THE FUSE

With internet reception being unreliable in the Cederberg area, Michael Stephenson opted to have Vox Telecom install a satellite connection at his farm. But he cancelled that contract in November 2024 due to very slow internet speeds. In the next six months he emailed the company four times to ask it to collect its satellite dishes and other hardware. Having not received a single response, he sent them to an auction house for sale. Then in October – almost a year after his contract was cancelled – Vox debited Stephenson’s bank account for about R14 000, and when his bank reversed the transaction, the company began sending him aggressive payment demands. The company agreed to waive “the hardware fees” after Wendy Knowler took up the case.