Vodacom 3 unresolved complaints - is no one else suffering?
An arrogant, incompetent malaise is running through this company. But are the other 3 SPs any bet-ter?
Contract (3-Sep-2013) 2 GB data, cost R109.00 / month
Double Data Cost
16-Jan-2014
600 MB file download needed urgently. Offer of 1 GB top-up @ R79.00 on My Vodacom web page. No card facility to pay. Advised to go to bank.
Bank cost is R149.00, double Vodacoms price. Tough they said.
Pointed out that they were legally obliged to honour the rate advertised on their site.
Vodacom credited me R79.00 very good.
From Jan 2014 to end September 2016 I paid:
500 MB = R49.00
1 GB = R79.00
In November 2016, costs double:
500 MB = R79.00
1 GB = R149.00
Support staff say the prices were always as currently displayed.
They werent and I have screen dumps to prove it.
Still no card payment option on web-site.
Airtime Theft
Available airtime as displayed on MyVodacom page:
15-Nov-2016 17-Nov-2016 19-Nov-2016 22-Nov-2016
R55.00 R51.65 R51.30 R50.95
R4.05 disappears in 1 week
Multiply by 1 million users = R210,600,000 / annum what a contribution to the bottom line.
Remember the guy who became very rich by stealing the odd cents from bank account customers?
The help staff say The Internet took it. Who on the Internet took it? Which one of the n billion users took my money?
Does The Internet have a bank account?
We know who took it.
Airtime only bought to convert to data, thats the way the site works. No CC/DC option
No voice calls possible as this is a data modem on a laptop.
At no point did data run down to zero.
Not the 1st time. 1-Aug-2016 R70 became R59.99 over 1 week.
Vodacom web site mismanaged, sloppy programming with constant bugs for at least 2 years.
From October, 2016 I cannot use the airtime available on my modem. When I try to purchase data, the program takes airtime from my cell phone by default to pay for it. No idea why my cell phone is involved with the transaction, this is new. A simple fix but the 48 hours needed to check the problem is actually 6 (6 x 8 hrs) days not 2 as informed by support (Onya?).
25-Nov-2016 informed by support that time to fix is now 7 days because of high volume of complaints. I can believe it.
This is a very simple fix. Give me access to the source code; Ill sort it in 15 minutes.
The web programmers are just completing yet another upgrade without adequate prior testing.
26th Nov 2016, 5 days after original complaint support said to swop SIM cards whilst problem is fixed. Was this Vodacom saying its all our fault? This worked but not I hope forever. It seems we will have the option of choosing which device should provide the airtime for conversion, exactly how it should have worked from the start. Why dont Vodacom admit they have a problem up front? Theres comfort in knowing youre not the only idiot getting near fatal blood pressure.
2 years of being on/off line, a stream of error messages and rampant bugs are the result of unprofes-sional site management and poor, sloppy programming. Poor training of help staff and retail outlet employees (e.g. Fourways Mall a waste of space) at heart of problems.
Some recent experiences that indicate the intellectual? Challenges facing Vodacom if it plans to become a respected, professional player in this hi-tech market place:
19th Nov-2016. Recd SMS stating <3 MB was now available; in fact there was 29.69 MB.
19th-Nov-2016 Website shows last recharge date as 22nd November, 2016. Are these people psychic?
A return address on a received e-mail was somemail@email.com. Obviously delivery failed. Why not say No reply in the header instead of inventing a phoney e-mail address?
SMS advising that 3 questions would follow requesting appraisal of help I had received. No questions came
Several SMSs promise a call-back within 24 hours its never happened
The wide difference in data pricing depending on time and device is mysterious. Can anyone explain it? 250 MB on a cell phone costs R25.00, 500 MB on a modem costs R99.00
Vodacom indicate usage for month as 2.03 GB
Cucusoft the on-line monitoring software independently calculates 1.87 GB
Huawei (modem) monitoring frequently shows lower values.
The progress bar on the My Vodacom page is inaccurate. It should always show actual usage vs. 2 GB, suddenly it doesnt.
How is broadband usage calculated?
Is there an industry standard?
Can service providers cheat?
Vodacoms arrogance towards customers dominates relationships since Pieter Uys left. He correctly predicted the future. Maybe corporates are happy?
Theres a rot and it always starts at the top. Incompetence prevails.
Prologue
29-Nov-2016
Double Data Cost
Discussion with Cara? a support supervisor. No reason given, will get back to me in 24 hours. I doubt that. It will be a first. She did say the support guy who advised 6 days lead time on complaints was lying - Onya? 24 hrs is 2 days.
Its Dec 2nd, no response from Cara, surprise, surprise.
Vodacom web site
Fixed problem by allowing a choice of device to pay for data. If you have 4 cell phones/devices/laptops, they will be listed, just select which one has sufficient airtime to foot the bill. Why didnt they test this before going live so avoiding my frustration when it failed to work? No report back to me on resolving my complaint.
Stealing airtime
Still saying The Internet took it. They are STEALING. Im not buying any top-up, contract or new phone from this site. I will not be charged for the privilege of making profits for Vodacom.
VODACOM A HI-TECH COMPANY PLAGUED WITH LOW-TECH, POORLY TRAINED PEOPLE
An arrogant, incompetent malaise is running through this company. But are the other 3 SPs any bet-ter?
Contract (3-Sep-2013) 2 GB data, cost R109.00 / month
Double Data Cost
16-Jan-2014
600 MB file download needed urgently. Offer of 1 GB top-up @ R79.00 on My Vodacom web page. No card facility to pay. Advised to go to bank.
Bank cost is R149.00, double Vodacoms price. Tough they said.
Pointed out that they were legally obliged to honour the rate advertised on their site.
Vodacom credited me R79.00 very good.
From Jan 2014 to end September 2016 I paid:
500 MB = R49.00
1 GB = R79.00
In November 2016, costs double:
500 MB = R79.00
1 GB = R149.00
Support staff say the prices were always as currently displayed.
They werent and I have screen dumps to prove it.
Still no card payment option on web-site.
Airtime Theft
Available airtime as displayed on MyVodacom page:
15-Nov-2016 17-Nov-2016 19-Nov-2016 22-Nov-2016
R55.00 R51.65 R51.30 R50.95
R4.05 disappears in 1 week
Multiply by 1 million users = R210,600,000 / annum what a contribution to the bottom line.
Remember the guy who became very rich by stealing the odd cents from bank account customers?
The help staff say The Internet took it. Who on the Internet took it? Which one of the n billion users took my money?
Does The Internet have a bank account?
We know who took it.
Airtime only bought to convert to data, thats the way the site works. No CC/DC option
No voice calls possible as this is a data modem on a laptop.
At no point did data run down to zero.
Not the 1st time. 1-Aug-2016 R70 became R59.99 over 1 week.
Vodacom web site mismanaged, sloppy programming with constant bugs for at least 2 years.
From October, 2016 I cannot use the airtime available on my modem. When I try to purchase data, the program takes airtime from my cell phone by default to pay for it. No idea why my cell phone is involved with the transaction, this is new. A simple fix but the 48 hours needed to check the problem is actually 6 (6 x 8 hrs) days not 2 as informed by support (Onya?).
25-Nov-2016 informed by support that time to fix is now 7 days because of high volume of complaints. I can believe it.
This is a very simple fix. Give me access to the source code; Ill sort it in 15 minutes.
The web programmers are just completing yet another upgrade without adequate prior testing.
26th Nov 2016, 5 days after original complaint support said to swop SIM cards whilst problem is fixed. Was this Vodacom saying its all our fault? This worked but not I hope forever. It seems we will have the option of choosing which device should provide the airtime for conversion, exactly how it should have worked from the start. Why dont Vodacom admit they have a problem up front? Theres comfort in knowing youre not the only idiot getting near fatal blood pressure.
2 years of being on/off line, a stream of error messages and rampant bugs are the result of unprofes-sional site management and poor, sloppy programming. Poor training of help staff and retail outlet employees (e.g. Fourways Mall a waste of space) at heart of problems.
Some recent experiences that indicate the intellectual? Challenges facing Vodacom if it plans to become a respected, professional player in this hi-tech market place:
19th Nov-2016. Recd SMS stating <3 MB was now available; in fact there was 29.69 MB.
19th-Nov-2016 Website shows last recharge date as 22nd November, 2016. Are these people psychic?
A return address on a received e-mail was somemail@email.com. Obviously delivery failed. Why not say No reply in the header instead of inventing a phoney e-mail address?
SMS advising that 3 questions would follow requesting appraisal of help I had received. No questions came
Several SMSs promise a call-back within 24 hours its never happened
The wide difference in data pricing depending on time and device is mysterious. Can anyone explain it? 250 MB on a cell phone costs R25.00, 500 MB on a modem costs R99.00
Vodacom indicate usage for month as 2.03 GB
Cucusoft the on-line monitoring software independently calculates 1.87 GB
Huawei (modem) monitoring frequently shows lower values.
The progress bar on the My Vodacom page is inaccurate. It should always show actual usage vs. 2 GB, suddenly it doesnt.
How is broadband usage calculated?
Is there an industry standard?
Can service providers cheat?
Vodacoms arrogance towards customers dominates relationships since Pieter Uys left. He correctly predicted the future. Maybe corporates are happy?
Theres a rot and it always starts at the top. Incompetence prevails.
Prologue
29-Nov-2016
Double Data Cost
Discussion with Cara? a support supervisor. No reason given, will get back to me in 24 hours. I doubt that. It will be a first. She did say the support guy who advised 6 days lead time on complaints was lying - Onya? 24 hrs is 2 days.
Its Dec 2nd, no response from Cara, surprise, surprise.
Vodacom web site
Fixed problem by allowing a choice of device to pay for data. If you have 4 cell phones/devices/laptops, they will be listed, just select which one has sufficient airtime to foot the bill. Why didnt they test this before going live so avoiding my frustration when it failed to work? No report back to me on resolving my complaint.
Stealing airtime
Still saying The Internet took it. They are STEALING. Im not buying any top-up, contract or new phone from this site. I will not be charged for the privilege of making profits for Vodacom.
VODACOM A HI-TECH COMPANY PLAGUED WITH LOW-TECH, POORLY TRAINED PEOPLE