Satellite television provider - Customers of the satellite television operator DigiSat are up in arms because they claim they are being charged for services they did not receive. Last Thursday a number of DigiSat customers took to the company's offices in the Eluwa Building in Windhoek to demand answers.
One of the customers, Diana Gaweses told The Namibian that the company was deducting money from her bank account even though she had cancelled her subscription two years ago.
'I signed a contract in September 2011, two months later I cancelled my subscription. Everything was fine until this year when they, out of the blue, started deducting money from my account. Since January they have deducted N$390 from my account,' she said.
Gawases was not the only angry customer, Nakanyala Hidulika also had a similar grievance.
'I signed a contract in 2011 and only received the dish, because I was told that the decoders were out of stock. In the contract it states that I would have to wait a maximum of 45 days for a decoder, but after a year I was still without a decoder and decided to cancel my subscription, but till today they are still deducting from my account. Sometimes even twice a month... at the beginning and at the end of the month. They deducted N$195 from my account in December 2012 and then N$585 on January 2, this year,' Hidulika said.
Like many times before, Hidulika was not helped on Thursday and was once again told to come back when the owner of the company.
The Namibian spoke to a representative of DigiSat who, at first, refused to give information including, the owner's name and her name. She did however explain that DigiSat provides installation of satellites, decoders and smart cards.
She said they provide three packages which each have 72 channels, but differ on the length of the contract, the shortest being three years.
She said the company has been operating since 2009 and have up to 2 000 customers and a staff of only five people.
About the complaints of the customers she said that the main problem was that people did not read the contracts.
'Everything is in the contract, we are doing things in terms of the contract. It is just that people do not read their contracts and so they are not aware of the terms and conditions.'
She further said the company would only deduct money from a customer's bank twice a month if the customer is in arrears.
Gawases said that the contract is void because both parties did not deliver.
'How can they hold me to a contract when both parties did not do what they promised. I did not pay the deposit and they did not deliver any service.'
On Monday it was reported that the company had moved offices once again. This time it was for renovations being done to the building, but they would not tell the customers who come to inquire on their accounts where they have moved.
'I was told to come back on Monday, but when I got there, I was told that they moved. The people in the office refused to open the door or tell me where they have moved to and the number that they have provided me is not going through,' said Gawases.
The upset customers took their complaints to the Anti-Corruption Commission, where they were advised to open a civil case of theft under false pretences.
All efforts by The Namibian to get hold of the owner of DigiSat proved futile.
By Selma Kaulinge
The Namibian/14/03/2013