When CELL C broke RICA...

[Anonymous™]

I had a rather infuriating conversation with a Cell C Consultant hellbent on belittling me regarding a case of RICA gone wrong...

[The Background]:
7 June 2013
14:26- Had a futile conversation with a Call Center staff member trying to query my account. I'm informed I'm not allowed to proceed as it's RICA'd under someone else.
Thinking perhaps, it was an admin error, I checked that the account was not RICA'd under my mother's details - I discover it's neither but rather under John Doe.
14:40- Moan on Twitter streets about the unhelpful nature of the Call Center. I am told Nelly would contact me the next day to resolve.

8 June 2013
Failing no contact, I ask when to expect resolution - I am politely ignored.

Fast forward +/- 1 month....

03 July 2013
I tweet Cell C again to find out whether my query deserves the courtesy of a resolution.
This time TK expedites it promptly and I get a call the very next day (today at the time of posting)

04 July 2013
A lady, rather terrible at Client Service, contacts me and explains that the number was reallocated due to inactivity. I try explain it was always active. Maybe not much, but certainly active and recharging. Now M(r)s. "I-don't-want-to-listen-but-would-rather-scream-down-your-ear" asks me to confirm recharge dates. I cant think of any at the top of my head - the number only sees R50 charges as it's used for Estate Gate Security Codes & random browsing when Vodacom is being full of stories. She looks those up to no avail. After 20 minutes of wasting both my life and hers, my phone dies. I promptly DM Cell C to ask her to contact me again but that's likely to happen.
[/The Background]:

An E.G. of the last top up on my bank account:

Given the k#k treatment I have received to date, My ****s-tolerance level for this issue is zilch now. They can keep it as it is - I have a perfectly active number I am at liberty to use to commit crime whilst some John Doe will be held responsible and accountable.

By the looks of it, I was given a recycled number & it was never RICA'd in my details despite submitting them at purchase. I've de-linked it to any sensitive services it had active (besides Estate Gate).

When I look at the silliness of this whole episode, I wonder how many other such **** ups there are out there. Anyone with any similar issues? Surely Cell C is contravening the law here?

 

[ajax]

I had 2 simcards with Cell C that went dead "due to inactivity" a few days after I recharged them.
But that was maybe 3 years ago.

 

[Anonymous™]

I had 2 simcards with Cell C that went dead "due to inactivity" a few days after I recharged them.
But that was maybe 3 years ago.

Lol. They win at failing!

 

[Stripe]

I have found Cell C to have the worst (basically nonexisant) client service in the world over the internet/phone. The best is to visit one of their service centers. I went to one in tygervalley, and even though my problem couldn't get resolved as it was because of bad software they released, they tried really hard to solve my issue. They can't make a scene at the service center so you got more control there as well. Also they can't just ignore you or stop helping you. Try that maybe.

 

[Swa]

LOL Reallocated numbers that still work. Cell C FAIL

 

[Tun@]

Needed to grab a microsim on wednesday.
Went to Davenport Square branch - R10 but sorry sir our Rica is not working,i buy it anyway.
I drive +/-15km out to La Lucia branch - Hi can you rica this sim for me please.
she tries then says no she can't as it not that stores stock,PC won't let her do it.
Ok, then just sell me another & rica that then i say.
Sure sir but that will be R150 here...
I'll leave out what i had to say but
BS Cell C

 

[Swa]

I bought a sim at Checkers and Rica'd it at Pick n Pay. They get paid to do the bloody thing.

 

[Neo_X]

another interesting point to ponder....

have read in another thread that CEll-c doesnt have the capability to track payments made through FNB (was regarding data bundle purchases that didnt activate the 15c OOB rate)

but yes

Eish


hope you manage to RICA your own sim soon

 

[Anonymous™]

another interesting point to ponder....

have read in another thread that CEll-c doesnt have the capability to track payments made through FNB (was regarding data bundle purchases that didnt activate the 15c OOB rate)

but yes

Eish


hope you manage to RICA your own sim soon

They're hopeless. I've decided not to give a flying ****. If ever the day comes that this becomes an issue, dumping sh*t at their offices will be the order of business.

 

[Ms_S]

Similar thing happened with our Cell C microsim purchased through FNB.

The microsim wasn't working when inserted in my ipad. So I called the call centre from a friend's cell c phone, and the call centre said that the microsim needed to be rica'd.

Fine, went to the only cell c store in Town and asked to rica the microsim. The consultants were absolutely useless, they said the number was already rica'd, by some company, and that they couldn't help me. I asked if I could use their phone to contact the call centre, they said no, I will have to purchase a sim card for R10. It was only after I kicked up a fuss, that they allowed me to use their phone. I told the call centre agent that I'm standing in a cell c store and they are refusing to rica the sim because it is owned by a company. The agent checked the system again and said no, the sim is not rica'd. I asked him to tell exactly that to the consultant, and handed the phone over to her, she refused to speak to the call centre agent.

I was at a loss, I asked the consultant what she expected me to do now. She said I can phone the company who 'owns' the number to release it??

Anyway, left the store mad as hell, decided to put the microsim in my old phone (somehow I jiggled it enough to fit) and called the call centre AGAIN and told them what happened. They repeated the same old story and said I had to rica the sim. After the phone call, I put the microsim back in my ipad and it just suddenly started working.

Went through all that effort and all I had to do was put the sim in a phone. Why couldn't they tell me to do that from the beginning? And why two different stories? I thought they all work on the same 'system'??

I know cell c has the cheapest rates, and we are paying a lot less for data now than before, but because of this experience, there is no way that I'm switching my expired Vodacom contract to cell c. It's just not worth it to deal with such ignorance.