Afrihost Mobile Feedback Thread

[saor]

The problem then is what about the person that loads R100 in airtime on the second last day, then loses all that remaining airtime at the start of the new month.

Then the R100 topup doesn't expire & the account gets it's monthly data (that people are paying for) added to that R100. I don't understand how a topup negates or affects what Afrihost top the account up with each month. If I pay for R39.50 a month, I should get R39.50 a month, regardless of how much I've topped up out of my own pocket.

Does that statement not raise a red flag with any of you? Especially product development? I at first thought it was a great thing you guys did....but as all this weird wording and rules and greenfield and you have this balance so now you not getting the monthly top up but you still pay your full R99.00 idea came to light I have to admit, I am feeling rather skittish about going with you guys.

Yup. None of the explanantions thus far actually address the issue being raised. Every reply seems more like a sidestep: Find what's right for you, read the T&C's etc.

 

[AfriGenie]

This conversation needs to be seen in the context of the current state of your offering.

Personally, if your Auto Topup system was working I wouldn't be as annoyed as I am. The sales pitch was , set it to R25 rand amounts and when your airtime is 90% depleted it will automatically top up. I'm happy with that, the problem is that it isn't working!

Our Dev Team is busy investigating what is going on with your Auto Top-ups and will definitely have it working properly shortly.

 

[surfs-up]

The problem then is what about the person that loads R100 in airtime on the second last day, then loses all that remaining airtime at the start of the new month.

There are pros and cons to each version of the product, and finding that balance is the tough part.

I just want to be very clear that it is definitely NOT or intention to confuse or mislead anyone, and the reception that our Voice products have received is definitely something we are looking at.

Don't get me wrong - I think Afrihost are doing a great job and are providing a very good product , I wouldn't have bought 3 of their mobile deals last week if I didn't think they were good offerings. I also think Afrihost support is excellent...at least you get to speak with a "live" human being whether it be via the forum, or email, or telephone etc. Much better than the competition that let you select telephone menu options, and end up with unresolved issues. Or the competition that have support staff on the forum that disappear when there is a contentious issue. Its just a pity the management have worded it poorly, and have left it to the support staff to try and explain their way out.

If they were not taking away your credit balance at the end of the month....then why take away the amount over and above the threshold ?

We just have to select the right package for our needs, so we don't end up with an inordinate huge balance at the end of the month. Keep up the good work AfriGenie

 

[AfriGenie]

Does that statement not raise a red flag with any of you? Especially product development? I at first thought it was a great thing you guys did....but as all this weird wording and rules and greenfield and you have this balance so now you not getting the monthly top up but you still pay your full R99.00 idea came to light I have to admit, I am feeling rather skittish about going with you guys. It is starting to feel like Afrihost is actually trying to make it seem straight forward, but in the background it is actually complex and hoping clients get fooled into thinking they are going to get one thing, but end up being out of pocket from what they thought they would be getting. That is my opinion.

It is a really complex system that is running in the background to integrate our packages with the MTN system, but we're really not trying to fool anyone.

I'm definitely taking your feedback to heart.

 

[AfriGenie]

Don't get me wrong - I think Afrihost are doing a great job and are providing a very good product , I wouldn't have bought 3 of their mobile deals last week if I didn't think they were good offerings. I also think Afrihost support is excellent...at least you get to speak with a "live" human being whether it be via the forum, or email, or telephone etc. Much better than the competition that let you select telephone menu options, and end up with unresolved issues. Or the competition that have support staff on the forum that disappear when there is a contentious issue. Its just a pity the management have worded it poorly, and have left it to the support staff to try and explain their way out.

If they were not taking away your credit balance at the end of the month....then why take away the amount over and above the threshold ?

We just have to select the right package for our needs, so we don't end up with an inordinate huge balance at the end of the month. Keep up the good work AfriGenie

Yes.

Thanks!

 

[Viva]

The problem then is what about the person that loads R100 in airtime on the second last day, then loses all that remaining airtime at the start of the new month.

There are pros and cons to each version of the product, and finding that balance is the tough part.

I just want to be very clear that it is definitely NOT or intention to confuse or mislead anyone, and the reception that our Voice products have received is definitely something we are looking at.

I'm sorry, but I must be honest that I find this hard to believe.

Here is how to address all the issues raised so far with regards to the products being complicated, the value being low, and the advertising being misleading.

- On Mobile XS, the user receives R39 a month. This never expires.
- Should the user purchase a top-up at any stage, this gets added to the balance. The top-up never expires.
- At the start of the new month, the user receives R39 again. This gets added to the balance. This never expires.

And now, suddenly, the value is obvious, the product is simple, and the advertising is not misleading.

You should hire me

 

[AfriGenie]

I'm sorry, but I must be honest that I find this hard to believe.

Here is how to address all the issues raised so far with regards to the products be complicated, the value being low, and the advertising being misleading.

- On Mobile XS, the user receives R39 a month. This never expires.
- Should the user purchase a top-up at any stage, this gets added to the balance. The top-up never expires.
- At the start of the new month, the user receives R39 again. This gets added to the balance. This never expires.

And now, suddenly, the value is obvious, the product is simple, and the advertising is not misleading.

You should hire me

Haha.

I wish it was that simple.

We need to run our product through the MTN system, so we need to use the restrictions and limitations that are in place there as well.

 

[Viva]

Haha.

I wish it was that simple.

We need to run our product through the MTN system, so we need to use the restrictions and limitations that are in place there as well.

I hear you.

Eventually though, you'll have to look at other options as MTN's restrictions seems to be doing your product offerings a disservice.

In the meantime, I'll be using MTN prepaid and waiting for you to come around.

I still love Afrihost!

 

[airborne]

Haha.

I wish it was that simple.

We need to run our product through the MTN system, so we need to use the restrictions and limitations that are in place there as well.

I have a feeling this whole convoluted and bizarre system has been foisted onto Afrihost by the darklords themselves, the MTN overlords, the masters of obfuscation.

No other Afrihost product is arcane as this, and the airtime wording shenanigans screeches cellphone network operator, which typically means everything must have a catch and you'll need a degree in semantics to clearly understand it. In reality probably only the network's lawyers will know what anything really means.

Anyway, I'm going prepaid on the voice side, contract with Afrihost for voice is a con, loading prepaid airtime takes 5mins once every 3 weeks, I can do that!

 

[Viva]

I have a feeling this whole convoluted and bizarre system has been foisted onto Afrihost by the darklords themselves, the MTN overlords, the masters of obfuscation.

No other Afrihost product is arcane as this, and the airtime wording shenanigans screeches cellphone network operator, which typically means everything must have a catch and you'll need a degree in semantics to clearly understand it. In reality probably only the network's lawyers will know what anything really means.

Anyway, I'm going prepaid on the voice side, contract with Afrihost for voice is a con, loading prepaid airtime takes 5mins once every 3 weeks, I can do that!

Agreed, i find it hard to believe that Afrihost pre-MTN would be satisfied with this. In those days, it was exactly their mission to avoid this kind of obfuscation and confusion. Just think about the way Afrihost addressed the out of bundle mess that is still a reality on other networks. It is clearly unethical, and yet the networks refuse to improve it, as it suits them when customers have little control over their bills. Afrihost changed all of this.

And now they seem to be beating MTN and Vodacom at their own game by bringing the confusion to the world of airtime.

I've been asking Afrihost to launch mobile voice since 2014. What a disappointment.

 

[airborne]

Well I'm still stoked with Afrihosts mobile data packages and that they are available on prepaid sims month to month or alternatively a bit more expensive but outright prepaid with 12 month expiry.

I see absolutely no advantage to their contract voice options, technically you'll be flushing money down the drain every month unless you play the fiddle with your voice balances/recharge style, which ironically makes prepaid more attractive due to there being no requirement to jump through hoops to manage your spend in a thrifty manner.

I suppose there will be a small crowd of people that don't care about wasting a hundred or 2 every so often and the convenience is worthwhile. Otherwise there's no subsidised handset or better call rates to make the voice contract more attractive, it's virtually pointless.

 

[AfriMan]

I hear you.

Eventually though, you'll have to look at other options as MTN's restrictions seems to be doing your product offerings a disservice.

In the meantime, I'll be using MTN prepaid and waiting for you to come around.

I still love Afrihost!

Glad to hear that your faith is unshaken!

We had to work within very tight constraints in terms of what is possible on prepaid, but I do think we've made as many options available as possible to give clients a range of choices that suit them. We're definitely planning to widen that range when those options become available to us

 

[AfriMan]

I have a feeling this whole convoluted and bizarre system has been foisted onto Afrihost by the darklords themselves, the MTN overlords, the masters of obfuscation.

No other Afrihost product is arcane as this, and the airtime wording shenanigans screeches cellphone network operator, which typically means everything must have a catch and you'll need a degree in semantics to clearly understand it. In reality probably only the network's lawyers will know what anything really means.

Anyway, I'm going prepaid on the voice side, contract with Afrihost for voice is a con, loading prepaid airtime takes 5mins once every 3 weeks, I can do that!

We worked with MTN, but they definitely didn't force this onto us, we've been wanting to get into voice products for a long time. There's no con here, we could only structure the product in certain ways so we've tried to make that as clear as possible in the literature. Remember that we're trying to make something that works with prepaid work for clients who are used to a contract type of product. Clients who are more used to prepaid may feel that the prepaid setup we have works better for them, and we also have that available.

But we're not trying to fool anyone, I hope that it's super clear to everyone exactly how the products work

 

[AfriMan]

Well I'm still stoked with Afrihosts mobile data packages and that they are available on prepaid sims month to month or alternatively a bit more expensive but outright prepaid with 12 month expiry.

I see absolutely no advantage to their contract voice options, technically you'll be flushing money down the drain every month unless you play the fiddle with your voice balances/recharge style, which ironically makes prepaid more attractive due to there being no requirement to jump through hoops to manage your spend in a thrifty manner.

I suppose there will be a small crowd of people that don't care about wasting a hundred or 2 every so often and the convenience is worthwhile. Otherwise there's no subsidised handset or better call rates to make the voice contract more attractive, it's virtually pointless.

Agreed, i find it hard to believe that Afrihost pre-MTN would be satisfied with this. In those days, it was exactly their mission to avoid this kind of obfuscation and confusion. Just think about the way Afrihost addressed the out of bundle mess that is still a reality on other networks. It is clearly unethical, and yet the networks refuse to improve it, as it suits them when customers have little control over their bills. Afrihost changed all of this.

And now they seem to be beating MTN and Vodacom at their own game by bringing the confusion to the world of airtime.

I've been asking Afrihost to launch mobile voice since 2014. What a disappointment.

I do think there is value in what we offer, we've seen a positive uptake on the product, so I think others see it as well. I think it's a question of contract users who budget according to the amount of airtime and data they need to have available to them in the month, and we definitely fulfil that at a competitive price. We'd love to offer handsets at some point, but that's hard to do without using the long term contract commitment to cover the costs.

We'll be looking to offer different options very soon, and I'm sure that if the products we have now don't quite work, we'll have something that will very soon

 

[cpbotha]

Status of service in clientzone is now green, thank you!

The SIM card from which I ported the number was RICA'd two years ago. This had been done by a family member, as we had just returned to SA after a long stay elsewhere. Could this have been part of the problem?

It looks like there was an issue with the RICA status on the sim card.

The sim card that you are trying to port over, was it recently purchased?

 

[Solitude]

My sim card has finally arrived and I will be attempting the port later today. May everything go well. *holds thumbs*

 

[saor]

Agreed, i find it hard to believe that Afrihost pre-MTN would be satisfied with this. In those days, it was exactly their mission to avoid this kind of obfuscation and confusion.

Yeah.

@Afripeople sorry if I came across like a petulant child yesterday. I signed up because I've been really happy with my mobile internet and the service / help I've received from the reps here on mybb. I would rather support you than a random company I feel nothing towards. So it was just disappointing to see a pricing plan that, even now, seems entirely unreasonable & for which there is no rational explanation other than: "We've latched onto MTN and they dictate policy".

I understand you have much less say than with your broadband / internet services, but ultimately Afrihost have settled for selling the public a product who's function defies explanation. I don't know how even the AH reps think it's rational to forfeit something you're paying for (x amount of data p/m) if some other normal condition (like topping up your own data) is met.

 

[JimM]

Is there any way to remove devices from Client Zone? Seems odd that you can't...

I still have a Huiawei E5331 showing that I passed on to someone else a year ago!

 

[saor]

Any ideas why I've received an OOB notification if my APN is set to Afrihost?

 

[AfriGuy]

Status of service in clientzone is now green, thank you!

The SIM card from which I ported the number was RICA'd two years ago. This had been done by a family member, as we had just returned to SA after a long stay elsewhere. Could this have been part of the problem?

It may very well have been, RICA usually won't/ don't accept anything if it isn't from the person it's being RICA'd for.