Active since Sep 2016
I am a staunch Dell supporter and have been using a Dell laptop for the past 15 years. Although the laptop itself is a wonderful product, the Dell Customer support has been automated, resulting in utter chaos. I have been trying to get the keyboard on my laptop replaced. However, everything happens online. If you try calling customer support, you end up talking to an AI bot somewhere in the cloud, or a customer support agent somewhere in the East. After numerous challenges, I eventually managed to secure a quotation without too much trouble. I also managed to get a purchase order from my company. When I thought the repair was only a week away, I tried to order it, only to be told by a bot that either the company does not have a Premier account or I am not registered on the account. So, I am stuck. My company cannot assist, despite days spent struggling to engage with Dell Technical Support. With this lack of human support, I will certainly not buy another Dell laptop.
The Bosch website claims Personal assistance for all Bosch Home appliances, large and small! That may be true for Bosch in Germany, or perhaps in other countries, but my personal experience with the company in South Africa says: Not true. I must admit, the assistance at the showroom in Johannesburg has been positive, with friendly and professional staff. Even with the Bosch client services department, the service is not too bad. However, follow-up is lacking in the absence of the client following up. And once a matter is referred to the head office, the head is dead or non-existent. I have experienced problems with a hand-held vacuum cleaner. I bought one that caused problems, but due to logistical reasons, I only reported the matter late and was advised that the product could not be repaired. I recently bought another one for my daughter, only to experience the same problem: a high-pitched sound when you switch the device on, which, according to the Bosch website, indicates a problem with the motor. After returning the product and requesting a replacement, the replacement arrived with the same problem. When I wanted to request a refund from the supplier (Takealot.com), I was advised that I must engage directly with the supplier. I have done that, but do not expect a response, due to my previous communicating about the problem still not having been resolved four months later.
I have purchased a handheld Bosch vacuum cleaner for my daughter, similar to the one that I use. She complained that she could not change the device, hence it was not working. I only managed to test the device myself three months ago and found that although I could switch it on, it made a funny noise and caused a burning smell. On a trip to the area, which I rarely visit, I delivered the vacuum cleaner to the Bosch service centre in Johannesburg on Friday, 21 November 2025. I was subsequently informed that the fan is broken and the devise could not be repaired. I then lodged a complaint via e-mail to the Bosch call centre on Tuesday, 2 December. In this email, I included the original invoice, as well as the technician's report. The complaint was referred to an agent on 3 December, who did not respond. On further inquiry on 6 January 2026, the complaint was referred to another agent, who referred the matter to the Bosch head office, which confirmed that the case is being discussed. More than two weeks later, the case is still being discussed, and the contact person is either on leave or attending the annual Company Conference.
My father had an MTN Mega Talk M contract with MTN, which commenced around April 2022. The contract was not suited to his needs and hence, he wanted to get a new contract once an upgrade was due. Unfortunately, my father passed away in June 2023 and my mother was advised to transfer the contract to her name. This was done with the assistance of an assistant at the local MTN shop in Potchefstroom. The expectation was that the contract will continue in her name until the original contract lapsed. However, only afterwards did I realise that she entered into a new 24 month contract, locking her into the contract that does not suit her needs for another two years. This was never explained to her. This illustrates a complete lack of transparency and taking advantage of unsuspecting customers.
On 18 July, I lodged an complaint about a double payment debitorder withdrawal on an MTN contract. On 20 July, I was informed that a billing dispute was lodged and that it would be resolved in 2-24 hours. Needless to say, I have not received any feedback, 10 days after the dispute was lodged. Don't trust a service provider that does not even honour their own commitments.
On 23 January 2024 I tried making a booking for the Otter trail for December 2024. Even though the official notice indicates that the booking opened at 07:30, I started phoning the reservation number at 07:28 and made 35 phone calls between that time and 08:20 - virtually one call every 90 seconds. One call was answered, but only put my on hold for more than 10 minutes. Needless to say, when I was able to get through on the number, the trail was already fully booked for the whole month. It seems clear that although theoretically possible, it is impossible for a member of the public to secure a booking for the trail.
I am a regular client of Takealot and has always been satsfied witht the service. Last week I placed another order and notice that the delivery was scheduled while I was out of town. Due to limited connectivity, I could not reschedule the delivery. However, when the delivery person contacted me on 16 December, I indicated that I would only be available for delivery on 19 December. It seems as if this information was not passed on to the delivery staff, as another delivery was scheduled for 18 December, which I obviously could not receive, being out of town. This morning I was informed that the order was cancelled in total, despite my clear communication of my availability for delivery.
I have been a client of Vodacom for at least 10 years. The last contract renewal was done on 31 May 2020. Recently, the phone was lost and I signed up for a new contract, requesting a SIM swop. A few hours later I was informed that my ID number does not appear on the account and a SIM swop can thus not be done without uploading a copy of my ID. This delays the whole process by at least 24 hours. This makes me wonder how a company has been willing to entertain me as client for such a long time, accepting my monthly payment, without a copy of my ID. And how did they renew the current contract three years ago, again without a copy of my ID. Is it a matter of incompetence or of a complete absence of client systems management.
Die diens is tans nie doeltreffend nie. Moes langer as 20 minute vir koepon wag na bevestiging dat die betaling ontvang is.
I recently purchased products from Dis-chem online and requested to have these delivered by courier. Five days later I only received confirmation that the order had been received and processed by the local store. As I was urgently waiting for some of the products, I phoned the store to enquire about the order and speed up my delivery. Despite their promises, the order was only delivered 6 hours later! Needless to say that I will never use the delivery option again. If Dis-chem want to play in the online space, they should speak to Takealot or Sixty 60 to learn how to do things!
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