Professor Farnsworth
Well-Known Member
On the 20th of January I purchased a Cell C 3G speedstick modem. I did my research, and according to their website, I was meant to receive the Huawei E1752 (see http://www.cellc.co.za/internet/page/data_prepaid/modem-compatibility, as well as the image on http://www.cellc.co.za/internet/dat...omotion-supersonic-surfing-for-only-5c-per-mb). This is the modem I expected to receive, and I bought a 3G router (for internet connection sharing) that is compatible with this modem.
I went to the Cell C branch in Canal Walk and bought the modem. When I got home and unpacked it, I noticed that I had in fact not received the Huawei modem at all, but rather a ZTE MF190. The MF190 is not compatible with the router I bought and thus of no use to me. Also, according to the Cell C website, this modem is not on the list of supported modems, and it even says
I took the the modem back to the store as soon as I could and requested an exchange. This was within two days of purchasing the modem and I had barely used any data. The sales person told me that he never had any stock of the new modem he took mine back and placed an order for the Huawei I was supposed to get in the first place. He took down my number and said that he'd call me if the modem came in fewer than 7 days, but if I never heard from him, just to come back in a week and the modem would be there. Since I received no call during this time, I went back a week later and asked for my modem. I was greeted by a different sales person, who did not know the status of the order and simply said that they had no stock of the Huawei and that he didn't know when they'd be getting any. He was being quite rude and essentially implying that this was my problem, not Cell C's. I went back a third time last week Tuesday and was told that the order had only been placed the previous day (Monday, 31 January - 9 days after I took it back)! They again promised to call when it arrived. I went back a 4th time on Tuesday, 8 February, only to be told, again, that they did not know what was going on! They gave me a phone number to call, which they said was their head office in Johannesburg, however after dialing the number several times, I believe the number is some sort of fax number which cannot receive voice calls!!!!! I went to the Cell C store in Cavendish to inquire as to whether they had stock of the Huawei, which they did, but according to the sales person, I could only deal with the store where I actually bought the modem from to begin with!
Not knowing what to do next, I wrote messages on HelloPeter.com and also to Tell Trevor. I received an SMS (full of spelling errors and completely unprofessional in my opinion) from Tell Trevor as follows:
"Hi,we hav reCeived yr query & shall attend to it a.s.a.p ref no:*********-an sms will be sent to u when yr query has been Completed.Regards Cell C"
On HelloPeter, I got a generic response:
"Hello ********,
We are in receipt of your query.
Thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns with us.
We acknowledge that the above mentioned incident may have proved to be annoying. Kindly note that we will be in contact with you shortly to assist further.
Regards,
Cell C Team"
I never received this contact that they promised.
Today I will have been waiting for my replacement modem for a total of 20 days!!!!! I've forfeited almost a month's worth of internet that I've been paying for and who knows when this will be resolved!?!?! I can't even exchange the modem, as, although I took the modem back after 2 days (within the 7-day return window), I never requested an refund.
It seems to me that Cell C doesn't care about their customers at all, as long as they get their money! I don't know what to do anymore and am completely shocked, disgusted and astonished at what I see as Cell C's lack of delivery, poor service and unprofessionalism. I am posting all of this as a warning to others to think twice, and be very careful when dealing with Cell C, because it seems to me that they don't care about their customers!
I went to the Cell C branch in Canal Walk and bought the modem. When I got home and unpacked it, I noticed that I had in fact not received the Huawei modem at all, but rather a ZTE MF190. The MF190 is not compatible with the router I bought and thus of no use to me. Also, according to the Cell C website, this modem is not on the list of supported modems, and it even says
(see http://www.cellc.co.za/internet/page/data_prepaid/modem-compatibility)
I took the the modem back to the store as soon as I could and requested an exchange. This was within two days of purchasing the modem and I had barely used any data. The sales person told me that he never had any stock of the new modem he took mine back and placed an order for the Huawei I was supposed to get in the first place. He took down my number and said that he'd call me if the modem came in fewer than 7 days, but if I never heard from him, just to come back in a week and the modem would be there. Since I received no call during this time, I went back a week later and asked for my modem. I was greeted by a different sales person, who did not know the status of the order and simply said that they had no stock of the Huawei and that he didn't know when they'd be getting any. He was being quite rude and essentially implying that this was my problem, not Cell C's. I went back a third time last week Tuesday and was told that the order had only been placed the previous day (Monday, 31 January - 9 days after I took it back)! They again promised to call when it arrived. I went back a 4th time on Tuesday, 8 February, only to be told, again, that they did not know what was going on! They gave me a phone number to call, which they said was their head office in Johannesburg, however after dialing the number several times, I believe the number is some sort of fax number which cannot receive voice calls!!!!! I went to the Cell C store in Cavendish to inquire as to whether they had stock of the Huawei, which they did, but according to the sales person, I could only deal with the store where I actually bought the modem from to begin with!
Not knowing what to do next, I wrote messages on HelloPeter.com and also to Tell Trevor. I received an SMS (full of spelling errors and completely unprofessional in my opinion) from Tell Trevor as follows:
"Hi,we hav reCeived yr query & shall attend to it a.s.a.p ref no:*********-an sms will be sent to u when yr query has been Completed.Regards Cell C"
On HelloPeter, I got a generic response:
"Hello ********,
We are in receipt of your query.
Thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns with us.
We acknowledge that the above mentioned incident may have proved to be annoying. Kindly note that we will be in contact with you shortly to assist further.
Regards,
Cell C Team"
I never received this contact that they promised.
Today I will have been waiting for my replacement modem for a total of 20 days!!!!! I've forfeited almost a month's worth of internet that I've been paying for and who knows when this will be resolved!?!?! I can't even exchange the modem, as, although I took the modem back after 2 days (within the 7-day return window), I never requested an refund.
It seems to me that Cell C doesn't care about their customers at all, as long as they get their money! I don't know what to do anymore and am completely shocked, disgusted and astonished at what I see as Cell C's lack of delivery, poor service and unprofessionalism. I am posting all of this as a warning to others to think twice, and be very careful when dealing with Cell C, because it seems to me that they don't care about their customers!
