View Full Version : Is 99% discount for real?
Is 99% discount for real? (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/7252.html)
Cell C challenged Vodacom to show that the advertised discount of 99% is available for more than an insignificant proportion of the time. "The unpredictability of the offer also renders it misleading," said Cell C.
Jagtiger
11-03-2009, 01:16 AM
This advert is for attention of customers. By "Up to..." means that max discount may be 99%...
It goes for following case: You pay 1% less each minute i.e. for each minute discount sums up. If user going to call 99 minutes in row, he have chance to get 99% discount.
Depends on person's interpretation, that's is problem and reason why it is removed - it may confuse people.
they kinda did say you get up to 99% not you getting 99%
Pilgrim
11-03-2009, 07:20 AM
The big problem is that while it is factually correct that some times (lets say 3am in the morning in De Aar) the discount is 99% the truth of the matter is that the discount is rarely that high.
Now vodascum tries to make themselves look cool by claiming 99% discount, while that simply is not the truth. I challenge vodascum to pull true statistics across all their yebo4less clients over the past month and tell us what they really saved.
It won't be close to 99%. Heck, I would be astounded if it is more than 10%...
theJonster
11-03-2009, 08:05 AM
its just childish...going to all lengths to sell a product that everyone knows is overpriced
now the scary part is that, even with the 99 or the 99%, vodacom is still making a profit. which begs the question: what is their margin on their normal calls being made by you and i?
kaaskop
11-03-2009, 09:24 AM
DRAFTFCB Johannesburg, on behalf of Vodacom, replied saying that it was factually correct that a consumer on Yebo4Less could, at a cost of R2.60, speak for one hour and 40 minutes. This means that a consumer pays for one minute at R2.60 and may effectively get the remaining 99 minutes free at no extra charge.
I hate these kind of words:mad:
The customer want to know how much he/she saves. Not may or could save!
Gaz{M}
11-03-2009, 09:28 AM
I got 99% discount at 3:58am in Ververgeetendorpistaniwe on a Sunday before a Monday public holiday so I don't know what you are complaining about.
killadoob
11-03-2009, 09:29 AM
That is not right kaaskop, you need to work it out.
So the first minute is 2.60 the next minute is 1% less so the next minute is 2% 2.11 etc so you need to work it out like that by the time you get to 99 minutes you have paid a crap load.
False advertising in a massive way if people you will get 99 minutes free of charge.
chubster
11-03-2009, 09:41 AM
That is not right kaaskop, you need to work it out.
So the first minute is 2.60 the next minute is 1% less so the next minute is 2% 2.11 etc so you need to work it out like that by the time you get to 99 minutes you have paid a crap load.
False advertising in a massive way if people you will get 99 minutes free of charge.
Something doesn't look rite there. You have to factor in the low/high usage of a cell tower. So your first minute may not even be 1%. Vodacom needs to be upfront to the end user, showing them exactly in real time what their costs would be. I'm not going to sign up to a yo-yo bill statement. That is just ridiculous? :confused:
ben dover
11-03-2009, 10:29 AM
Sheesh...i had such trouble reading that with all the grammatical errors...
Ju99l3r
11-03-2009, 12:05 PM
The customer does get an active update on the discount that they would receive depending on the area they are in and the time of day.
They have to setup the Cell Broadcast to show the discount info.
My ex switched to Voda4Less when it first came out, at times she did get 99% discount on the calls she made and she was shown the discount % she was to get at the time.
IMO the advertising is correct, "UP TO 99%", shows the maximum discount a caller could get.
P.S. If you are on Voda4Less and don't know how to setup your Cell Broadcast this ,*111*444#, should show you the discount % for your area & time.
Rouxenator
11-03-2009, 12:54 PM
"In short, the less "traffic" in a particular cell, the higher the discount," said Vodacom.
Great - so when are we going to see this for data?
You know, download 1MB and get 99MB for free ?
gdiza
11-03-2009, 12:56 PM
Great - so when are we going to see this for data?
You know, download 1MB and get 99MB for free ?
Errr... NEVER! :rolleyes:
Rouxenator
11-03-2009, 01:02 PM
Errr... NEVER! :rolleyes:
Well, they said traffic, and one traffic is as good as the other.
Dr3xus
11-03-2009, 01:49 PM
The customer does get an active update on the discount that they would receive depending on the area they are in and the time of day.
They have to setup the Cell Broadcast to show the discount info.
My ex switched to Voda4Less when it first came out, at times she did get 99% discount on the calls she made and she was shown the discount % she was to get at the time.
IMO the advertising is correct, "UP TO 99%", shows the maximum discount a caller could get.
P.S. If you are on Voda4Less and don't know how to setup your Cell Broadcast this ,*111*444#, should show you the discount % for your area & time.
not true.
Y4L is very very badly implemented. Area info only works SOME of the time. *111*444# also experiences downtime (although not as often) but by far the MOST irritating thing is how the discount percentage can change, within a split second (within the hour) without your location changing. This occurs almost on a daily basis, vodacom's "help line" is comparative to that of telkom's. I have lodged numerous complaints only for whoever it is handling the issues to sidestep it promising fixes which never materialise.
In addition, there are also issues such as the promised "minimal 50%" discount after 8pm. On numerous occasions (probably 1 - 2 times a month where I would be affected) the discount is shown to be 0% or an amount less than 50% after 8pm. The helpline as usual is misinformed and under trained as to not being able to actually offer any assistance.
That being said, I doubt any other service provider in SA (keyword) is any better. Alas...
Sackboy
11-03-2009, 02:15 PM
The ASA said that Vodacom failed to show that the discount of 99% applied to more than an insignificant proportion of Yebo4Less users, which it was required to do to be able to use these claims.
This is where they made the most glaring mistake. The ASA is littered with the carcasses of ads caught out by this rule.
You cannot claim UP TO X if only an insignificant number of customers will get X.
Well done to the ASA and the person who took it up.:p