I cancelled I spoke to Thomas who ensured me that the refund would take place within 3-7 working days. Is it 3, 5, 7 or 14 working days that the money should reflect. DStv get it together.

On the 29th of June 2022 I got a call from Khensani one of the consultants/staff from DStv to tell me my refund was declined because I did not have a copy of my ID, bank statement and proof of payment. She was the only one to tell me that I needed these documents out of everyone I spoke to. I am appalled.

I need my money urgently and I still have not recieved my money from DStv. For a company that prides itself in being the best they have failed to do that for me. Maybe it's because they don't value their customers or my support was an insignificant.

I know I made a mistake by paying money into the wrong account but I do not deserve to suffer this much for what is rightfully mine. I still haven't recieved my money.

Why has my subscription gone up by R 100/month without any notification?

Surely you can notify a person beforehand instead of just increasing? This was supposed to be fixed for a long period.

Hi

I have a sad scenario from an experience with Multichoice.

To give detail of the scenario see below,

In March 2022 i went to pay for DStv subscription at a Pretoria Amandasig branch and was assisted by Nokwanda whom later on disclosed to me that she is the branch manager.

After being alerted by their App that the payment did not reflect on the account i went back to the establishment to inform them of this issue. Then the lady Nokwanda advised me that she will reach out to the finance department to correct the issue since on her side she can confirm that indeed the payment was done at her branch but was not allocated accordingly.

Fast forward few weeks later i went to the branch again since i had not received any feedback nor was the funds allocated but to my surprise i was informed by Nokwanda that the issue should be resolved as per the finance department of which i disputed because on the app the payment is not allocated and she also confirmed my findings once she looked into the account.

Then the issue was further escalated to what is captured as "Agency Cluster Queries" but that department responded by saying they have allocated the funds but on my side it is still not reflecting even after waiting for more than a week.

So i have visited the branch, called the branch consultant and even sent follow up emails but to this date no one has taken ownership of my issue nor responded to confirm if anyone will look further into this issue.

Nor has this bad service been an inconvenience financially but it has also brought an element of disregarding consumer rights.

In closing for record purposes, this issue has been ongoing since March 2022 to this date.

My Email: [protected]@yahoo.com

I am lost for further words.

Good day

Please may I ask why has 3 movie channels been taken away with no replacements and the monthly subscriptions remain the same. It is not fair on us customers who have been loyal with their payments, to receive such crap. What am I supposed to do with foreign channels.

This is day light robbery and absolutely disgusting and shameful. There is no explanation given, just have the channels one day and gone the next day. Please can a proper explanation be given or have the monthly subscriptions reduced. It seems that our complaints fall on deaf ears.

Please have the decency to reply.

i have three decoders one primary two secondary, so on the 20th of june we realised one of my decoders we changed to family and that happened without my consent because all three decoders are on compact plus. i called in asking them to change my subscription back to the way it was and while fixing it they explained they will have to break the link and reconnect it again, the broke the link and the one decoder never came back on again i have been calling the call centre 3 times a day for the past six days my one decoder is still off apparently now they cant fix it or if they can fix it they switch off another decoder.

what makes me so angry they cause the problems in the first place and then they tell u the problem is with the installation but all my decoders have been working fine till i called them. i have spoken to more than six agents one promise u we will fix the problem now other one puts u on hold for more than 20min not coming back other one says give it 15min then it will play other one says i need to fix my installation. no one can sort out the mess they created.

i just called in again asking them to please fix my decoder because what will happen now is this company will charge me my full subscription even though im struggling to get it back on. the agent of tonight sounded fast asleep when i told u u sound very tired coz i know by the sound i wont get any service,surprisingly she put the call down in my ear.

i have more problems with this dstv than in my own life, but when it comes to payment they want their full amount or they cut you off in an instant plus the agents are not helping in any way.

Good day

I recently noticed that I can now only stream on one device at a time. I think this is absolutely absurd. We pay so much for this subscription and now you are limiting your own app.

It used to be very convenient for us as family to all watch whatever we want on whichever device at whichever time...which is mostly all together when everyone is having some down time together. My husband usually on sport, kids on their channel and me watching my series.

I would've been able to understand if it was only for live streaming to stop password sharing, but to include catch up as well is ridiculous in my opinion.

This will only drive us and I'm sure many other customers to other platforms.

On the 3rd of June I paid my DSTV account as normal, but because its been a while the owner of the decoder passed away, i decided to change ownership on Monday 20 June 2022 (sent their form with supporting documents of the deceased, Letter of authority and my ID copy as they requested). Sent to [protected]@dstv.com (They then changed the profile shorty so without even notifying mw, but there was no issue of course change requested was done. Upon that change i did request for the transfer credit from the old account to the new account) that wasn't done, only the ownership was done. They then send me an email that change has been done and I'm watching on credit i have 24hrs to make payment.

I start calling and I'm given the run arounds and references that when i call they cannot pick up on the system. Last one was your ref.: [protected] (agent told me they cant pick that up)

What i don't get is they can see payment has been done on the previous owners account, but when ownership was change --money wasn't moved (someone not doing their job). and i call in they request for proof of payment of which i sent still nothing they cant pick up that proof, I've sent proof to

1. [protected]@dstv.com

2. [protected]@multichoice.co.za

The agent from the Durban branch then ask to place me on hold (cause whole day a paid dstv is not playing) to speak to their supervisor who responds with i need to go to the branch-- I ask to speak to him directly I'm told his now in a meeting Name of that supervisor is Bulelani. 2days I'm calling multichoice, taking time from work ( calls that run over 20min--no help and now money i paid I'm not getting the service due to someone not being able to do their job). still its not getting to a day my paid services are not running (who will credit me for that?) -Cause if money can be seen on the previous account why isn't that being sorted?

3 weeks ago I bought 2 new dstv internet routers cash from dstv online. It was delivered 1 week later after a struggle to track its whereabouts. The person who delivered the product also took a picture of Proof of residence and copy of ID. Few days later, I received an sms confirming that RICA was successful and it is active. Everytime I call dstv, I am told that routers are active but no data is there because I am not Rica. Very confusing. I have an email of a stuff member to me saying that the data has been loaded. I took it to Newcastle dstv, they confirmed that there is no data and they will call me because there is an Information they need from me after all this drama.

I paid for the data 2x R170 for 50Gb a month and confirmed online the billing account for 2 x R170 monthly. Rica documents were given to the delivery person and dstv confirmed RICA via sms.

Almost a month now, have never used these products.

I am very disappointed with dstv or multichoice Africa.

The latest of 10 references is [protected]-i500. I have lost count of these references.

The level of customer care here is at a delinquent level. Not proud to be still watching their channels. I have been an account holder since 2007 to date.

I have the premium package and on 1 June 2022 added compact plus. On 2022-06-15 i could not watch dstv on thr compact package and was informed that i must pay R 645-93 to activate my compact subscription. Why must i pay that amount for 15 days and then pay again R1626-67 on 2022-07-01. My premium package is R909, so why is the compact so much as i already paid the above amount to activate the subscription. When i phoned to ask on 2022-06-16 the lady hanged up and i think its really unprofessional

I have been noticing that DStv/ multichoice keeps closing channels, I mean last month alone over 6 channels fell off or rather closed and I see no replacement or the added channels or maybe an explanation of some sort,However the subscription money keeps on increasing ,how is this happening, how is it fair ? DStv is ripping us off

I received an sms that the appointment for my installation was 15 June 2022 at 13H00. I contacted the installer on his cellphone around 13:30 to find out if they are on their way. No answer on cellphone and no response to my sms message. At around 15:00 I emailed the installer and your helpdesk and no response from both. This is appalling service as I had to take a half day’s leave for nothing. Please have this sorted asap.

I rented a Movie on the 5th June but the Movie couldn't play on my TV, I immediately call Customer service/ call center. The lady that I spoke with promised me that my query would be resolved within 48hours. I then again called Multi choice on Tuesday following week on 07th June and I spoke with a Gentleman who also promised to escalate the matter to his superiors but still I wasn't helped. I called on the 9th June again and l was again told lies. In all these occasions I keep telling them that I have already paid for the Movie in question but the Movie couldn't play on my side. I just rented another movie today 14th June and it didn't play and again when I called I was told lies. I just want my money

Hi there

I have been a Premium customer of you guys for quite a few years now and recently discovered that out of the 5 registered devices i have i can only stream 1 at a time! How is this even a option...i have one main tv in my house in the living room and the bedrooms all stream from this one in my own house and now no one can stream from there DSTV NOW app on there TVs,this is utterly ridiculous!

And to make things worse you guys are taking the streaming options away but the price of my premium membership is still R900 +...

Im sorry but if this does not get fixed im going to have to cancel and go look elsewhere for less money and more options.

Regards

Jacques Van Rhyn

I have had to cancel my holiday home subscription because of the bad service I always get when I go to the holiday home. Everytime I go there I'd phone to activate my holiday home, but instead multichoice switches off my other decoder and swap usage. The last 2 times I was at the holiday home it took me calling and holding for hours and decoder was only opened after 2 days but I was billed for the full 4 days I was there. I still have an open service number after a month still complaining about the same issue. Multichoice has very poor service lately. The last time I called call center agent answered call and was busy talking to someone else at the home for about 3 minutes and when they realized I was still holding on the line she started saying hello a number of times and saying my line is bad and she can't here me cause I was angry and asking how could she puck and chat to other people while I was on tge line. I wish there could be another service provider that could give multichoice a run for their money.

Customer number [protected]

I made payments of R1000, R40 on the 1st of June 2022, and another payment of R100 on the 2nd June 2022 to make sure reconnection charges would be covered over and above my 2 Compact packages.

From the 1st of June 2022 - I have called the DSTV number [protected] to ask to be reconnected on my 2 decoders.

Proof of payment has been forwarded each time it was requested but at the time of writing - no agent could see them.

Depending on which agent I spoke to - the account [protected] into which I have been making payments for the past 2years was either invalid, old or no longer in use - and that was some of the reasons I was given for my payment not being able to be allocated.

The last agent (name: Selele: Employee number 9059 as given by her on 10/06/20/22) was neither able to help with restoring full services, nor able to get her manager to speak to me.

I kindly request a redress for the time I had paid and never had full function of the DSTV - starting with the 1st of June 2022. If need be - please refund all my payment and close my DSTV account. I cannot beg for services when DSTV has my payment. I will wait 7 more days and follow-up o this request. If nothing has happened to my request on the 17th of June - I will have to come in to your offices or air this problem on a social platform.

Pekane.

Good day

I have had to arrange for the change in payment details from my late father to the banking details of my mother.

I initiated the process on 21 May 2022 and sent a mail to [protected]@out.co.za as well as [protected]@out.co.za on 23 May 2022 with all documentation that as communicated to me.

I had to follow up numerous times regarding whether all info was received and if everything was arranged so that the debit order would go off successfully on 07 June 2022 but my request was treated as insignificant.

I requested to escalate to someone who could intervene since a DSTV agent named Henry was not getting back to me or various DSTV staff had to try and get a hold of him for a status update or verdict about the change of banking details.

Out of cheer frustration and disappointment in the level of commitment provided to me by DSTV I again reached out and tried to communicate my concern but it was treated without resolution.

Today, more than 2 weeks of disappointment and frustration, the debit order did not go through successfully (after being assured that it would by Justin to both myself and my mother).

Today AGAIN I called DSTV to enquire why this had transpired and what the resolution will be, after I went out of my way for it not to happen, more empty promises were made that an SMS would be sent to my phone and e-mail be sent to my email address, that would provide me with a contact person for the event DSTV will not be true to their word and have the payment processed (Call reference number: OT9424859). I am still waiting in vain, it seems.

You can go through all my mails I sent and am willing to forward all my mails in case it is lost as proof.

In a difficult time where I lost my father and want to honor the person who he was,I make arrangements for payment (LONG in advance) DSTV brings disrespect on our household.

Can SOMEONE please assist in this small request that we have before we are able to do the transfer of ownership to my mom's name. Just update the banking details and let us know the outcome of our ordeal.

So I get a call from DSTV offering me a data contract.

I call Vodacom and cancel my contract with them to take the DSTV line which would be R230 less than what I was paying for Vodacom.

Then I call DSTV to take up the new contract only to have them tell me that I cannot afford to pay an additional R70 a month.

THE NERVE