NEVER EVER buy anything from 8ta!

[Edwe]

EDIT: I have since forgiven 8ta somewhat, now that they have put things right. Still think their customer service is severely flawed, but for now, I'm happy[-]I have never ever been so furious, even being used to Virgin Mobile, this is a new low! 8ta has the WORST CUSTOMER CARE OF ANY SERVICE PROVIDER I have ever dealt with![/-]

TL;DR SUMMARY: Paid for data promo, have signal, RICA'd, but am not allowed to use it, and am being refused assistance or refund and have been given a gender and race change on paper!

I bought the 2+1GB prepaid data promo from 8ta, was given a SIM and airtime and RICA'd in store.

I can send sms's, make calls, but not load airtime or connect to the 8ta network (SIM forces me to roam on MTN even though I have strong 8ta reception). I do not have the bundle I paid for, nor can I buy one ("you are not allowed to load airtime at this time"). I have been back to the Telkom Direct store where I bought it and was told by the woman who works there that she "does not understand this new cellphone stuff".

I also phoned the data customer care line, was put on hold for 20min and then told that I am a Zulu woman (based on both my 8ta number and my ID number, but I am a white male), and that I am registered as a contract customer. All of this is incorrect, except for my 8ta number, my birth date and my ID number. They say they can not resolve the issue over the phone or at a Telkom Direct store, only at an 8ta store. There is not a single 8ta store within the range of R150's worth of petrol (what I paid for the data in the first place). They say they will also not refund me for the airtime vouchers, even though I am not able to load the airtime nor are they able to register me in such a way that I can.

If this didn't happen to me personally, I would have found this level of incompetence hilarious, I guess...

 

[kingrob]

Very sad to hear about your bad experience, but I think it comes down to the person helping you.

I had a great guy that helped me at the 8ta store in Canal Walk, Cape Town, and was up and running in no time.

Mind you, nowadays this goes for all companies you deal with in South Africa....

 

[SmartKit]

Just contact the 8.ta representative on the forum, he sorted out the roaming issue within a few days. From there it's clear sailing.

However, being registered as a contract provider might prove tricky. You can just go get another SIM for a few Rands though?

 

[kingrob]

Hang on, that leads me to another question....how do I specify one landline number that I'm allowed to phone free for the duration of my contract with 8ta?

 

[Edwe]

Just contact the 8.ta representative on the forum, he sorted out the roaming issue within a few days. From there it's clear sailing.

However, being registered as a contract provider might prove tricky. You can just go get another SIM for a few Rands though?

I did, but I'm still waiting for a reply.

I could get another SIM, but then it's a normal prepaid SIM unless I ask to have it made non-roaming (like the promo SIMs are supposed to be). The whole purpose of buying this bundle, however, was to see what their service is like before I get the 10GB contract. If this is what their service is like, I'd rather chew off my own genitals than sign a contract with them.

 

[FNfal]

Just go back there and cause trouble get loud and ask for the person in charge

 

[Edwe]

Just go back there and cause trouble get loud and ask for the person in charge

That is the plan, I guess. I just wish more people would actually do this rather than taking the "just buy another SIM/bundle/whatnot" approach. We can't let companies walk all over us just because raising hell is more effort than paying up. We should fight back: make it more effort for the company to screw us over than to provide a decent service.

 

[Hamster]

I had an issue with 8ta a while back and it all came down to the incompetence of the person that was helping me. Logged a complaint on hellopeter and had a written response within an hour followed by a phone call stating that my issue was resolved 2 or 3 hours after that. So maybe that is n option for you as well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[kingrob]

Hang on, that leads me to another question....how do I specify one landline number that I'm allowed to phone free for the duration of my contract with 8ta?

Ok, found the answer to the question.

I must dial 180 and nominate a number. Calls to the landline number must not exceed 29 minutes at a time, otherwise 8ta will bill me 65c per minute.

 

[kingrob]

I had an issue with 8ta a while back and it all came down to the incompetence of the person that was helping me. Logged a complaint on hellopeter and had a written response within an hour followed by a phone call stating that my issue was resolved 2 or 3 hours after that. So maybe that is n option for you as well.

I agree.

Just one incompetent staff member that can spoil the whole experience.

Go back there and sort it out pronto.

 

[Edwe]

I agree.

Just one incompetent staff member that can spoil the whole experience.

Go back there and sort it out pronto.

I was just getting my papers together so I can go back tomorrow and complain when I saw it: They RICA'd the wrong SIM number! The SIM number on the SIM card and the SIM number on my receipt differ by one digit (the one they registered has too few digits)!

How is this even possible? Ever heard of input validation, 8ta??? Why am I able to use the SIM at all? Seems 8ta isn't RICA compliant... I sure hope for their sake RICA doesn't find out <insert evil laughter>

 

[now05ster]

I had an issue with 8ta a while back and it all came down to the incompetence of the person that was helping me. Logged a complaint on hellopeter and had a written response within an hour followed by a phone call stating that my issue was resolved 2 or 3 hours after that. So maybe that is n option for you as well.

The unfortunate reality that I agree with this. Unfortunate because that is Not customer service. I don't know if going back to the Telkom store and ranting is going to be As effective, but it would relieve some tension at least try the 8ta rep, your other alternative is to log a query with ICASA (time consuming) but you can always them forward that query to someone in 8ta.

 

[now05ster]

A trick I tried with HellC was to look at the email address of an email sent by one of the internal consultants, then searching for the names of some of the top bras on the internet I transposed the email address I had and converted it to their respective ones. ( They all follow the same layout initial followed by surname at ...) If 8ta follows a standard email address allocation technique then Bob's ur uncle. Elaborate, but it works well!

 

[ginggs]

The SIM number on the SIM card and the SIM number on my receipt differ by one digit (the one they registered has too few digits)!

The last digit of the ICCID is a check digit and is probably not required on the receipt or the RICA system.

 

[Edwe]

The last digit of the ICCID is a check digit and is probably not required on the receipt or the RICA system.

They didn't miss the last digit; they missed one of the middle digits. I assumed the last digit is a check, but depending on how the checksum is calculated, it might not be (in fact, it probably isn't) a foolproof method of identifying a mistake.

 

[sajunky]

They didn't miss the last digit; they missed one of the middle digits. I assumed the last digit is a check, but depending on how the checksum is calculated, it might not be (in fact, it probably isn't) a foolproof method of identifying a mistake.

Interesting things, they changed RICA details for this Zulu woman, including ID number, now your own! How they were able to make such mess!

 

[Venomous]

I would go back to the store where you RICA'd & ask for a manager. He/she/it must fix their fsck up.

the roaming issue - you can get that resolved via the 8ta rep. there's a thread here somewhere.....

 

[Edwe]

Alright, everything has been sorted out and I am now on the 2GB+1GB promo after 3 failed RICA attempts by Telkom Direct. So far the connection seems pretty stable and speeds are comparable to CellC's in my area. If it's smooth sailing from here, I'm willing to forgive 8ta

 

[kooldude]

Had a similar issue but with CellC 60 GB special bought from Makro. After 8 months of using the bundle suddenly no more bundle on Jan 1. Phoned CellC and was told that the sim was RICA'd in Dec 2010 by someone else. After making some noise at Makro got a full refund because they made a mistake.

 

[Telkom]

Alright, everything has been sorted out and I am now on the 2GB+1GB promo after 3 failed RICA attempts by Telkom Direct. So far the connection seems pretty stable and speeds are comparable to CellC's in my area. If it's smooth sailing from here, I'm willing to forgive 8ta

Hi
Glad to hear your service is working.
We would still like to investigate.
Please email your 8ta number, contact details and query to [email protected].
Thank you
8ta