There is no separate Ackermans phone plan called Phone Yam. The product is FoneYam, and Ackermans is one of the retailers where you can apply for it and collect the handset. The agreement itself is with FoneYam, not with Ackermans, which is the distinction that matters when something goes wrong.
Official contact channels
- FoneYam: 0860 900 900
- Email: [email protected]
- USSD, free to dial: *134*33011#
- Website and online application: foneyam.co.za
- Ackermans customer care handles Ackermans accounts and purchases. It cannot see a FoneYam agreement, take a FoneYam payment query or process a FoneYam device swap
Where Ackermans fits in
- FoneYam states you can apply online or at selected PEP, Ackermans, Dunns or HiFi Corp stores
- A small upfront amount is payable when you collect your smartphone at one of those stores
- The store is the application and collection point. It is not the credit provider and does not administer the agreement afterwards
- Not every Ackermans branch participates. Phone the store or use the FoneYam site before travelling
It is a rental, not a contract or a sale
- FoneYam is a smartphone rental. You are not buying the handset on instalments and you do not automatically own it at the end
- It is not a network contract either, so it is separate from your airtime and data, which you buy yourself
- Ask before signing: the monthly amount, the minimum term, what happens at the end of the term, and whether there is an option to own
- Ask what the insurance covers and what it costs. FoneYam markets insurance alongside the rental, and it is a separate product with its own terms
- Applications are assessed, so approval is not automatic
Payments, arrears and fraud
- Payment and balance queries go to FoneYam on 0860 900 900 or the USSD string, not to the store till
- If you cannot pay, phone before the due date. A rental in arrears can mean the device is recalled as well as a listing on your credit record
- FoneYam publishes a fraud page on its own site. Never pay a deposit to a personal account or a WhatsApp number claiming to arrange a FoneYam device
- For a credit agreement dispute, the National Credit Regulator is on 0860 627 627
Sources
- FoneYam official website, for the statement that applications are taken online or at selected PEP, Ackermans, Dunns and HiFi Corp stores, and for the upfront amount payable on collection at a store
- FoneYam official contact page, for the telephone number and general mailbox
- FoneYam official website, for the rental model, the insurance offering and the published fraud guidance, and for the free USSD string
- National Credit Regulator published contact number