Afrihost Mobile Feedback Thread

[AfriMan]

Afriman you guys need to offer different airtime bundle sizes or user selectable amounts, if I'm going to lose the unused airtime at month end there's no ways I'm topping up via Afrihost, only airtime recharge option offered to me on the XS package is R39.50, I'd be an idiot to buy that if I only for see myself using R15 before month end.

In those screen shots what does evergreen vs expiring airtime mean?

So airtime under R25 expires after a certain amount of time and topups above R25 is evergreen and does not expire (according to the MTN way of looking at things). We look at it in terms of Month to Month airtime and prepaid airtime.

This is why we encourage you to choose a package which suits you. You can go Prepaid Airtime and Mobile, or just for prepaid airtime and month to month APN, or any permutation which works for you. The airtime rates are the same either way, so it's what's more convenient in terms of your spend and convenience.

 

[Viva]

Thanks for this honest feedback, I hope I can shed some light on our thinking for you:

1. The idea of expiring airtime can be misleading. The airtime (if above the threshold) does not expire but our offer is to make the requisite airtime and data available to you on the first of each month. There are several logistical reasons why the product has to work this way, but in terms of any month to month offer this makes sense. This is why we publish the airtime value given and offer prepaid as an alternative. The convenience factor is probably the biggest value here, though combined the data and airtime are also very good.

2. We decided to impose a limit to prevent people from topping up more that their monthly value in a single transaction. This was to prevent unwanted billing. From the company's perspective, it's important to remember that airtime (once transferred) can't be locked - unlike data. So if a client makes an incorrect purchase or payment is not recovered, that is huge potential risk to both the company and the client. So we weighed up the convenience factor versus the safety factor and felt this was the best way. We may change this in time, but for now this is our thinking.

3. You are obviously most welcome to go that route, which is why we offer. For some the numbers make more sense from a prepaid perspective. For others, operating on something more similar to a contract is more familiar and convenient. It's totally about personal choice.

So airtime under R25 expires after a certain amount of time and topups above R25 is evergreen and does not expire (according to the MTN way of looking at things). We look at it in terms of Month to Month airtime and prepaid airtime.

This is why we encourage you to choose a package which suits you. You can go Prepaid Airtime and Mobile, or just for prepaid airtime and month to month APN, or any permutation which works for you. The airtime rates are the same either way, so it's what's more convenient in terms of your spend and convenience.

What I don't understand is why airtime can't accumulate with the month-to-month products. This is not the kind of value-driven products I've come to expect from Afrihost.

 

[airborne]

So airtime under R25 expires after a certain amount of time and topups above R25 is evergreen and does not expire (according to the MTN way of looking at things). We look at it in terms of Month to Month airtime and prepaid airtime.

This is why we encourage you to choose a package which suits you. You can go Prepaid Airtime and Mobile, or just for prepaid airtime and month to month APN, or any permutation which works for you. The airtime rates are the same either way, so it's what's more convenient in terms of your spend and convenience.

"airtime under R25 expires after a certain amount of time and topups above R25 is evergreen and does not expire"

Please expand on that, what exactly is "a certain amount of time" and how can the topups above R25 be evergreen if the terms of the R39.50 top up in the screenshot specifically says it expires at month end?

 

[Viva]

In all seriousness, it seems to me that Afrihost made the mistake of overcomplicating packages, by introducing an [undetermined?] expiration date on airtime, but only below a certain amount. The "evergreen" branding also does nothing to communicate how the product functions.

Mybroadband gets frequented by highly intelligent people from the IT sector. And yet, here were are discussing how exactly the products work.

At some point, someone at Afrihost should realise that mistakes were made, and these services can be improved. I really want this to be the case, as Afrihost is one of only a few companies that has actually done some innovation over the last couple of years, especially with regards to simplicity and customer experience.

I wish Gian would read this and give it some thought. We're actually trying to help you guys improve your services, nothing more or less.

 

[AfriMan]

What I don't understand is why airtime can't accumulate with the month-to-month products. This is not the kind of value-driven products I've come to expect from Afrihost.

There are quite a few logistics around this which is why we had to structure the package around this model. We spend loads of time trying different options but this is the one that worked and also made sense with how we structure data, etc on our month to month products.

 

[Chingha]

I couldn't agree more

We have been hammering on about this since the start of the BETA, we have received contradictory info from the afripeople about this with some insisting that the airtime never expires as long as the sim is active.

I have just cancelled one and am ready to go on the other two numbers I have brought to them.

I also wish the Afripeople would actually read and respond to the comments here. A perfect example is the response to an earlier comment about how I have to keep the Client Zone open to top up on airtime the whole time BECAUSE I'm being billed at R2.50/min not he 79c advertised and because the Auto Top up feature is currently not working.

His response, Buy a bigger bundle...

 

[AfriMan]

"airtime under R25 expires after a certain amount of time and topups above R25 is evergreen and does not expire"

Please expand on that, what exactly is "a certain amount of time" and how can the topups above R25 be evergreen if the terms of the R39.50 top up in the screenshot specifically says it expires at month end?

Remember that is in terms of MTN's definition. Hence we topup your airtime to the product allocation at the beginning of the month, so unused airtime does not expire as such, but it will count towards how much airtime is loaded at the beginning of the month. In practical terms, it's similar to data expiring when unused and a full new data allocation being made available on the 1st.

 

[AfriMan]

In all seriousness, it seems to me that Afrihost made the mistake of overcomplicating packages, by introducing an [undetermined?] expiration date on airtime, but only below a certain amount. The "evergreen" branding also does nothing to communicate how the product functions.

Mybroadband gets frequented by highly intelligent people from the IT sector. And yet, here were are discussing how exactly the products work.

At some point, someone at Afrihost should realise that mistakes were made, and these services can be improved. I really want this to be the case, as Afrihost is one of only a few companies that has actually done some innovation over the last couple of years, especially with regards to simplicity and customer experience.

I wish Gian would read this and give it some thought. We're actually trying to help you guys improve your services, nothing more or less.

Gian definitely reads through MyBroadband regularly and this was something we did forsee for some users who would prefer to have full control, which is why we offer prepaid solutions that is more in line with the prepaid airtime experience. However, for many people coming from contract, they may be less concerned with data expiring or rolling over and more concerned with getting the amount of airtime they expect each month in a convenient way.

 

[AfriMan]

I couldn't agree more

We have been hammering on about this since the start of the BETA, we have received contradictory info from the afripeople about this with some insisting that the airtime never expires as long as the sim is active.

I have just cancelled one and am ready to go on the other two numbers I have brought to them.

I also wish the Afripeople would actually read and respond to the comments here. A perfect example is the response to an earlier comment about how I have to keep the Client Zone open to top up on airtime the whole time BECAUSE I'm being billed at R2.50/min not he 79c advertised and because the Auto Top up feature is currently not working.

His response, Buy a bigger bundle...

I think I did say that we are looking into reports of being billed at incorrect rates, this is an ongoing investigation.

But seriously, not sure how I can solve your query about having ClientZone open all the time to top up all time. If you don;t want to get a bigger package, but you'd rather continuously topup, then I can only say go with what I suggested, or carry on with what you're doing if it works.

The reason we don't offer bigger topups is to protect clients from overspending and losing value, in light of data affecting the following month's topup, and becuase we cannot reverse or lock airtime bought in error in the case of disputes. So this is to make absolutely sure that clients are 100% sure they want to purchase the data, which can't be a bad thing. There is nothing to stop you from making multiple transactions to achieve the topup amount you're after.

 

[airborne]

Remember that is in terms of MTN's definition. Hence we topup your airtime to the product allocation at the beginning of the month, so unused airtime does not expire as such, but it will count towards how much airtime is loaded at the beginning of the month. In practical terms, it's similar to data expiring when unused and a full new data allocation being made available on the 1st.

What does the term evergreen mean in relation to airtime?

 

[AfriGuy]

What does the term evergreen mean in relation to airtime?

It means that it doesn't expire

 

[airborne]

It means that it doesn't expire

If my evergreen airtime balance is R25 at month end, with my new contract airtime loaded on the first of the new month will my airtime balance be R39.50(XS package) + R25 = R64.50?

 

[Chingha]

If my evergreen airtime balance is R25 at month end, with my new contract airtime loaded on the first of the new month will my airtime balance be R39.50(XS package) + R25 = R64.50?

According to this:
https://www.afrihost.com/landing/mobile/how_airtime_works/?
The amount that will be loaded at the start of the new month is R39.50 minus the R25 you still have, in effect any airtime you have left expires.
Still don't understand how this works with Afriguy's statement above that is doesn't expire.
All too higher grade for me

 

[saor]

Does the activation of a new number take a certain amount of time? Mtn port was successful last night at around 19:00, logged in to clientzone to activate my number and its still pending activation.

 

[saor]

It's ok.
All seems to be working now.

 

[AfriGenie]

Does the activation of a new number take a certain amount of time? Mtn port was successful last night at around 19:00, logged in to clientzone to activate my number and its still pending activation.

It's ok.
All seems to be working now.

Ah! Awesome to hear!

 

[airborne]

If my evergreen airtime balance is R25 at month end, with my new contract airtime loaded on the first of the new month will my airtime balance be R39.50(XS package) + R25 = R64.50?

AfriGuy can you please explain this?

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

If my evergreen airtime balance is R25 at month end, with my new contract airtime loaded on the first of the new month will my airtime balance be R39.50(XS package) + R25 = R64.50?

Or alternatively will it be R25 + R14.50 = R39.50? Taking you to your original limit but only charging you for the difference?

If you are charged R39.50 every month and the airtime only goes to R39.50 then the airtime DOES expire and the AfriPeeps really need to stop saying it doesn't because they've been told by marketing.

 

[AfriGenie]

AfriGuy can you please explain this?

The minimum airtime balance that can be added is R25, at the start of the new month our system will check to see how much airtime you have available and will then add airtime to ensure that you have R39,50 at the start of the month.

If you had used R15 of the R39,50, R25 in airtime will be allocated at the start of the month. If you had used R38,50 of the available R39,50 then R38,50 in airtime will be allocated at the start of the month to ensure that you have R39,50 at the start of the month.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

The minimum airtime balance that can be added is R25, at the start of the new month our system will check to see how much airtime you have available and will then add airtime to ensure that you have R39,50 at the start of the month.

If you had used R15 of the R39,50, R25 in airtime will be allocated at the start of the month. If you had used R38,50 of the available R39,50 then R38,50 in airtime will be allocated at the start of the month to ensure that you have R39,50 at the start of the month.

Aha! Now we're getting somewhere... But are you charged the full package fee or discounted for the airtime you have remaining?