SANParks.org Forums

In March 2012 I paid for a new Wild Card. I asked if they would update
the 'new' card I had (Arrived Oct. 2011) but I was told I would be issued
with another new card. I needed to update my details within 30 days - which
I eventually did, with help via e-mail as my details would not update.

This was in May ( I had been trying since beginning of April to update!!)
I was issued with a letter stating that I had paid in March and my Wild card
would arrive within 6 weeks. The letter was valid for 45 days from date of
receipt - so had already expired!!!

Well it is now October and still no Wild Card.

I will say there is one positive - the Wild magazine arrived for the first time
last week - hooray for that.

About 6 weeks ago I made reference, through the Wild Card icon on the home page,
to the fact that I hadn't yet received my Wild Card. Not a word!!!!

What is one supposed to do to get a Wild Card - I am sick of having to cart around
a piece of paper - which isn't even valid anymore. I do have my receipt - but that
is also a piece of paper which I need to keep with me.

I realise things take time - but how long has it been that Sanparks have been running
the Wild Card show - about 2 years!!!!! The card that arrived in October 2011 actually
arrived after its expiry date and why issue another new card - that just smacks of
a waste of money to me.

Can I please receive my Wild Card before it expires in March 2013!!!!!

Pooky,

Please PM me your name, Wild Card number, passport or ID number and a contact email address and I will try to get someone to look into it for you.

THANK YOU TO SARAF

The renewed Wild Card has now been linked to the existing
card we had. Absolutely the correct outcome.

Thank you very much to Saraf for her assistance in
making this happen

You are welcome Pooky.

Just back from Kruger with a group and one did not have a WC but we presented the confirmation (payment) Letter and had no problems

has anyone else had problems getting a wild card, i have been waiting three months now for my card in the UK, and every email i send is just answered wait it's in the post, this is not acceptable service in my opinion.

living in the UK it is clear i can't use the card until i am in SA, and so i purchased a card in November last year in the hope that it would arrive in time for use when we arrived in Kruger December 23rd, but its still not here.

even more annoying, it was apparently activated on the date of purchase even though we were unable to use it until we arrived in SA dec 23rd, i has assumed that the year membership would start when we could start using the card. When you consider the cost of an international card you would expect that it would be sent to arrive in a reasonable time scale, and start on the first date that you were able to use it after travelling to SA?

i have been waiting three months, tired of emails saying its in the post.

Hi jannjulie and Welcome!

Sorry to hear that you've had such problems with your WildCard, but sadly I'm not surprised. The 'activation' date for the card has always been the date it is issued, so to lose the least value, I only buy mine a fews days before I leave for South Africa and that way, sometimes it actually ends up covering two visits . While a neat plastic card is easier to manage than the confirmation letter, well I'd rather not waste weeks and months to have that piece of plastic delivered. The letter will suffice. But I do agree, it seems still to be a very flawed and unreliable system

Hope you had a great trip despite not having your piece of plastic!

LOL that's what they say but is that what they do??

the latest sorry step is that i am told if i want a replacement for the card i bought and never received, i have to pay an additional 100 rand fee, what a farce, more money for something i may never receive. Think i am losing patience with sanparks and wild card farce. Shame as i enjoy holidays to SA but this is leaving a sour taste.

jannjulie,

Sorry you have had a bad experience with your Wild Card, in recent months things seemed to be going more smoothly.

The Wild Card posted to you should have had a tracking number with it, you should be able to get Wild Card to track it for you.

Please could you PM me your contact details and WC number (you can get this from your confirmation email) and I'll try to get someone to look into it for you.

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome. we did have a great holiday, but as we were planning a return later in the year i only bought the card early as the lady i contacted early last year said it would take a month to be delivered (if only!!!), if she had said it didn't matter as it worked straight away and wouldn't arrive at all i would have bought it the day before we left and it would then have covered our next holiday at the end of this year, which it will not do now.

Unfortunately, it has now descended into farce, i have been told that i have to pay 100 rand for a replacement for the card that i never received, in law i believe that ownership rests with the supplier until there is proof of delivery, so am resisting this, not wanting to throw more money down the drain. The worry is that their own website says the letter is only valid for 6 weeks, so technically i no longer have any wild card to use!

The whole sorry administration of this needs a thorough overhaul in my opinion, along with the rather slow entrance system at the gates which left us often sitting for half an hour to an hour trying to enter the parks at first light, despite having booked and paid for advanced entry, surely some kind of swipe card system would allow the properly organised visitor to drive in without this ridiculous queuing system. Maybe, if we ever receive a card, the system would be able to recognize it on a swipe, check bookings and allow entry, so only those who have not pre booked and paid would have to queue out of the door at the shops first thing in the morning, its not brain surgery.

Does anyone in the administration and management realise what a negative effect these kind of experiences have on repeat bookings and the perception of SA as a holiday destination; we are regularly asked how our holiday went and our experiences of SA, and whilst some parts are fantastic, such as the week we spent in Capetown, and the amazing wildlife; others, like this card farce, and the very unhelpful experience of the VAT refund clerk at jo'burg airport, leave a bad taste which taints the whole experience, and discourages further visits. Holidays are supposed to be relaxing !

Rant over.

jannjulie I think you may have been unlucky. Indeed, as saraf says, things seem to have improved a lot with the Wild Card system in the last 6 months. We received ours in Australia in a few short weeks after ordering and we are regularly receiving our Wild magazine for the first time ever! Hopefully you can get things sorted out!

As I have said in your other post about this, please PM me your contact details and Wild Card number and I will try to get someone to look into it for you.

Thanks Saraf, i will get the info to you. i have received several copies of the tracking info from sanparks, it seems to be the standard reply to send me a copy of the tracking info, which shows it dispatched 4th December, at joburg on 7th December, and nothing since, so lost or stolen in the intervening ten weeks, although i am assured that it is en route and will be with me shortly! This response wears a bit thin after multiple repetitions.