1000 Free SMS's a scam

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Edwe

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I have never before been tempted to swear on a public forum, but I really had to restrain myself this time. :mad:

My old v100 postpay contract on VM expired last month and I opted to switch to the Topup199 contract with free Samsung STAR, advertised with VM's 1000 Free SMS's offer.

The contract was signed on 11 November 2009 and I was told by the shop assistants at Somerset Mall that the new contract would take effect on 1 January 2010 and that I would receive R200 airtime and 1000 free SMS's on that date.

When I had not received anything by the 4th (and was unable to top up my account using a voucher), I went to the same store to complain. A complaint was lodged, but nothing happened. I phoned customer care on 123 today and was informed that the free SMS offer does not apply to the Topup199 contract at all and that I am not "one of the lucky customers eligible for this offer", even though I was explicitly promised that I would receive this benefit by two different shop assistants and that I have a printed pamphlet clearly advertising the specific offer. On telling 123 this, I was told that the matter "would have to be investigated with the specific branch" and that it may take a few weeks to sort out.

So I went back to the store to ask what was going on. The store assistants became very frustrated with me and treated me like an idiot. "Obviously you will not have free SMS's this month unless you had them before". :confused: On explaining my situation in more detail, I was told that they would sort it out and will likely load my free SMS's by 11 January. Furthermore, no debits have been carried out to pay for the contract, even though the printed contract states the billing date is "First of every month".

I can still make calls, but since a couple of hours ago, I am no longer able to phone 123 as the call does not complete (my phone just beeps three times and the call fails).

Can anyone please tell me which one of these stories is the real truth? What am I entitled to on a Topup199 Per Minute with 1000 Free SMS's contract? Before I resort to www.hellopeter.com?...
 
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don't know if hellopeter will do you any good but write to the advertising standards authority if it's the network's fault. otherwise write to the papers about the lying staff.
 
It all boils down to the signed contract. What does it stipulate on the contract?
 
psivius said:
It all boils down to the signed contract. What does it stipulate on the contract?
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It only stipulates the name of the contract (i.e. "Topup199 Per Minute") in writing. According to the VM booklet describing the different contracts, the 1000 free SMS's offer is included with this contract. In fact, the entire first page of the booklet is dedicated to it with bold text proclaiming "1000 Free SMS's per month", with absolutely no fine print anywhere on the page nor an asterisk pointing to fine print elsewhere in the booklet.

I pointed to that specific page when I ordered the contract and said "I want that offer", after double checking with the shop assistant that I will have 1000 free SMS's every month on that contract. So there's no way that they could have misunderstood. Am I right in saying it constitutes deliberate deception and misleading advertising if they refuse to give me any free SMS's? Do I have grounds to complain to the ASA (and/or to ICASA) if nothing is done about this?
 
Edwe said:
Am I right in saying it constitutes deliberate deception and misleading advertising if they refuse to give me any free SMS's? Do I have grounds to complain to the ASA (and/or to ICASA) if nothing is done about this?
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Most definitely.

They also for some random reason decided to start charging my girlfriend for sms's this month after over a year of free ones. Called three times and each time they promise its sorted out. But check my balance, send an sms, check again and 60c less.

Also noticed they decided to add on itemised billing onto my contact when I never asked for it (an extra R30/40), hardly much but the point is I never asked for it...

My contract expires in two months, and after 2 years of numerous issues I'm changing over to vodacom.

Virgin/CellC may be cheaper, but its really really not worth their bull****.
 
Virgin did send out info with their itemised billing that they will start to charge for it, unless you request via 123 that it be emailed to you instead.
I agree that if you advertise a contract with free sms's, it should be and remain free.
Also, be careful, Vodacom and mtn will give you the same problems on billing. In my opinion I would rather pay less and deal with the problems when they arise, than paying more and still having to deal with them.
 
It is now 11 November, the date I was given last time. Still being charged to SMS. Phoned 123, quoted the reference number, and was informed that nothing has been done about my issue yet and that it would take 3 to 4 days to resolve. For the fifth time. I was given another reference number. The fifth one.

This is going out out to Hellopeter, the ASA and any other organization that I think would consider my problem remotely relevant.
 
Response to my complaint on hellopeter.com:

VMSA said:
Hello Edwe,

Thank you for your post.

We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Please note that we are aware of the above issue and it is currently being dealt with.

We will rever to you once resolved.

Kind regards,
VMSA
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This isn't helping. I wonder if they will refund me for the SMS's I have already sent... I need this service!
 
Has anything further happened my advice to you is send them a registead letter and then go down to you local and file papers also dont forget to sue them time. Its normally very effective and very simple take them to small claims so that they cannot send a fancy lawyer as well
 
This is quite lame. I recently changed from vodacom to virgin, just because of the free smses. Hope they don't cut mine off....
 
Hi All...

Seems like these mobile operators really know how to take people for a ride... My Vodacom data contract expired in December, and I did send in the fax to state that I didn't want to renew in October, yet I'm still being billed for it!!!

Now getting a new contract on Virgin...

I am wondering if we mobile consumers banded together, we could probably get an upper hand here, but it must be done en-masse. Rather than allowing these people direct access to our bank accounts, we should insist on stop orders (as opposed to debit orders). With a stop order, you are in control. They can't vary the amount, and if they give you problem, just stop the payments. Once they sort out their side, you can sort out yours. There is no valid reason they shouldn't allow stop orders for top up contracts where the amount is constant..

What do you all think?
 
Just an update: I finally received my free SMS's, just to have them let me know that they will soon expire a week later.

I went to complain again... my SMS's are free for now, but who knows for how long.
 
My problem is not exactly the same. I was called in October 2009 from a Durban call centre about a promotion to get a Samsung phone for R150 per month. I also receive R150 airtime + 1000 free sms per month. As a long term user of cellphone contracts since 1996 I've seen almost everything. So I asked them many questions before proceeding. However, I never asked them the question that came to haunt me later on:

CAN YOU PLACE A CAP OR LIMIT ON YOUR MONTHLY AMOUNT OVER AND ABOVE THE R150. Well as my PA used that sim card and made a high number of calls I ended up paying R600+ in December and a similar amount in Jan 2010. After numerous calls to Virgin Mobile customer service I was informed on my specific contract, I am unable to place a soft lock when say R200 is reached. This is the stupidest thing I've heard of and now I've ended up hating Virgin Mobile. All cellphone airtime contracts should be able to be limited to avoid overspending.

Where is the best place to get this issue addressed?
 
whats the name of your contract ramonthomas .is it a classic 150s package
 
Really is a scam... no free SMS's as first promised to get you interested.

I nearly got caught by Virgin.

They phone and promise the world... including 1000 free SMS's and detailed billing for R170/month .... with a free phone.

Phone to be delivered and contract signed within 3 to 10 days. When 10 days almost up.... get another call.... doing me a favour :) ... changing my contract to only.... R149! Ha! But this means ... of course.... no free SMS's... and I must not forget that my detailed billing will cost me another ...R20! .... Now I am privileged to have a new contract with no free SMS's and detailed billing for R169!

He did point out that it was not R170!!! For R1 reduction I can be grateful for their special new offer.

When I tell them to forget it and cancel I am quickly told I will not qualify anywhere else for such a good deal..... Funny.... I did with MTN for my youngster not too long ago.... so I am told that since then my credit rating has fallen... ?? .... why did ABSA just fall over themselves to send me a gold credit card?.... Silly ABSA

How to get sales the Virgin way..... lie and insult the customer. Haha!

One more thing... I was promised... repeatedly from more than one consultant..... that I would get good reception on my farm. Someone using Virgin came here and really battled to get any reception... really iffy... fading in and out most frustratingly.

What Virgin will do for a buck! .... actually.... what Virgin will do to give you a buck.... take you to the cleaners if they can.
 
Today Virgin offered me a free phone for R120 a month, R20 itemised billing R100 airtime cap of R600 pm after which I must top up (oh and 1000 sms's a month or someting like that). They claim it'll be delivered within 7-10 days. What bothers me is they asked for my bank details, address etc over the phone. When I call the number they gave me (0741000123) from my vodacom phone I get cut off with a message saying I'm phoning from a non virgin number, same message as the number I found for them on their website (0860000181).
Any virgin customers out there? Is this a good deal or am I getting scammed?
If someone has contact numbers for Virgin mobile's call centre/helpline I'd really appreciate.
 
Spinnekop said:
Today Virgin offered me a free phone for R120 a month, R20 itemised billing R100 airtime cap of R600 pm after which I must top up (oh and 1000 sms's a month or someting like that). They claim it'll be delivered within 7-10 days. What bothers me is they asked for my bank details, address etc over the phone. When I call the number they gave me (0741000123) from my vodacom phone I get cut off with a message saying I'm phoning from a non virgin number, same message as the number I found for them on their website (0860000181).
Any virgin customers out there? Is this a good deal or am I getting scammed?
If someone has contact numbers for Virgin mobile's call centre/helpline I'd really appreciate.
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My girlfriend just phoned me with the exact same thing. I looked into it, it seems OK but don't sign a contract without checking it out first. Their prepaid options are also really awesome. Also, I don't know how great their coverage is. I'm looking into it.
 
Synaesthesia said:
My girlfriend just phoned me with the exact same thing. I looked into it, it seems OK but don't sign a contract without checking it out first. Their prepaid options are also really awesome. Also, I don't know how great their coverage is. I'm looking into it.
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Coverage is great, they are using Cell C and Vodacom network. No 3G however, only Edge (3G will come soon). But there are many other problems with the network. But if you want to save money and only use the phone for personal use you'll be ok
 
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