Watch out for the service tricks from DSTV.
We pay in advance. Last year, DSTV cut us off unexpectedly. When I called in, they said "there is no money in your account". I thought this was odd so paid again. Still puzzled, I used the internet service to check and found a balance of just under R1000!
I called DSTV again, which is quite a mission in itself, and told them to look again. They suddenly 'found' the credit. I also insisted they credit the disconnection fee, which has now climbed to R50. They did that at least.
All was well, and we had TV for the next x months. Now suddenly it disconnects again, with no reminders, and on a weekend when you can't reach the buggers.
I called 4 times today to find out what happened. Their IVR system is stuffed and thinks a 7 is a 0. I got cut off by the first consultant after asking for her name (doesn't want to give it obviously). "You are number 40 in the queue!!"
They said they don't have my cellphone number, so "can't send a reminder". They have our home address and e-mail and home phone, so there is no excuse. We used to get paper invoices anyhow.
After 1 full hour of them saying they can't hear me on the phone (lol), they insisted on the reconnection fee. They did reset the decoder after about 3 attempts. When it finally worked, they could suddenly hear me again crystal clear (rofl).
Paying them is also tricky via EFT. The subscriber number is 7 digits and it insists on 8. Apparently you have to pad it with a leading 0, but they don't tell you this crucial bit of info. Then when you pay, there is no e-mail for their accounts section, so who gets the confirmation? I sent it to "[email protected]". Of course, to cap it all, the telephone operator doesn't have access to that e-mail.
Oh, and don't bother asking to speak to the supervisor. That's a sure instant disconnect!
Service is definitely in a bad place in SA.
We pay in advance. Last year, DSTV cut us off unexpectedly. When I called in, they said "there is no money in your account". I thought this was odd so paid again. Still puzzled, I used the internet service to check and found a balance of just under R1000!
I called DSTV again, which is quite a mission in itself, and told them to look again. They suddenly 'found' the credit. I also insisted they credit the disconnection fee, which has now climbed to R50. They did that at least.
All was well, and we had TV for the next x months. Now suddenly it disconnects again, with no reminders, and on a weekend when you can't reach the buggers.
I called 4 times today to find out what happened. Their IVR system is stuffed and thinks a 7 is a 0. I got cut off by the first consultant after asking for her name (doesn't want to give it obviously). "You are number 40 in the queue!!"
They said they don't have my cellphone number, so "can't send a reminder". They have our home address and e-mail and home phone, so there is no excuse. We used to get paper invoices anyhow.
After 1 full hour of them saying they can't hear me on the phone (lol), they insisted on the reconnection fee. They did reset the decoder after about 3 attempts. When it finally worked, they could suddenly hear me again crystal clear (rofl).
Paying them is also tricky via EFT. The subscriber number is 7 digits and it insists on 8. Apparently you have to pad it with a leading 0, but they don't tell you this crucial bit of info. Then when you pay, there is no e-mail for their accounts section, so who gets the confirmation? I sent it to "[email protected]". Of course, to cap it all, the telephone operator doesn't have access to that e-mail.
Oh, and don't bother asking to speak to the supervisor. That's a sure instant disconnect!
Service is definitely in a bad place in SA.
