Build a prepaid fulfilment support playbook

When a customer says their airtime never arrived, the first person they speak to should know where to find the original order and what to check. Give support a way to look up the status, an owner to hand the case to and a clear rule about who can approve a retry or refund.

Cover the calls and tickets you already get: missing airtime, rejected orders, timeouts and sales that do not match the supplier's report. For each, say what staff should record, who handles it next and what the customer can be told before the result is confirmed.

First-response decision aid

Reported case Capture first Next action Owner
Recipient disputes a completed sale Sale ID, original reference, date and value Check the recorded status and route Support
Rejected order Original reference and response evidence Follow the documented failure process Operations
Pending or unknown outcome Original reference, request time and available status Query the original transaction Authorised operator
Recipient or product mismatch Approved request and submitted details Escalate for controlled review Business owner
Balance or report difference Funding record, order export and supplier report Reconcile by reference Finance

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Define the playbook's boundaries

List the products, sales channels and teams the playbook covers. For a direct recharge, staff will usually need the order reference and a status lookup. For vouchers, they may need to know who held the PIN and when it was handed out. Give staff the fields they need for each product.

For every case type, write down:

  • What the first-line agent may check without changing the transaction.
  • Which details are needed to identify the event.
  • Which status or response determines the next step, using the provider's own terms.
  • Who can contact the supplier or approve a financial adjustment.
  • What the customer may safely be told while the case remains open.
  • What evidence is needed before the case can be closed.

Use the provider's current documentation and account support process to verify status names and escalation routes. A local team should not invent meanings for a status label or infer a successful outcome from a missing error message.

Worked example: a disputed R30 order

A customer calls about an R30 airtime order that did not arrive. The agent records the sale number, supplier reference, time, value and the customer's account, along with the destination details the agent is allowed to see. If the status still shows as pending or unknown, the authorised operator checks the same order with the supplier and leaves the case open.

The agent does not submit another R30 order to make the customer whole while the first result is uncertain. A second order could duplicate the value and would not answer what happened to the first one. If the provider confirms failure, staff follow the organisation's documented next step. If it confirms completion, support communicates the verified result and follows its normal dispute process. Any goodwill adjustment is a separate, authorised decision and must be recorded distinctly from the supplier transaction.

In one example, a weekly review turns up 20 cases: 8 confirmed completed, 5 rejected, 4 pending and 3 missing a reference. Set a follow-up date for the pending cases and send the incomplete tickets back for the missing references. Read the rejected cases together to see whether staff are making the same mistake or the supplier needs to investigate.

Set a clear evidence standard

Ask for the minimum evidence needed to identify and investigate the transaction. Avoid asking staff to paste passwords, API keys, full payment details or unnecessary personal information into a general ticket. Limit access to destination details and voucher codes. If the business needs a screenshot, instruct staff to redact unrelated customer data and credentials before attaching it.

Each case record should include a named owner, time opened, next action, due date and closure note. When a case changes hands, the receiving person should be able to find the original reference and see what has already been checked. This reduces repeated questions and helps prevent an operator from creating a new transaction because the first inquiry was not visible.

Build, test and maintain it

  1. Collect a sample of recent cases and group them by actual issue type.
  2. Verify the provider's current statuses, order lookup method and support channel.
  3. Draft one short action path for each common case, including a stop condition.
  4. Name the decision owner for retries, refunds, goodwill adjustments and account access.
  5. Train a small group using synthetic examples, then review whether they choose the right evidence and escalation.
  6. Update the playbook when the supplier process or an observed failure changes. Date each revision.

Set a regular time to review open cases. When an older case needs escalation, send the original reference and what the team has checked so far. Keep orders with an unknown result open until the supplier can confirm what happened.

For purchasing and supplier support enquiries, Freepaid's bulk airtime page is a starting point. Confirm the products, account terms and support process relevant to your own workflow before using this playbook in production.

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