Beware Vodacom free airtime fine print

Vodacom is offering prepaid subscribers free airtime, but you will be well advised to read the fine print

Rudolph Muller

August 6, 2012

Vodacom recently unveiled its Day-Night Double promotion, offering to pre-paid customers two hours talk time to use on the day of purchase when they recharge with R29 airtime or more. However, Vodacom subscribers may lose out on this value unless they are aware of the caveats.

Vodacom explained that customers who purchase R29 worth of airtime or more will be able to make free calls for 60 minutes to other Vodacom customers until midnight on the day of recharge. Customers will also receive an additional 60 minutes free talk time from 12am to 5am for seven days with Night Shift.

Users should be warned that the ‘first’ free 60 minutes of Vodacom calls is not valid for 24 hours, but rather until midnight of the day which the airtime was loaded. If a user therefore loads the airtime late at night, the benefit will still expire at midnight (basically removing the benefit).

Curiously the benefit of the free airtime for recharging is also not automatically given to pre-paid subscribers. To qualify for the promotion, customers must opt in by dialing *111#.

Vodacom said that not providing the benefits of the promotion to subscribers automatically is nothing strange. “This is a standard practice in many industries to ensure we measure the level of awareness and customer uptake from a promotion,” said Vodacom.

The Vodacom Day-Night Double promotion is available from 03 August to 31 August 2012.