By Najib Mulema
Zuku TV is likely to lose customers due to its alleged substandard services.
In 2017, the satellite television service provider, under its parent company Wananchi Cable Uganda Limited introduced ‘Zuku fiber”, a package that provides an internet speed of up to 100 Megabytes per second (Mbps) plus an inclusion of high quality voice services with free unlimited local on-net phone calls, and access to Zuku TV.
Thomas Hintze, Wananchi Group chief executive officer, during the product launch said, “Introduction of the fastest internet speed in Uganda is designed to meet and satisfy the need for the consumption of streaming online content such as short videos, movies, real-time gaming and live video chats.”
However, it seems the company has failed to deliver as promised.
Speaking to Watchdog Uganda, Madelein Scholtes one of Zuku TV’s unsatisfied customers said she received ‘thin air’ after subscribing for a monthly service worth Shs497,000.
Scholtes says the company’s thieving acts started in March this year when she subscribed for Zuku fiber only to receive premium TV and internet services without phone calls.
It was the same case in the following month.
“On May 27, 2018 I asked their sales person Brenda to remove decoder as we do not use the TV. Brenda came personally to remove the decoder! She assured me that we will be paying Shs479000 from now on, as it’s only for Zuku Fiber and no decoder and no Phone,” Scholtes told Watchdog Uganda.
Little did she know that Brenda never reported the issue to the accounts department. They continued to follow the initial billing and by November, she had a standing credit with the company.
“We paid the in advance! We received an email in 22 November 2018 informing us we do not have enough credit on our account for December 2018 subscription. So we started investigating. It seems the Sales Person Brenda, that removed decoder never informed the accounts department to reduce our cost to Shs479000. So they billed us Shs497000 from May 2018,” she laments.
To her dismay, up to date the service provider has not solved her issue despite her continued efforts of engaging them since November 22.
Worse of all, Scholtes has been receiving less to what she pays for. The company gives her an internet speed of only 30Mbps instead of 100Mbps.
“Account 100475 is subscribed to 30 mbps and not 100. We have updated the link parameters to enhance its performance. Connect a cable directly to zuku modem from your laptop to conduct a speed test. Disconnect other devises before conducting the test to get accurate results. Warm Regards,” a message she recently received from James Mwasi, Customer Experience Officer at Zuku Uganda.
