Vodacom Misleading their clients with "Top up" contracts

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pietpetoors

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After some years I decided to take a contract with Vodacom again and I went for their latest cheap 2 Gig contract.

Because I cancelled my previous contract due to the ridiculous out of bundle rates about 4 years ago, I specifically asked for a top-up contract so that their system cannot keep on billing me once I am out of data

I just upgraded my pay as you go 3G to the contract.
I still had airtime money loaded on the number when they converted it to the contract

Last night I ran out of data and wanted to load more data using the available money on my account.
When i logged in, it was gone, R575 was not there.

So I contacted Vodacom and the first guy could not see what happened to the money and had it investigated. Then another guy called back and said it was used up because I used up my data at end May

So I asked him how the hell could I use it up if I have a "Top Up" contract. He said no, if there is airtime money on the account the system will use that money. So I told him it cannot be, that is exactly why I took a TOP UP contract to prevent Vodacom from stealing from me while I am not aware of it, like they did with the last contract.

He just said sorry, that is the way it works and if I dont want the system to use the airtime, I must convert it to data and not leave it as airtime on my account.

So is it only me that is dof or what does TOP UP means? To me it means, if the data is finished, the service will stop until you top it up with more of what it needs to work.

Am I wrong? If Vodacom's TOP UP means that if your data is finished it will just keep on taking your money like a normal open contract then in my opinion Vodacom is deliberating misleading their clients.

The gent who phoned offered to load me 500 Meg os data to make up for the loss and said I should take care in future, BUT I still feel that a TOP UP means that it must stop until I top it up so it can work again!
 
Top Up means that the you cannot be billed onto your account for extra usage over and above your data bundle or airtime that is in the account. Once your data bundle is depleted, it will swtich over and deduct OOB rates from airtime that is in your account. If there is none...you will be disconnected and wont be able to browse again untill such time that you load a new bundle or airtime and convert that into a bundle. You may also request us to load a new bundle for you directly @ either a Vodacom Shop or we can activate it for you on your account which will then be billed to your account.
 
ocleroux said:
Top Up means that the you cannot be billed onto your account for extra usage over and above your data bundle or airtime that is in the account. Once your data bundle is depleted, it will swtich over and deduct OOB rates from airtime that is in your account. If there is none...you will be disconnected and wont be able to browse again untill such time that you load a new bundle or airtime and convert that into a bundle. You may also request us to load a new bundle for you directly @ either a Vodacom Shop or we can activate it for you on your account which will then be billed to your account.
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^ This - Your data (Or airtime) is loaded and billed automatically at the beginning of each month, if it were not, then the cellphone or 3g modem subsidies would be impossible to maintain if a user up and decided that they just didn't want to pay this month.
 
You have Top-Up confused with hard cap, something that only kicks in when your data bundle and remaining airtime hits 0.

We've been asking for hard-caps and real-time billing on post-paid for years, but Vodacom have yet to come to the party. 8ta seem to be the only people who have mastered the art of capping on mobile.
 
Top Up means that the you cannot be billed onto your account for extra usage over and above your data bundle or airtime that is in the account. Once your data bundle is depleted, it will swtich over and deduct OOB rates from airtime that is in your account.
Click to expand...

So when it comes to your monthly bill, the word TOP UP is relevant, but when it comes to Airtime Money (not data) in your account then all of the sudden the word TOP UP is not relevant?
 
pietpetoors said:
So when it comes to your monthly bill, the word TOP UP is relevant, but when it comes to Airtime Money (not data) in your account then all of the sudden the word TOP UP is not relevant?
Click to expand...

The point of Hybrid Top Up contracts and prepaid is that you cant spend more than you have. Once your airtime is depleted, you have to recharge first before you can make more calls, sends SMS's and use data. How you use the airtime is up to you. If you do not convert remaining airtime to a data bundle first...the system will use that to enable your data connection @ R2.00 a meg.
 
i've always been on top up and never had a problem. Who ever explained to initially how top up worked got it wrong.

I have a R315 top up, so I get R315 value of airtime, if I dont convert some of it to a data bundle it will use this airtime for data at R2 a meg. So I convert about half to data then still have the remaining left for calls or whatever. Your data bundle will be used first then the remaining airtime. I normally get a notification when I only have 3megs of data left on my data bundle. Did you not get this sms?
 
geez louise, just get a normal contract with a cap. These hybrids sound overly confusing
 
rakabos3 said:
geez louise, just get a normal contract with a cap. These hybrids sound overly confusing
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But that's the whole problem with data "contracts" - the cap does not kick in in real time. Someone find me that epic image of the shark and OOB.
 
They do kick in when you have a converged billing system. The updates are done near real time, so prepaid and postpaid data is handled the same way. Cell C via Huawei has such a system since last year. Not sure why the others dont.
 
Did you not get this sms?
Click to expand...
When I called them this morning I still had 2.78 Mb left

the system will use that to enable your data connection @ R2.00 a meg.
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To the benefit of Vodacom and then they still sleep at night! I guess they will never implement what Morkhans calls a hard cap because ripping of clients with the so called TOP UP is very profitable.
 
pietpetoors said:
So when it comes to your monthly bill, the word TOP UP is relevant, but when it comes to Airtime Money (not data) in your account then all of the sudden the word TOP UP is not relevant?
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Watch this:
Ivanr said:
I am just wondering which type of SA drug your are on or sniffing!! [...]
Lastly please go for counselling you need it :D
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sajunky, I did read that post and I think that is the nice thing of being a big cell network and making billions per year. You can cheeze off 100,000 of your clients and don't have to care if they leave because the other 19,900,000 will still make you rich and won't question your methods. If someone do question your methods you can just laugh it off, blame it on the user or say they must proof that they are wrong.
 
pietpetoors said:
If someone do question your methods you can just laugh it off, blame it on the user or say they must proof that they are wrong.
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:) Just overhead that Vodacom CEO is axed. Maybe it is a time some official reps on this forum should consider to change their attitude to the clients,
 
sajunky said:
:) Just overhead that Vodacom CEO is axed. Maybe it is a time some official reps on this forum should consider to change their attitude to the clients,
Click to expand...

If you are referring to Sipho Maseko, he was the MD...not CEO. Also, he left...not axed as per the press release.
 
ajax said:
But that's the whole problem with data "contracts" - the cap does not kick in in real time. Someone find me that epic image of the shark and OOB.
Click to expand...

Here... my OOB shark as requested... http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8874&d=1303248411 ;)

attachment.php
 
ocleroux said:
If you are referring to Sipho Maseko, he was the MD...not CEO. Also, he left...not axed as per the press release.
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OK, he resigned or was forced to resign, doesn't change a point. A dead fish starts smelling bad from the head.
 
sajunky said:
OK, he resigned or was forced to resign, doesn't change a point. A dead fish starts smelling bad from the head.
Click to expand...

I was merely correcting you. As for whether he resigned or got fired, well, if you want to speculate about it then that is alright. Unless he or Vodacom states otherwise, it will remain speculation, not fact.
 
ocleroux said:
I was merely correcting you. As for whether he resigned or got fired, well, if you want to speculate about it then that is alright. Unless he or Vodacom states otherwise, it will remain speculation, not fact.
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No one comes just to resign in 9 months, or so.... Reality check....
 
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