PC
Pieter C
Active since Jan 2014
95
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95 reviews21 months ago
Useless products (2 TV's - both malfunctioning badly) - and even worse "after sales service"!
After being talked into it by the sales people at Makro, we bought a (1st) Hisense TV for 2 main reasons - we were told that it was "the best value for money" and that Hisense "provides the best after sales service, especially in and around Cape Town seeing that the TV's are manufactured right here"... I still joked with the sales people and mentioned that only companies with defected/poor quality products needs great after sales service but be that as it may. While still under warranty, the (1st) Hisense TV gave issues with certain app compatibility etc and after spending hours upon hours on the phone to try and get the issue resolved via numerous factory resets and software updates etc etc and failing time and again - Hisense eventually concluded that they couldn't fix it and that the TV would need to be replaced under warranty. Due to us having bought a matching Hisense soundbar (but as a separate product - i.e. they only replaced the TV and we were still stuck with the matching soundbar) - and because they promised us that our TV's issue was "an anomaly", we got the 1st Hisense TV replaced with a 2nd Hisense TV - specifically the 75U7H TV - which is suppose to be a "mid-high spec" range TV (not entry level), at least according to the sales people at Makro. After a couple of months, our 2nd Hisense TV then also started malfunctioning badly in that it started to simply power off by itself - inconsistently after around 30-60mins of use. I raised this with Hisense on 13 May and they eventually got one of their "accredited service providers" - CA Mobile Solutions (PTY), to replace both the motherboard as well as power source/pack - "the only 2 components which could possibly cause the issue". As luck would have it this however also didn't fix the problem and I then informed CA Mobile Solutions (PTY) of this directly - seeing that I liaised with them and they obviously knew the background and exactly which components were replaced with which etc. This was on 4 July and they promised to take the matter up with Hisense in order to get the go-ahead to come and collect the TV in order for an off-site inspection. Having not heard back from them or anyone else at Hisense by 15 July, I again contacted CA Mobile Solutions (PTY) - only to hear the extremely poor excuse in that "they haven't been able to drive around for the past 3 days due to the wet weather in Cape Town" - and wait for it... "that they will thus NOW PROCEED TO LOG it with Hisense so that Hisense can approve it for them to come and collect our TV - so that they can go and test it off site (this after they already "swopped out ALL parts that could POSSIBLY be related to the cause of the issue" in the very first place??? This means that between 4 Jul and 15 Jul, CA Mobile Solutions (PTY) clearly did absolutely nothing with my query (confirmed when I called Hisense today and there was nothing related on their system). During this disappointing/frustrating conversation on 15 Jul, CA Mobile Solutions (PTY), thus (for the 2nd time), promised to follow up on this with Hisense so that they would get the go-ahead from Hisense to come and collect the TV for "further off-site inspection". Today is 26 July and I still haven't heard back from anyone at either CA Mobile Solutions (PTY) or Hisense. They also mentioned that when they finally would come and collect the malfunctioning TV, that the turnaround time for their inspection report would be "around 2 weeks" - i.e. we would be left without a TV for at least 2 weeks - and in all likelyhood will then only be refunded a dew days later afer which we would need to go and buy a new TV. I then called Hisense today to alert them that I've raised this issue with CA Mobile Solutions (PTY) twice already - and as expected they confirmed that still nothing related has yet been logged on their system. I also explained to them that seeing that they "already replaced all the possibly components that could be causing the issue" - I would appreciate it if they could rather simply come and replace the malfunctioning TV with a functioning one of similar value/specs, so that we do not have to prolong the way too much frustration we've had to endure due to their malfunctioning products and poor after sales service (and that we aren't stuck without a TV during the entire Olympics which we're very keen to be able to watch!)... this penny did however not drop, hence me now being more than willing to waste my time to raise my justified disappointment with Hisense on public portals like this, so that other people will hopefully learn from my ordeal so that they don't end up with a similar experience with Hisense...
109 replies
27 months ago
FNB - How can we NOT Help You?
After being exhausted in trying to resolve an urgent query via all of the available FNB resolution channels without any succuss I left FNB the following detailed review last week: https://www.hellopeter.com/first-national-bank/reviews/just-plain-useless-69f662c0291a17623382fffb4ef666e248b61108-4817334 As expected they rep**** in saying "We're very sorry - we logged your query as urgent and will get back to you asap" - this was on 18 Jan and I still haven't heard back from anyone (this after they claimed/promised to get back to my original query "within 48h") - it's now been more than 48h after they "logged my query as urgent" and 9 days since I first raised the (very urgent) query with them... FNB - How Can We NOT Help You?
58 replies
27 months ago
Just plain useless!
Beyond frustrated with FNB Homeloans/Structured Loans – they talked us into joining 2 of our separate FNB Homeloans into 1 consolidated Structure Loan – on which we then app**** for further lending consisting of 1. The so called “available amounts” in both of the original loans as well as 2. “further lending” over and above the original registered amounts. As per usual, the further lending portion must first get registered at the deeds office before we can access those funds, but they promised us that we would be able to access all of the “available amounts” before registration takes place (seeing that that obviously takes quite a while). They then made these funds available for us to use in the newly created account under my FNB online profile, after which I took out roughly 50% of the available funds during Dec. However, when I then tried to/desperately needed to access the roughly other 50% of these available funds over this past weekend, my profile merely stated “R0 available” – clearly a (very big, very serious and very frustrating) mistake. I then tried to contact FNB on Saturay afternoon – first via their call center and then via their “Secure Chat feature” – which took about an hour only to hear that “there is nothing they could do at that point in time” – but that I “must contact their Loans dept between 8h-14h on a Sunday”. I then spent another +-30mins on Sunday only to figure out that the person who liaised with me via Secure Chat the previous day got her facts wrong and that I could – as I first expected - only contact them again on Monday morning. I then spent/wasted another +-90 mins on their call center on Monday morning – speaking to probably around 7 or 8 different people – who provided me with 5 different numbers of which 3 different of these numbers were apparently for specifically the “Structured Loans” dept – but then all of those numbers takes you to the “general Homeloans” dept… like I said this stupid flow wasted around 90 mins - only for them to end up telling me “all they can do is to log the query in which case someone WILL DEFINITELY get back to me within 48h hours”… by this time I was so sure that this statement will likely also not play out as hoped for/promised – so I actually logged another query/ticket – just to make sure that I double my odds of someone actually responding in 48h… it’s now been more than 72h hours and guess what… no one from FNB has bothered to get back to me and I’m pretty sure they also don’t plan to – and guess who is the fool whose account will still be deducted with a hefty debit order including lots and lots of interest earned on FNB’s side at the end of this month… To explain the extent of the lack of logic that is running around in FNB – if you call one of their call centers outside of their office hours – they somehow managed to build a flow that first ask you to provide your ID number – then you first have to verify it’s you via the in-app verification process – and only after that they tell you that they are closed… FNB – How Useless Can We Be?
116 replies
30 months ago
Not caring enough to look into obvious mistakes - further wasting my time, money and energy
I left the following review on this exact same now more-than-3-month-long-ordeal of a further lending application on Hello Peter on 20 Sept: https://www.hellopeter.com/first-national-bank/reviews/zero-logic-lack-of-basic-maths-during-calculations-and-unanswered-questions-4621917 After that I received a phonecall on 27 Sept from Victoria Mbhalati from the Home & Structured Lending Solution dept, who said that she fully understood my frustration with this application and that it is fully justified, seeing that it makes no sense that the same bank, based on an applicant's exact same details, could provide 2 such very different quotes i.t.o. both the Loan-To-Value %'s and well as interest rate %'s. She said that seeing that there must clearly have been errors made at the credit dept during the application processes, she would raise it again with the FNB credit dept in the hope that they will revisit the applications and correct the mistakes that were made. I also specifically asked that I wanted feedback on how they managed to get to such vastly different results in the first place (seeing that besides the frustration caused, these mistakes will end up costing me a lot of money) - but I obviously still haven't received any related feedback on this from anyone at FNB... In the meantime I also informed FNB, that seeing that the reason for me wanting to take out further lending was that I wanted to urgently invest the money, that I felt like due to FNB having already taken about 2 and half months with my application at that point in time (a period during which I could easily have app**** for - and received the funds in my account if done via any other bank in South Africa) - due to the long delays on FNB's side, I was now left with no other choice than to take out the further lending with FNB instead any of the other banks that we have bonds with (this combined with the fact that these 2 FNB bonds are some of our oldest bonds that we have, i.e. they have to biggest "available funds"), and that I thus really didn't want to have to wait any longer unless they will definitely be able to improve on the quote/offer available to me at that point in time. I raised this with FNB on 24 Sept. After my conversation with Mrs Mbhalati on 27 Sept, I then didn't hear back from anyone at FNB for a few days and followed up 3 more times from my side (without any response) until I eventually received the following feedback on 6 Oct: "Good day Mr. Coetzee Apologies for the delayed response. I have liaised with Sinethemba and she has confirmed that your Structured Loan application is in progress. Unfortunately, we have been unable to get the 80% approval increased to 100% on the further loan. This is due to the approval being in line with the valuation of the property. We cannot approve a loan amount that is higher than the property value. Pricing have also advised that the interest rate approved on the further lending is the best that they can offer at the moment. We are hoping to negotiate a competitive rate on the Structured Loan. Regards Victoria Mbhalati" I then rep**** and raised the following: "The above statement makes no sense at all. The approval % is a % on the valuation of the property - I didn't request for a (higher than) 100% approval vs the valuation (that won't make sense) - I merely requested for the 85%-of-the-valuation-amount to be increased to 100%... exactly like they did on the other property that we app**** for with the exact same applications details (which has a higher valuation than the property on which they only offered 85%)." I'm still not sure if Mrs Mbhalati conveyed whatever communication she received from the credit dept correctly to me or if she perhaps misunderstood it herself (for FNB and its clients' sake I hope that the latter was the case - because if this is indeed the exact feedback received from the people/dept making the big calls in the FNB credit dept, FNB is obviously doomed), but what is also a big concern is that irrespective of where things went wrong internally, there were more people included in Mrs Mbhalati's email - Refilwe Maganedisa, David Sebastian and I then also copied in another manager who was assigned to this query at an earlier stage - Mr Renaldo De La Rey - and even though I raised the mistake and asked for feedback/clarity on it, I didn't hear back from any of them - my only assumption being that they knew that FNB clearly made big mistakes, which they couldn't explain to me - and sadly didn't bother to get to the bottom of solving the problem, but seemingly rather hoping that I would just accept FNB's mistakes - which is going to cost me a lot of money over the next 20 years - and merely suck it up and move on. By now, sadly not surprisingly at all, I then received another "final approval" yesterday - with the SAME COMBINED LOAN-TO-VALUE % - and more frustratingly also the SAME UNCHANGED INTEREST RATE as the offer that was on the table when I told them on 24 Sept (exactly a month ago today), that I didn't want them to make this linger on for longer in case they can't assure me that the final approval would definitely be approved upon. I had my doubts about this at the time but was then informed that they since picked up that there were "big mistakes" made when our 2 separate bond applications were first captured - which was the reason that they got to such different outcomes - and that the application was thus deferred accordingly by the credit dept - thus giving me (lots of) hope that the extra month that I had to wait (a month during which the stock I want to invest the money in went up by 15%!), would be worth it in the end (as as we all now, every half a % on a bond, especially a relatively big combined bond as this one, makes a massive difference), but clearly it was just a further waste of time and energy during which no manager at FNB cared enough to look into this deeper to avoid me as the client feeling as frustrated and disappointed as I do now - not only because the final approval wasn't improved on (noting that it is now actually 0.25% WORSE than what I was under the impression it was a month ago - as I have since also been informed that we also don't qualify for the 0.25% concession they first added in the case of us meeting their "main banking criteria), but also because if they didn't further waste my time and energy during this past month - and I invested the money as planned at an earlier stage, I would've already earned 15% on that investment.... not impressed at all... *To whoever receives this review on FNB's end - please don't make the same mistake by escalating this review to the same management team who couldn't bother about it sooner - escalate it to THEIR management so that they can see what it going on internally at FNB, so that FNB can hopefully use this as constructive criticism and actually improve on its service delivery, thanks.
131 replies
31 months ago
Zero logic, lack of basic maths during calculations and unanswered questions
We app**** for re-advances and possibly further lending on 2* separate FNB loans on 14 July 2023 (I'm posting this on 20 Sept 2023 - more than 2 months later). There seems to be absolutely zero logic app**** by the FNB credit dept when it comes to their pricing - noting that in the case of a further lending application, they do a valuation which they use to calculate an "available amount" on each specific property - and then allocate you with a certain % of that available amount that you can borrow - based on your credit profile/risk as assessed by FNB. Picture this - on our first application, after the valuation, they calculated an "available amount" of R578000, but were only willing to borrow us 85% of that at 12.14%. On the second application - for which we only received the outcome AFTER the first application, the available amount was R890000 and they willing to provide 100% of that to us a lower interest rate, 11.7%... noting that both applications were done on EXACTLY the same information provided. How is it possible that 1. It can be deemed that we can only borrow 85% of the smaller available amount and 2. They will be willing to borrow us a higher amount at a lower interest rate on the 2nd application?? I've asked this question to multiple FNB staff, all of whom agreed that clearly this doesn't make any sense - yet when I asked if they can thus please request the credit dept to review the offer on the first loan, the answer was simply "no - credit says this is the best we can offer" - without providing any reasoning for the decisions (obviously - because clearly whoever dealt with the first application didn't apply the correct logic when compared to the second offer). They then told me that they suggest that I rather apply to consolidate both loans into one, and that that would result in a much better overall deal, which I did but don't find the overall deal to be a better option than the 2*separate re-advance quotes that I received - due to highly inflated interest rate in order to take out further lending - even after taking their own current-market-values into account. I explained this to them in as much as possible detail, waited for 7 more business days, only to hear this morning "Unfortunately this is the best the pricing team can offer". *Noting that part of the "breakdown" that they sent me to explain "how much better" the consolidated loan is vs the other options, takes the 2 loans - of very different loan amounts - and simply take their separate interest rates, add them together and then divide them by 2 and then they claim that to be the "average interest rate" used for the comparison (instead of using a weighted average based on each loan's amount) - the fact they they can send me a calculation with such basic mathematical errors just shows me how little effort/knowledge goes into these applications, which is why we as their clients (who are busy paying them millions in interest) are the ones who are coming second... I'm busy shopping around to now rather move both of these loans to another bank where more logic/proper maths actually gets app****... would suggest anyone else with a FNB loan to do the same...
131 replies
32 months ago
No "emergency" service - and only willing to pay out out 2 thirds of what the repairs cost
I called SA Homeloans Insurance to log an EMERGENCY claim for a burst geyser at 18h39 on 17 Aug 2023 - after which they responded that "non of our service providers are able to come out before the next day" (this was in Stellenbosch - not really a "remote" area where a weak excuse like this in the case of an emergency would've been understood/acceptable). They promised to call me first thing the next morning, but didn't, so I had to follow up with them again from my side. They eventually got a plumber out there and informed me only at 16h23 that their plumber (who I specifically requested had to please ensure that they replace the geyser before the weekend, seeing that the tenant staying there have not had warm water since the previous evening), would not be able to replace the geyser, but that they would be willing to pay out a cash amount and that I could then proceed to arrange for another plumber to replace it over the weekend. At that point I thought it was the best - or rather only way forward to ensure that the tenants had warm water again asap, only to realise the next morning that the cheapest quote I could get from a reputable plumber was more than R6000 more expensive than what SA Homeloans were willing to pay out on this claim. I went and had a look at my policy - which states that in the case of an electric geyser you are covered for up to R12000 - and in the case of a solar geyser (noting that this claim was indeed for a solar geyser), you are covered for up to R20000. SA Homeloans however only offered to pay out R11231, whereas the cheapest quote I could get was R17300! SA Homeloans also used the excuse that "because it is a solar geyser - they couldn't get any service provider out there on the day that the emergency call was logged - or before 16h00 the next day - "because they don't have many service providers who work on solar geysers" (yet they gladly accept your higher premiums to have a solar rather than electric geyser insured with them?)! This is 2023 and loadshedding has been with us for a number of years - many people do now have solar geysers - surely if you're going to charge additional to cover solar geysers, you need to be able to have service providers on standby who can indeed assist, especially in the case of emergencies?! I then tried following up with the agent, Vukani Nkosi, last week and was promised by another SA Homeloans call centre agent that "Vukani would get back to me straight after lunch" etc, but am still waiting to hear back from SA Homleoans w.r.t. all of this... based on my experience I can't recommend SA Homeloans insurance...
0 replies
35 months ago
Broke my bag during flight and not responding on my query... not impressed...
I reported the incident at the airport and was asked to send pictures to CallcentreLPOAgents@flysafair.co.za - to which I then sent the following email only to never hear back from anyone at FlySafair: Good morning As per the attached pictures, my bag was bashed/banged in severely on its one corner - to the extent that the zipper also broke and the bag now can't open and close like it's supposed to - I can understand that the guys working with the luggage is under pressure to load and unload as quickly as possibly, but the force it must've taken to break a sturdy, expensive bag of this kind is a bit eye-opening w.r.t. how little care gets taken over passengers belongings before/during/after flights. I showed it to the Safair baggage dept at the airport and they requested me to send this email along with the attached pictures and flight number - FA100 from CT to OR Tambo on 2 May 2023, as well as my attached boarding pass, in order to log a claim for the broken bag. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks, regards, Pieter
0 replies
36 months ago
Zero logic leading to a waste of time and money...
Received a sms from RAM today to say that something is wrong with my delivery address - with a link to enter "the correct" address - however nothing was wrong with my address in the very first place, so in order to ensure no further delays (seeing that I've been waiting for my parcel for more than 2 weeks now), I called them to require what was wrong and what they they needed from my side to continue without any further delays - to which they responded that "nothing is wrong with the address - but we in fact haven't yet received your parcel for delivery in the very first place"... if that is indeed the case - why on earth would you send me a sms to say that you can't do the delivery (due to an "incorrect" address)... the lady who I spoke to also didn't come across as being phased by this kind of mistake in the least, so I suppose it's most likely an everyday kind of thing at RAM. She said she would put me through to a manager to discuss the matter but I ended up holding the line for a few mins before giving up... the courier industry is very competitive and there is much better service out there, so I would suggest you rather try another courier company before wasting your time and money with RAM...
53 replies
36 months ago
I paid R5000 excess (on a 3rd party claim) that was supposed to be paid for by Discovery - and now they don't respond to any of my communication...
Someone drove into my wife's car so we had a 3rd party claim on fixing the bodywork of her vehicle. Discovery confirmed tht we met all of their criteria to NOT have to pay any excess when collecting the vehicle - which I made 100% sure of before I went to go and collect the vehicle, yet was still told by the service provider that Discovery Insure appointed themselves (who took 6 full working days to fix something that most panelbeaters would be able to fix in less than 2 days...), that they can't hand me the car in case I don't pay the R5000 excess on the spot - which I then did as after not having had my car for more than a week I needed it back asap. I then informed Discovery that they thus (OBVIOUSLY!) need to refund me the R5000 - AND left them the entire story on the "How was your recent claim's experience" survey - AND sent follow up emails about this to the consultant who worked on this claim - Manasseh.Plaatjies@discovery.co.za, insureinfo@discovery.co.za as well as DiscoveryInsureSurvey@discovery.co.za - yet I never heard back from anyone... so now I'm still out of the excess that was supposed to be covered by Discovery - shocking to say the least - mistakes happen, but the fact that they can't care the least bit to put things right tells you exactly what you should expect from them... I will most definitely not recommend Discovery Insure to anyone...
53 replies
38 months ago
Don't waste your time and energy with Nedbank Home Loans... they are useless...
I have only had bad experiences each and every time I've dealt with Nedbank Home Loans. My latest experience makes me simply not want to apply with Nedbank ever again. "Long story short" - we've bought 7 previous investment properties via a trust with the other SA banks, yet still hold no bonds with Nedbank - the main reason being that they strictly enforce a "max 80% loan" principle on properties bought via a trust. They did however tell me a few years ago that in case I would ever buy a primary residence in my personal name, that I "must please" apply with them again as they were confident to provide me with "the best possible quote" in such a case. My wife and I thus recently signed an OTP for a primary residence in our own names and proceeded to apply with with ABSA, FNB and Standard Bank along with Nedbank. Nedbank was BY FAR the slowest to provide us with a quote - and whereas all 3 the other banks provided us with approvals/quotes, Nedbank came back to me stating that the application was merely declined due to "lack of affordability". When I brought it under their attention that I found it weird that they are the only of the 4 banks to not find "affordability" - and requesting their reasoning for it - they came back to me stating that their credit dept will "review their decision" and get back to me. I then received a mail from them requesting my ITA34 - which I already sent to them 3 weeks earlier - i.e. BEFORE they declined the application due to "lack of affordability" (i.e. they seemed to have declined it because they didn't even take my ITA34 info - which they specifically requested - into account?!)... no wonder they couldn't find affordability like all of the other banks! They also seemed to not be able to comprehend the information as per my financial statements - that was verified either way by my auditor as per their request... the saddest thing is that this is not rocket science, this is the very basics when it comes to a home loan application... A few days later I received a call to say that they "have now approved the application" - but at only 80% and asked "whether I would like to consider their quote?"... hahaha... I told them exactly what I thought of their service and what they can do with their 80% quote - especially seeing that all of the other 3 banks already provided me with minimum 90% approvals. In this light I will highly recommend for anyone to not end up wasting your valuable time, energy and money (seeing that Nedbank actually asked me to provide them with MORE information than any of the other banks - which I had to pay my auditor for - yet they clearly didn't even pass everything I sent them on to their credit dept?!), in applying with Nedbank... from my experience you will be better off with any of the other banks in SA...
0 replies
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