DH
Deon H
Active since Nov 2022
3
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3 reviews1 month ago
Amazon.com (Kindle) is Useless - Persistent Technical Issues and Lack of Support Regarding Kindle Purchase
On March 3, 2026, I attempted to purchase a Kindle book from Amazon using my Standard Bank Virtual Card, but the initial transaction failed due to insufficient funds. After loading the necessary balance, I successfully completed the purchase; however, while the book briefly appeared in my library, it vanished within five minutes and remained unavailable for download. My attempts to resolve this through Amazon’s support channels were incredibly frustrating, as I spoke with three different online agents to no avail. The first agent promised the book would appear after a system refresh, which never happened, while the subsequent agents provided no meaningful assistance. Further attempts to reach their Washington-based telephone support resulted in the line hanging up three separate times. Although I used a different Amazon account for the successful second transaction, the book should have been accessible as expected. This lack of accountability and the failure to deliver a paid product has left me feeling ********, and as a result, I no longer trust the Kindle platform or intend to use it in the future.
0 replies
7 months ago
Frustrations with the efficacy of the Government Employees Medical Aid Scheme (GEMS)
A Promise Broken: When GEMS was launched in 2005, it was promoted as a way to provide affordable and comprehensive healthcare for public servants. The marketing was compelling, particularly for ex-educators like me who were transitioning from other schemes like Prosano, 20 years ago. At the time, we were promised a remarkable 70% global subsidy across all packages as a reward for being early adopters. It was a deal almost too good to be true—and it was. Within a year, the promise was rescinded, and the subsidy for early adopters was reduced to two-thirds. While disappointing, it was an understandable change from an equity perspective, and I accepted it, grateful to be subsidised at all. Today, the subsidy landscape is even more complicated and less favourable. Most members now receive a 75% subsidy up to a maximum limit, while the two-thirds subsidy is reserved for a select group of employees appointed before 2006. As a retiree, my subsidy for the Emerald package is now a flat rate from the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) due to matters related to the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, signed into South African law in 2024. The NHI, which, along with a recent increase in GEMS costs and a low 2.9% subsidy increase from the GEPF, has created a significant financial strain. The Refund Fiasco: GEMS encourages members to use its network of health providers to save costs. While this makes sense, most members naturally prefer to stick with a trusted family doctor or specialist. However, a major issue is that many private practitioners—who are often small business owners—avoid submitting claims directly to GEMS because of frequent and lengthy delays in payment. These late payments can seriously impact their cash flow, which is exactly the kind of problem President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Public Service Commission have pledged to eliminate to protect small businesses. This brings me to my most recent experience. My wife, who suffers from scoliosis, needs regular physiotherapy. The physiothe******, like many others, prefers a direct payment from the patient, who then claims a refund from GEMS. After paying for the sessions, I submitted the claims via email, expecting the promised two-week turnaround time for a refund. Three weeks passed with no communication from GEMS. When I finally called in, a call centre agent informed me that the email had not been processed because I failed to include the word "claim" in the subject line. This meant a GEMS official had ignored the email without ever opening it to see my medical aid number or the attached invoice. I was told I had to resubmit the claim and restart the entire process. Despite requesting an escalation, it has now been over a month, and I am still waiting for the refund, despite having sufficient funds in my medical aid allocation. This frustrating experience highlights why healthcare providers are hesitant to deal with GEMS. The Broader Problem: My personal experience is just one part of a larger problem. The GEMS mobile app is unreliable and far from user-friendly, and their call centre agents often seem ill-equipped to handle complex complaints. These agents act as a barrier between frustrated members and the officials who can actually resolve issues. As a pensioner, I am now even more reliant on agencies like GEMS to process refunds and claims on time. Instead of providing the security I worked my whole life for, GEMS has become a source of stress and uncer*****y, making it difficult to manage my finances. GEMS urgently needs to improve its performance and efficiency to live up to its promise of providing quality care for those who have dedicated their careers to public service.
106 replies
41 months ago
Poor and uncaring customer support from We Buy Cars
Bought a car just under R200k. Excellent Dekra report and a short test drive went well. On receipt of the vehicle after the sale, I heard a noise in the engine which I had noted on the inspection report before taking ownership of the vehicle. The essence of my complaint is that the Sales Agent did not assist me by suggesting that the vehicle remains behind and that will sort the noise. After a few days the noise got louder and I opted to take the vehicle to the agent for major service and for a report on the engine's condition. The agent informed me of a faulty water pump as well as a faulty turbocharger (not reflected on the Dekra Report prior to the sale). I raised the mater with the Warrantee insurer who said that it was a pre-existing mechanical fault not covered by them. I got hold of We Buy Cars Customer Care and was assigned a person to deal with my case. I am yet to get a response from the We Buy Cars agent, and making matters even worse was that MIOSA claimed that I should have taken the vehicle back to We Buy Cars instead of going to the agent. Their logic is that the vehicles agent tampered with the vehicle to find the faults, thus in the process not affording We Buy Cars to sort. In the end, I had no choice but to cover the costs of a faulty engine as a pensioner running into 10s of thousands without any compensation or care from We Buy Cars. As far as I am concerned, their Customer Support is not existent and they don't care about the customer... they only care about making the sale. W.r.t. MIOSA, it seems that their primary interest is in the car industry, and also do not support the cause of the customer as they should be doing is. having the ability to distinguish write from wrong and providing good sound advise in terms of the Consumer Protection Sct, as well as facilitating an interaction with We Buy Cars. The MIOSA investigation in my case took one whole day for them to reach a conclusion that I have not case, in writing.
132 replies
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