DStv short-changes customers billed for free Disney+ subscriptions
DStv is only partially refunding some customers for Disney+ subscriptions it added to their bills without permission.
In the past few days, numerous DStv customers complained about monthly Disney+ subscriptions of R139 appearing on their DStv bills.
MyBroadband was first alerted about the issue by a reader whose wife got charged for Disney+ without her request.
Soon after, we found a plethora of customers complaining about the same problem in posts on Twitter/X.
MultiChoice told MyBroadband that the subscriptions were added by mistake after a free 3-month trial period where DStv Rewards members were automatically signed up to Disney+.
Once the trial ran out, customers were supposed to be allowed to opt in to keep their subscription for the regular monthly fee.
“Some customers were erroneously billed post the free period, and we’ve promptly initiated reversals, crediting their DStv accounts with the amount,” MultiChoice said.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and would like to assure our customers that we are committed to resolving this matter with urgency.”
Refunds only partial
However, the MyBroadband reader who initially alerted us to the problem said the broadcaster “cheekily” deducted R9 from their refund for the three days that had passed since the billing occurred.
MultiChoice had taken R9 for a service they never wanted.
As a result, they cancelled their entire DStv Premium package and said they would rather use a family member’s unused stream for watching sports.
MyBroadband followed up with MultiChoice about the partial refunds, but the broadcaster insisted the full amounts were credited to affected customers’ accounts.
A spokesperson offered to share their contact details with the reader to sort the issue out.
However, several other DStv customers on Twitter/X and the MyBroadband Forum have since reported that the amounts credited to their accounts were not for the entire Disney+ monthly fee either.
Like the reader, a number only received a R130.30 credit, with R9 charged for the two days passed, while at least two only got back R112.20.
In addition, several people who double-checked their bills after our initial report discovered they were being charged for involuntary Disney+ subscriptions as far back as October 2023.
In one customer’s case, he received the full refund for a previous month’s incorrect add-on but only a partial refund for the latest amount.
We again followed up with MultiChoice and provided a list with links to these complaints for the company’s perusal.
It had not responded to our latest query by the time of publication.
While it is unclear how many customers are impacted, DStv’s support channels appear to have been inundated with customers trying to have the Disney+ subscription removed from their accounts.
Several complained about the online chatbot’s poor responses.
One MyBroadband forum member who phoned MultiChoice’s call centre to try and resolve the issue said they were placed at #208 in the caller queue.
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