Vodacom
reviews and complaints

I upgraded to a Samsung A32 on 14 January 2022 at Chatz Vodacom Blu Valley shopping Centre in Rooihuiskraal, Centurion. This month of November 2022 I noticed that my account has become unusually high. Then I noticed that a handset installment is charged while I paid upfront on 14 January 2022 the amount of R4296. it seems that I am paying for my phone all over again. I can forward supporting documentation if necessary. I am also not receiving the Gigabytes of data that I used to. Kindly advise, please

I first contacted vodacom via email on 8 November 2022 to lodge a request for my wifi that gives me problems. It's almost a month now and it still doesn't work properly. It's more offline than working and I have to pay my account

I have received email responses to say that Vodacom is working on it, but it still does not work properly.

We had an existing fibre line that we had through afrihost, but the fibre was vodacom's. Now after battling with afrihost decided to change straight to vodacom, with thought that it will be better service, but even worse.

We received their router on the 23rd November 2022 and fibre call centre said to give 48 Hrs for activation

It is now the 5th December 2022 and everday calling the same answer, but nothing happening, even all the emails send to 7 managers, still nothing, one manager said today 5Nov 2022 he work only till 3 pm not his problem.

This is absolute poor service

On the 25th Novemeber I went instore to Baywest Mall Vodacom shop for an application for uncapped R299 wifi deal Alcatel HH72v2LTE Router for ID number [protected].

As I have an existing contract my Id was requested and the application was put through. The sale consultant Talissa informed me that my application had been approved however on the basis that I would pay a +-R700 upfront payment. I queried why that was the case and she said she would find out and all I needed to do was send her my 3months bank statement to send, which I complied to.

She then informed me she would get back to my the 26th November 2022, which she failed to do. I called in on the Saturday and never got ahold of her as she was busy with clients and proceeded to call in again on Monday where she assured me she would give me feedback by COB (which never happened either). I called on Tuesday with no luck and again today 01 December to check in on the progress with a email as follows:

"I still have not received any feedback from you after calling twice requesting the progress on my application. Next thing I will hear is that all black Friday specials have lapsed and I will not be in a position to except that as I had done all the necessary requirement beforehand.

I am not happy with your service and that I need to constantly be the one to follow up on you. As a customer I expect a certain level of service up until my matter has been resolved.

I will be expecting your call urgently and I expect a solution driven and not problem-based conversation on how we proceed."

I received the following response:

"Good Morning Lungelo

I would first like to apologize for the delay in responding. We have been super busy. However, that's no excuse. I did contact Vodacom's credit department and they are not willing to remove the upfront payment. They will give the contract however you would have to pay the upfront payment of R7176.00

The application we done for you is valid for 30 days.

Regards

Talissa"

I responded:

"After confirmation of the amount also kindly divulge what this +- R7000 is for actually?"

The vodacom sales consultant responded as follows:

"Hi Lungelo

The upfront payment is Vodacom's way of securing you as a client as opposed to declining you on the whole.

They base upfront payments on the clients score card on the credit bureau as well as how they pay their Vodacom account.

I see on your account has also been in arrears several times for the year. That also effects your Vodacom profile. The application will be valid until the 24 Dec 2022. So if you take R299 x 24 = R7176.00

So you basically paying the contract up for the 2 years and you wont be billed a monthly premium.

Regards

Talissa"

I responded as follows:

"As per my readily available credit record, my credit score is green and very good therefore I am unsure which credit rating they are looking at. As for my account being in arreas its because Vodacom decided without my consent to change my account to a direct payment when for the past year they were debiting my account so by the time I found out they hadn’t debited it was a few months later. This is no fault of mine and if they check records there is an investigation and query I raised requesting them to give me feedback on how the contract was changed and who authorized this.

I am sorry I will not be paying for Vodacom’s incompetence and quiet frankly there are so many other deals that were out there to consider so no thank you.

Kindly forward this email to the accounts and also send me a contact person and details to discuss the matter directly."

Consultants response email as follows:

"Hi Lungelo

We do have a dedicated accounts department that you can contact. 0821946. This is a toll free number.

Regards

Talissa"

I proceeded to contact the collections/accounts department to seek further clarity on the matter and also state my concern regarding the above findings as communicated by the consultant. After engagement with a lady called Bridget at collection I was advised to ignore and not to proceed to pay anything because my account was not bad terms. She even advised me to leave that application and go to a different vodacom store to get the contract however, I explained that due to the timing it may be difficult to reach another vodacom store in time before the end of the day when Black Friday specials would be ending.

I proceeded to call Talissa with no luck, I wrote an email to her with the following contents:

"Good Day Talissa

I just tried calling you and was told you are busy with a customer. I just got off the phone with collections and accounts department and was informed that my existing account is in order and in clear status and contracts should do their due diligence before issuing such communication.

The contracts department needs to contact the collection/accounts department and request to speak to a “Bridget from Collections” who just assisted me with the matter at hand. There is also a recording on hand as all Vodacom calls are recorded, should they require further proof of our conversations.

As per accounts, there is no need to request an upfront payment for any contract and I am to have your store and contracts rectify this communication urgently! Another issue I have is I have no time to go into another store and your store has taken so long to give me feedback and I received it only today therefore I won’t be able to make it in time to another store by the end of the day, to initiate another application before black Friday deal lapse.

I am thoroughly exhausted regarding this run around, the amount of time I have had to spend and the inconvenience cause on my end, in doing this myself as a client, instead of Vodacom doing their due diligence and would like to place a complaint.

Kindly contact me urgently regarding a way forward."

I would like to escalate this matter a Vodacom has done alot this year already without no basis or reasoning on my existing account and now there is further mistreatment occuring. I have been a loyal Vodacom customer for over decade and it cannot be considered okay for them to treat their valued customers so poorly.

I patiently await feedback and I do hope that this matter will be handled correctly and justly, and dealt with with the right urgency.

Regards

Lungelo Lindelwa Mkhungo (BEng Civil, MEM)

INTERNET CONNECTION VIA ROUTER DATA CARD NO: [protected]

Getting fair internet connection at Z5, Baja Dam Resort, Bronhorstspruit.

Zero internet connection at 51 Kanarie St, Ninapark, Pretoria North.

Travelling with router to various locations for business.

The two locations mentioned above are where we often work more regularly.

When in trouble without signal we must pack up to work at another location which is extremely inconvenient!

I have tried for more than 6 months to resolve an issue with VVM regarding an outstanding amount for Vodacom.

I cancelled the Fibre contract in the beginning of February 2021 as we relocated and don't have fibre at new address.

Vodacom has given us over to VVM and states that we are in arrears since 2020!

I have sent emails to VVM but they don't respond and have tried calling them but their number on their website is incorrect.

Ref. number [protected]

Vodacom fibre

I recently upgraded my fiber line to a 100mb line, and I must say that it feels that I do net get my money's worth. I do a speed test often and just yesterday it was so slow that the app struggled to get a server. When it eventually got one the download speed was 1,8. I feel this is ridiculous as I am paying for 100MB. I do understand that at times there is loadshedding and stuff happens, but this is a daily struggle.

I took out a data contract with vodacom, over the last few months the network in our area has deteriorated so badly that I am unable to use my phone at home. After constant calls to vodacom, no one gets back. At my wits end I called again only to be told there is no history of my complaints. I was told it will go to the engineers for assistance, ref 1-*0334. I miss a call, then I get a message to say they have new towers planned but no eta. Not what is going to be done now to help me use my phone. Nothing! I'm told I can't cancel my contract as I committed to it even though I can't do anything on it. Then to add insult to injury they give me 2gb as a gesture of goodwill on a network I can't use! How is that logical! I'm at my wits end, all the other network providers work in the area, how is vodacom getting this so wrong without consideration to their customers paying. If I stop paying i'll be harassed without thinking I now need to go get an alternate provider and pay for data when I can't use what I pay for.

My number is [protected] I have various account which will be listed as follows

[protected],[protected]; [protected] this contract expired September 2019 and have since been paying for it and not getting the airtime of R115.00 per month? 4 years wort of airtime. Please advise what you going to do or transfer that airtime to the main account [protected].

Your contacts listed on the web are useless cannot get thru.to any department.

Lastly please send a statement with a breakdown of my account I need to understand what I am paying paying for.

My email address is [protected]@keluviaaluminium.co.za

I sent an email to Vodacom Cancellations ([protected]@vodacom.co.za) over 6 weeks ago - 2 October 2022 to be exact - requesting advice on how to cancel my Vodacom account remotely or online as I am currently based in the US. I have not received acknowledgement of receipt, nor details on how to cancel my account. When my 75-year-old mother went into a Vodacom shop at Liberty Mall in Pietermaritzburg to cancel the account on my behalf, they could not help her.

See below what I wrote in my first email to the cancellations department:

Over 12 months ago I relocated to the US but continued to pay for the cell phone contracts [protected] and [protected]) - I am up to date with contract payments. I would like to cancel both contracts with immediate effect, as I have not used monthly Data or any other services that come with the contracts. However, I would like to keep the [protected] as a "pay-as-you-go" number.

Please advise what procedure to follow to successfully cancel the contract via email or online as I am out of the country and keep the [protected] number as a "pay-as-you-go" number.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

I was approached at my property to sign up with Vodacom fibre in august 2022 by Abubaker, my fibre box was delivered to me and after contacting Abu several times to assist to get it setup, his response was he will contact voadacom and get back to me which he failed to do as he had promised on several occasions. Until today he has not assisted, I asked him to get the fibre box taken back and no response. I have been with telkom for years and thought I would give vodacom a chance but this gentleman has ruined it all. I called and spoken to someone on the fibre team today and expecting a call at 8pm tonight to get this resolved.

Good day

I went into the Pavillion Vodacom store in Westville Durban roughly 2 weeks ago and enquired about the 10 Mbps R299 uncapped deal.

A salesman and the operations manager spoke to me and advised me to rather take the 1Tb deal at R349 for 24 months as the uncapped deal has a FUP of 400Gb and is address locked.

I told them I will think about which contract i will sign as my MTN data deal was maturing on the 11th of November 2022 and I was to cancel the MTN contract on the 12th of November 2022 with my wanting to sign a new data contract with Vodacom on the 19th of November 2022 as my 50th birthday is on the 20th of November.

I spoke to the salesman repeatedly in person and on WhatsApp (messages attached to this email) and instore again to both him and his operations manager a week or so again.

This past Saturday (19.11.22) I went into the store as the salesman had informed me that they have stock of the router, and I can come in to sign the 1Tb deal for R299 over a 24-month contract period as per the WhatsApp messages I received from the Vodacom Salesperson from that branch.

I was surprised that the Operations manager suddenly changed his tune and now claimed the advertisement at his store and other Vodacom stores was a misprint and the deal is actually R399 over 36 months- I asked him when he became aware of this, and I quote -" the day the banners were delivered".

He then categorically denied ever speaking to me previously and again changed his stance and said yes he did speak to me 2 or more times previously but never advised me to take the contract...He then shifted gear and told me that I should take the 10Gbps deal and that it is not address locked contrary to what both he and his sales staff had informed me of previously.

How is it possible that there was a misprint and management was aware of this yet have never advised customers for the past few weeks while trying to sell the deal to customers while also lying about prior conversations and again lying about a contract being address locked just to make a sale?

I would love to get the deal I was promised and hopefully You can intercede in this matter while ensuring that this shoddy customer treatment does not continue with the Durban Vodacom stores.

I have pictures from these past few weeks of the deal as advertised at the Westville Pavillion and Westwood Malls branches as well as the screenshots of communications with the Pavillion salesman.

Kind regards

LESLIE JOHNS

ABP (DUT BSU); BBA (UNISA) ; B Tech (DUT)

Cluster: Trading Services

( office :[protected]

* email : Leslie.[protected]@durban.gov.za

LinkedIn Profile: https://linkedin.com/in/leslie-zane-johns-0391a1b

I place an online order for iPhone 14 Pro Max on the 8th of November, i was told that they will only receive enough stock on the 18th of November. Now when I call for follow up my number has been blocked everywhere because apparently i have been calling too many times, how ridiculous? I need urgent feedback or I'm moving to a different service provider. My order number is K340068.

1 - I have been a Vodacom customer for more than 20 years and 3 contracts with Vodacom (2 cellphones and 1 mobile data unit).

2 - We relocated from Pretoria to Marmanet Retirement Village in Terenure, Kempton Park.

3 - This whole area has very poor Vodacom reception.

4 - I have phoned Vodacom customer care several times resulting in a promise that someone would follow up, which never happened, 2 other calls were transfered in circles and the last call was ended.

5 - Please cancel my contracts as Vodacom apparently cannot provide a service here - not fair that I have to pay for a service that is not existing.

6 - I am working from home and need to communicate with my clients and with SARS, CIPC etc.

7 - THE ONLY SOLUTION AS I SEE IT, IS FOR VODACOM TO ALLOW ME TO PORT MY NUMBERS THROUGH ANOTHER SERVICE PROVIDER WITH GOOD RECEPTION HERE, TO CAUSE THE LEAST DISRUPTION FOR MY CLIENTS.

It is with regret that I request this as I have always been very satisfied and greatfull for the service provided by Vodacom.

Your urgent attention to this will be greatly appreciated.

Regards

WP du Preez

Financial Consultant – BAP (SA)

[protected]@mweb.co.za

Mobile: [protected]

On Friday 11November I went to the Chats Vodacom store in New Market Mall to do an upgrade on my cell [protected]. I was services by a sales lady who helped me and showed me the different packages. i was looking at a per second billing package. she than informed me she can give me a 200 minute a month per second billing which I accepted. She introduced a guy from Huawei who showed me the huawei y90 phoned. I am 70 years old and not to clued up with cell products. I took the phone on their recommendation and when I arrived home I realised the phone does not have google, android etc. I took the phone back to change it, but was informed I cannot change my phone. Apparently all can be downloaded on the phone.

I was not informed by either the Vodacom girl on technician on the working og this phone.

This is totally against the consumer protection act to not inform a customer on the total working of a product.

I will not recommend Vodacom to anyone after this experience

I still would like to exchance my phone.

Cas Badenhorst

[protected]

I have been calling and mailing vodacom for 7 months trying to cancel my contract. Each consultant owning incompetence beyond the other as they promised month in and out that my contract has been cancelled and that I would be reimbursed for the previous deductions. The past two months I decided to reverse their debit orders. Guess what; I now have an adverse listing on my credit profile stating my account with these bunch of incomptent people and company called vodacom is now in arrears. What recourse do I have against such incompetence as no one either via mail or phone is able to assist me. Can you not cancel a contract after 24 months as agreed? Am I glued to these thieves for life? Pathetic beyond words! I despise this company called vodacom and will never ever recommend them to anyone. I for a fact will never do business with them ever again, this after years of business. Astonishing!

I went to vodacom shop at mall of the south on the 20th october 2022 for contract upgrade, I took a package of 2 samsung a33 5g. The very same night only 1 device was charging the other device didn't charge at all and I was using the original cable to charge the phone. I den returned it to the shop the lady charged it and it charged but when I get home the phone was on 28% I tried to charge it again it only charged for a few minutes then it was off again. I returned the phone again on the 26th october 2022 lady booked it for repairs.9th november I called the store wanted to know about the phone. The lady told me he will call technician to check how far are they. She returned to me and said technician will check my phone today because they didn't have electricity all this time. I was fed up and went there the following day. Technician

Told me the phone is back and there is nothing wrong with it and I have to take it back. I refused because I returned that phone twice to the store, I told him I want a new device he told I can't get a new phone that phone is open. He called the ops manager. N that manager was very rude to me I ended the call because he was not helping. I told technician I want to cancel the contract because now they are making me a fool. He said it's impossible to cancel the contract I don't have a valid reason. I contacted vodacom customer care. The consultant contacted his manager and said I have a valid reason to cancel and its my right. And I know I can cancel the contract within 30 days. After I have logged a complain over the phone and I have reference number. Technician told me to give him 7 days he will make a plan and give me a new phone. Preventing me from canceling the contract. Yesterday I received a message from vodacom saying I have to contact samsung regarding the phone. I did not buy a phone from samsung I bought it from vodacom why must I go to samsung? I contacted vodacom customer care again today 12th november 2022 to check the to check how far it is the complain because no one contacted me about the matter and I was promised to be called within 24hours consultant told me to he sees the complain on my profile and I have to go back to vodacom store and raise the matter with them again. How can I go back to vodacom mall of the south store again after such a harassment? There is too much fraud at vodacom. They are covering each other. And I regret upgrading the contract with vodacom. I want nothing to do with it. I hope I get help soon because I won't let it lie. Its been a long time now.

I have 2 lines connected to my account. The main line was taken out in 2020 and should have ended in October this year.

I downgraded my package in June of this year, as I have moved abroad and do not use any data or airtime connected to this line.

When I downgraded, the consultant that assisted me never informed me that a downgrade is viewed as an “upgrade” and that it is an additional 24 months on my contract.

I took up a switch from Vox to Vodacom Fibre(this is an existing line) on 7 September 2022. I have been awaiting the to activate my fibre line on 31 October 2022 and still today 9 November At the time of writing (11:00 am, 9 Nov 2022) I am still waiting for internet access - this is way beyond the 24 to 48 hr waiting period. I have been calling Vodacom customer care and sending emails almost every day and nothing seems to be done.

Reference number S0220907-330193

I requested Vodacom Fibre to activate my fibre line on 31 October 2022. This is an existing line. At the time of writing (15h00 on Tue, 8 Nov 2022) I am still waiting for internet access - this is way beyond the 24 to 48 hr waiting period. I have been calling Vodacom customer care almost every day and nothing seems to be done. I don't get responses to my email messages nor are they prepared to call back. This is shocking support from Vodacom.