Vodacom Incompetence

C

Creature

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Hi Guys,

I would just like to vent a bit :)

I took out a new contract with Vodacom on the 3rd of Feb 2011. It was the cheapy contract. I only took it cause u can get the iPhone 3GS for free on it :) After activating the phone and loading all my apps on from my previous iPhone I received my first phone call. To my surprise the person on the other side couldnt hear me. I was like, ughhhh, Vodacom network, and wrote it off as bad signal. The next day I made my first phone call while on my way to Klerksdorp. Again, the person on the other side could not hear me... :( I started suspecting sumin fishy going on here and continued to test the mic. The damn thing was not working. Right, then I remembered the 7 day "Out of box failure" policy from Vodacom. Hooraaaaa!!!!!

I spent my whole weekend wishing I could make and receive calls on my phone, but nah, just had to look at the thing. Upon my return to Joburg the Monday I went to the Vodashop in Rivonia and handed my phone over to a very unhelpful lady. She just said it will take 3-4 working days and Vodacare will contact you. I then asked her, how they will contact me, as she never asked for any of my details. She then looked for a piece of scrap paper on her desk and handed that to me and told me I must write my name and number down. I proceded to do so and went on my merry way.

4 Days come and go, still no phone call or message. So I decide to phone em. They then informed me that, O no, it could take up to 7 days.. Right, 7 days come and go and I decide to phone em again. Now the person on the other side of the phone tells me that it wouldhv been alot faster if I took the phone to Vodacare myself, and it could take another 7-10 days to get a response!!!! By this time I was fuming and told them exactly what I think of their service. He then told me to escalate the matter if I wanted to he doesnt care....

Today is the 23rd of Feb and I still did not receive a message or a phone.

I will make sure that everyone I know will never get a contract from Vodacom again, as they are a bunch of incompetent fools that don't have a clue on how to treat paying customers.

I regret the day I stupidly decided to get a contract from them.

PLEASE STAY AWAY!!!!!
 
I'm surprised they didnt just swap the phone out if it was within 10 days. Yeah, pretty useless. Hello peter this, should help get a faster response. Its sad that this is what it takes to get the service you expect.

EDIT: Oh and you may as well try to get them to refund you for the 3 weeks you've had no phone.
 
Yeah, that's what I thought the 7 day Out of box failure policy was for. I have already Hellopeter'd it as well. They just couldnt care less. I had to go and buy a stupid second hand cheapy just to be able to do my work. They also informed me that the contract and the phone is seperate and that the monthly payments are for having access to their damn network??? Honestly, how do you access their network without a phone??
 
I just can't wait for the CPA to become effective!
 
Hello Creature. I have checked on the system with the Job number supplied. The phone is currently at the Advanced Repair Centre. A exchange was requested on the 21st. They are now waiting for the exchange stock. As soon as that arrives...then the replacement phone will be sent back to the store where you booked the phone in.

OC
 
7 day out-of-box failure works like this AFAIK:

1. You buy a phone today. Today is day one.
2. Phone goes funky and you take it back.
3. They book it in to check if it is really funky and to check whether its because of poor workmanship etc or if you had a drunken fight with a wall using your phone as a lightsabre.
4. If you didn't have a pretend to be a Jedi within the 7 day period, they'll replace the phone for you.
5. If you did pretend to be a Jedi, you're the idiot that made the 7 day period so unbearable for everyone else. If it weren't for people like you, the cell shop guys would apologise, and immediately give everyone else a new handset, but they've learnt their lessons and now have to take precautions ...

PS. I don't work for any cellshops or networks
 
Mantis said:
7 day out-of-box failure works like this AFAIK:

1. You buy a phone today. Today is day one.
2. Phone goes funky and you take it back.
3. They book it in to check if it is really funky and to check whether its because of poor workmanship etc or if you had a drunken fight with a wall using your phone as a lightsabre.
4. If you didn't have a pretend to be a Jedi within the 7 day period, they'll replace the phone for you.
5. If you did pretend to be a Jedi, you're the idiot that made the 7 day period so unbearable for everyone else. If it weren't for people like you, the cell shop guys would apologise, and immediately give everyone else a new handset, but they've learnt their lessons and now have to take precautions ...

PS. I don't work for any cellshops or networks
Click to expand...

Make sense
 
At an Advanced Repair Centre? Perhaps they are meditating on it to transfer your contacts from the old phone to the new one. Perhaps they are feeding the old phone homeopathic remedies in the hopes it will recover. Perhaps they are inserting a mixture of carbon, plastic and metal into a blender in the hopes it will eventually make a new iPhone 3GS.

Why is their 7 day replace warranty so worthless?

I reckon after a few days you should have exercised your right to cancel the contract within 14 days and gone elsewhere. That would have taught them a lesson.
 
Ancalagon said:
At an Advanced Repair Centre? Perhaps they are meditating on it to transfer your contacts from the old phone to the new one. Perhaps they are feeding the old phone homeopathic remedies in the hopes it will recover. Perhaps they are inserting a mixture of carbon, plastic and metal into a blender in the hopes it will eventually make a new iPhone 3GS.

Why is their 7 day replace warranty so worthless?

I reckon after a few days you should have exercised your right to cancel the contract within 14 days and gone elsewhere. That would have taught them a lesson.
Click to expand...

All Iphones and most Blackberries must be sent to ARC for repair as the repairs can not be done at local Vodacare branches.

The 7 day return policy states that the phone must be returned by the user within 7 days....not that the exchange unit will be issued within 7 days. If the user returns the phone on day 8, the OBF claim will be declined.

Most Vodacom shops will not exchange the phone immediately as we can not be sure that user damage is not involved. Vodacare needs to confirm for us first that the phone is defective due to manufacturing fault before we issue a replacement phone. Some Vodashops are lucky in the sense that Vodacare has a branch in the same mall. The client then just goes to the Vodacare in the mall, gets a letter from them stipulating that the phone does qualify for a OBF and once presented to the Vodashop, they will then book the phone in for the OBF claim and issue a exhange unit at once.
 
The real reason why I am so p'd off is that during this whole 20 day process no one at Vodacom cared to advise me on any progress. I had to phone them the whole time and fish for the job number. I have to phone Vodacare to find out what's poppin. I have to keep on asking the Vodashop for status updates. And apparently I had to take the phone to Vodacare or I will just wait longer....??? Really, 20 days to confirm that the mic is in fact broken, when I told them that the first day? I know when the person on the other side of the phone cannot hear me
 
ocleroux said:
Hello Creature. I have checked on the system with the Job number supplied. The phone is currently at the Advanced Repair Centre. A exchange was requested on the 21st. They are now waiting for the exchange stock. As soon as that arrives...then the replacement phone will be sent back to the store where you booked the phone in.

OC
Click to expand...

Thanks for the effort :)

PS. Can't I rather pick it up from somewhere? Then I dnt have to wait for them to deliver as well? Thanks
 
Last edited:
Creature said:
Thanks for the effort :)

PS. Can't I rather pick it up from somewhere? Then I dnt have to wait for them to deliver as well? Thanks
Click to expand...

Doubt u will get a new one as there is no stock - phone discontinued (i tried to get the same special at the start of Feb).
 
Dont worry Creature, they'll give you a 3310.

Seriously though, I kinda understand why they need to make sure it isnt user damage, but it shouldnt take 20 days to sort out.
 
Ancalagon said:
Dont worry Creature, they'll give you a 3310.

Seriously though, I kinda understand why they need to make sure it isnt user damage, but it shouldnt take 20 days to sort out.
Click to expand...

Yeah sure me too, but come on.... Like you said 20 days is ridiculous. And then they dnt care wether or not you could use their network, you just have to pay. What will they do if I refuse to pay now? They will black list me, but them not delivering, I can do jack s***!!!
 
superskully said:
Doubt u will get a new one as there is no stock - phone discontinued (i tried to get the same special at the start of Feb).
Click to expand...

Well then I'm very sorry for them, cause someone's gonna have to squeez one out of a hole :) I do not care where they get a new one, but I want one
 
Consumer Protection Act cant come soon enough.

Like you say, if they dont deliver you have no recourse, if you dont pay they can blacklist and/or sue you. All I want is for the playing field between large corporations and individuals to be levelled.
 
ocleroux, don't u work for vodacom?
because as i have experienced, vodacom will not OBF an iphone, u can have it for 20 minutes and take it back and they will not OBF it
 
bboy said:
ocleroux, don't u work for vodacom?
because as i have experienced, vodacom will not OBF an iphone, u can have it for 20 minutes and take it back and they will not OBF it
Click to expand...

I actually think there is a call limit on the clause... 15 minutes or sumin. So lucky me, I couldnt phone anyone!!!
 
no, there is a definite no OBF clause on iphones, lemme see if i can find the document
 
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