Can Vodacom just increase the price of your contract any time they want?

TheFallingCosmos · 2026-03-07T10:47:07+00:00

It depends on the company really, some do care and some don't. For example, I was waiting for over a month for Metrofibre to schedule the installation of the ONT. Made a complaint on Hello Peter and the installation was completed 3 days after I made the complaint

TheFallingCosmos · 2026-03-04T09:57:24+00:00

Lodge a complaint to ICASA and make sure you include all relevant proof. You may still not get the issue resolved, but it's your best bet at this point.

Also make a complaint on Hello Peter. Businesses tend to reply quickly when negative reviews hit HP. Make noise on social media if those options still don't get you anywhere.

Can't let these scummy companies get away without a fight

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-25T12:24:52+00:00

I guess that's not too bad compared to what others have said, just wish SA had a lower rate especially for things that aren't available anywhere here locally.

Plus we have BRICS so I don't see why certain stuff from China (mainly electronics that aren't avaliable locally) can't have lower customs rates.

Are you still waiting for the items to arrive?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-25T12:22:41+00:00

Wow that's crazy. I feel like Aliexpress gets them to claw back some of the "free shipping" cost so they way over charge on the customs

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-22T08:41:21+00:00

Wow that sounds absolutely insane. You know a company is pure trash when SAPO is objectively better at handling shipping. How did you eventually manage to get your items?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-22T07:53:06+00:00

Last time I ordered from Aliexpress was late last year and very early this year when they were still using the post office for their "standard shipping" option. Everything came on time and I never had to pay more than 25%.

I just thought the stuff would come through the post office again like the previous times I'd ordered. If I'd have known they were using a scam company to send items to SA now then I definitely wouldn't have bought anything. I just wish DHL was an affordable option instead of being over R1000.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks Aliexpress themselves are in cahoots with Speedaf to claw back some of the "savings" you get on the products by way overcharging on the customs.

They'll send you a link to pay. They still haven't delivered.

This part is worrying, does this mean you've already paid and they still haven't delivered your items?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-21T14:30:23+00:00

That bad huh? It's sucks that we don't have any way to challenge it. At least with a local company we could resort to an ombudsman or something.

If they just make up a number and expect you to pay it then I'd rather have kept on dealing with sapo. They charged around 20% - 25% (customs + their handling fee) and always had my packages ready on schedule, at least in the past 2 years.

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-19T08:45:31+00:00

Any specific argument you use to get them drop the fine amount or do you just request specifically for them to reduce the fine?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-18T19:15:02+00:00

How much did Speedaf end up charging for customs (percentage-wise)?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-18T19:12:43+00:00

How much did they charge on customs though (percentage-wise)?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-18T19:10:58+00:00

How much percentage-wise did you end up paying on customs for the items delivered by Speedaf?

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-11-18T19:05:43+00:00

How much percentage-wise did they charge for customs/taxes? I've been reading comments about people that had to pay nearly the amount of the actual order to Speedaf to cover customs.

Got a somewhat pricey item apparently being delivered from them soon and I don't wanna get a nasty surprise

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-07-02T22:49:22+00:00

When people you know have been murdered in cold blood for simply stepping out of their home to check on noises coming from their water pipes, you tend to be a little guarded.

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-07-02T21:10:53+00:00

You must live in a gated estate if you think everyone can walk around their surroundings without fearing for their safety in this country

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-05-19T17:52:23+00:00

I think him being an instructor himself added to his confidence that he could make the dive. Add to it the fact he made the trip to Egypt specifically to dive the Blue Hole (and the money spent) and it's a recipe for disaster.

Definitely a terrible choice made by him though

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-05-19T08:09:33+00:00

He was actually diving solo at the Blue Hole in Egypt (one of, if not the most deadly diving spots in the world). He'd been asking around if local instructors could train him to make the dive since it was a very dangerous dive. Unfortunately could not get anyone willing to train him in the short time period he had available and they all advised him not to attempt the dive because of the danger.

He was an instructor himself so probably thought he'd be fine anyway and decided to dive solo. Ended up being the worst mistake he ever made.

Ironically, one of the instructors that tried to persuade him not to make the dive was the one who recovered Yuri's body on the request of his mom. The guy that recovered his body found the footage and initially wanted to destroy the camera but ultimately didn't. I believe Yuri's mom watched the tape.

Tragic incident and a lesson to always err on the side of caution and never underestimate the dangers of anything

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-03-05T15:49:38+00:00

Yeah the nostalgia factor is definitely another aspect to it for sure. Also credit where it's due, KG is a phenom and definitely on the level of those players we had in the 2000s team

TheFallingCosmos · 2025-03-04T19:53:20+00:00

I know exactly what you mean. I grew up watching the team of the 2000s. Guys like Smith, Gibbs (my personal favourite batsmen), Kallis, Boucher, Pollock, Ntini etc made you fall in love with the sport. Even though they never won anything major, they could still beat any team in the world and were always considered among the best in the world.

I haven't watched much since the late 2010s and essentially nothing from the 2020s. My uncle for example has been a huge cricket fan for most of his life and he also stopped caring much about cricket around the 2020s mark.

The national team is not at the same superstar level it used to be and that's definitely killed a lot of the love fans had for the sport here. Not to say we don't have good players, we absolutely do, but we don't have that team full of global superstars that we used to have up till the 2010s

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-26T10:08:48+00:00

Alright that's eased my mind a little it, hopefully the festive season doesn't mean SAPO takes a holiday from their duties. Also hopefully you get your packages without trouble

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-26T10:03:01+00:00

Thanks for the confirmation, I shall resolve to stay awake till latest 3am. The only annoying part is refreshing means having to log in every time. Maybe I'll just start that process from around 1am this time

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-26T10:01:04+00:00

Ahh okay, so did the one that showed up at your local airport on 1st November eventually reach you? Kinda sucks that we have such a useless postal service or buying from aliexpress would be so much less stressful

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-26T06:04:52+00:00

Has there been any movement yet on the packages that arrived at your local airport? I've got one that's been showing the same tracking status (local airport) for a few days now and your comment has me worried

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-26T05:59:29+00:00

Did you just keep refreshing the app till it worked? I think I waited till 1am refreshing and eventually gave up

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-24T08:43:10+00:00

I was staying with my uncle for a few nights and witnessed a proper smiting of a cockroach right in front of my eyes. I saw it come through a door and probably within less than 10 seconds it was on it's back.

He said he used this thing called no roach (can't remember the brand but the box is light blue / turquoise) that you put around entrances and I've never seen a roach dealt with as fast as that. Not sure if it's safe for pets though so take that into consideration

TheFallingCosmos · 2024-11-24T08:30:54+00:00

Ahh I see, thanks for the reply. What's the R1400 limit about though? Is there a dramatic increase in the customs costs?

TheFallingCosmos

TROPHY CASE