Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Cell C’s customer support tested

MyBroadband recently tested the refund policies of South Africa’s four mobile network operators.

In addition to revealing how mobile operators deal with refunds, the queries put their customer support systems to the test.

For this test I bought a data bundle from each operator and tried to get a refund.

Where possible, I bought bundles where the terms and conditions weren’t clear and someone might legitimately make a mistake.

Here’s how the networks fared.

Vodacom and Cell C – fast, but not the outcome we were hoping for

Using the text chat channels of Vodacom and Cell C proved to be an excellent way to get a quick response.

Calls to their contact centres were also answered quickly, but only served to confirm what the chat support agent had said – no refunds on data bundle purchases.

For those who have struggled to get through to a call centre at these operators, I placed my calls on a Tuesday just before noon.

Telkom – fast chat support, long resolution times

While there was no waiting to get through to Telkom’s chat support, we had to follow up to find out what was going on with our query as we never received the reference number we were promised.

Our second agent informed us the first didn’t log our issue, and tried to discourage us from asking for the refund – saying it would not be possible to get one.

We logged it anyway, any received a call on the following business day to inform us that no refund is possible because the bundle was “active”.

Queried about refunding another bundle on our account that wasn’t active, the support agent said he would have to investigate whether we requested the bundle or whether it was a mistake on their side.

At this point the wheels came off.

Asking the call centre agent how it makes sense to deny a refund on an unused bundle because it is “active” and also deny a refund on an inactive and unused bundle for a different reason led nowhere.

Our call got disconnected before I could ask for an escalation. The agent did not phone back.

Telkom apologised for the service we received when we requested media comment.

It said this was an exceptional circumstance as the promotional bundle we bought involved third-party suppliers. Normally, refunds are processed.

MTN – slow and frustrating, but got a resolution

Getting through to MTN’s call centre took much longer than the rest.

When I got through, I received a reference number and was told to expect a call the next day to tell me whether I would get my refund.

I had bought a “1GB Adhoc Promo Bundle” for R79 on MTN’s online portal, but after buying it discovered the bundle was only valid for two weeks. I was also billed R89.

A week went by and I received no follow-up call, so I waited in the call centre’s queue again – which went a bit faster this time.

The new agent said I couldn’t get the refund because I had used some of the data. I argued that I was promised a call I never received and had no choice but to use my phone. Again, I was told to expect a call back.

Another week went by, so I called again, had the matter escalated, emailed a screenshot of the bundle’s erroneous listing again, and finally received a refund.

Tips

• I can recommend the text chat support channels at the three operators which have them if call centres frustrate you.
• Don’t buy bundles if you are not 100% sure about their T&Cs, as you probably won’t be able to get a refund.
• Be friendly to support staff. If you are rude, you will only hinder the process.

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