Cell Contract Law Changes :)

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greggpb

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Justice for cellphone users
Jun 20 2008 10:25AM
Ben Kelly
Johannesburg - SA's cellular consumers will finally get some justice with the publication of regulations around cellular handsets by telecoms regulator Icasa.

The regulations which come into force from August 17 address among other things the subsidies paid by the cellular operators, the length of contracts and the ability to cancel contracts.

The most significant of the new regulations regards the cancellation of contracts. They state that that new contract subscribers must be informed what the cancellation fees are before they sign the contract. More importantly the cancellation fee must be in proportion to the length of the contract remaining and the size of the subsidy.

In effect this means that should you want to cancel your contract you will only have to pay back the portion of the subsidy that was paid to finance your new phone at the beginning of the contract.

That subsidy also has to be explicitly stated when you sign up for a new contract so new contract subscribers will know exactly how much money the cellular operators are paying to win their business.

There is also a stipulation in the new regulations saying that you cannot be forced to buy a phone from the network, unless the service that you want (such as a BlackBerry email service) requires a specific handset that is not supplied by anyone else.

More good news

In more good news for contract subscribers the networks cannot automatically renew your contract. The must be given the opportunity to renegotiate the terms and conditions of the contract before the expiry of the contract and the subscriber must be notified one month before the expiration of the contract.

The network and service providers are also no longer allowed to charge a renewal or upgrade fee and the retail store cannot charge you a connection fee when you take out a contract with them.

In terms of contract lengths the regulations stipulate that contracts may be concluded for periods ranging from 6, 12, 18 and 24 months but not more than 24 months.

The downside of this is that it appears to put an end to the 36 months contracts that the operators have been using to subsidise computers and data plans.

This is because the regulations define a handset as any terminal connected via a radio link which may be used by an end user to access electronic communications services.

However, it is possible that the service providers will simply bundle a credit purchase agreement with a cellular contract to get around this.

- Fin24.com
Click to expand...


http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-1786_2343988
 
Probably the most ridiculous thing about a contract is that you have to give 3-months notice if you want terminate it at the end of the 24-month period, otherwise MTN/VodaCom/Cell-C just keeps taking your money.

Good news!

EDIT: Watch how the cell operators wangle it so that any contract signed before 17 August is excluded from the new regulations.....
 
lcbxx said:
Probably the most ridiculous thing about a contract is that you have to give 3-months notice if you want terminate it at the end of the 24-month period, otherwise MTN/VodaCom/Cell-C just keeps taking your money.

Good news!

EDIT: Watch how the cell operators wangle it so that any contract signed before 17 August is excluded from the new regulations.....
Click to expand...

At Vodacom you just need to give one month's notice. :)
 
MTN too - one months notice (not more than 3 months & not less than one month)
 
Yeah, but generally your one month only starts at the end of your contract, so your contract is actually 25 months and not 24.
 
"The most significant of the new regulations regards the cancellation of contracts. They state that that new contract subscribers must be informed what the cancellation fees are before they sign the contract. More importantly the cancellation fee must be in proportion to the length of the contract remaining and the size of the subsidy.

In effect this means that should you want to cancel your contract you will only have to pay back the portion of the subsidy that was paid to finance your new phone at the beginning of the contract."


I'm sure this will cover existing contracts as well?
 
The network and service providers are also no longer allowed to charge a renewal or upgrade fee and the retail store cannot charge you a connection fee when you take out a contract with them.
Click to expand...

Does this mean that stupid R150.00 admin fee that Vodacom charges to renew a contract falls away?
 
Garyvdh said:
Does this mean that stupid R150.00 admin fee that Vodacom charges to renew a contract falls away?
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Well that would be excellent news - it really does not make sense to have to pay R150 to upgrade an existing contract :confused:
 
Theres been a R150 Admin fee for almost 5 years now...
 
lcbxx said:
... EDIT: Watch how the cell operators wangle it so that any contract signed before 17 August is excluded from the new regulations.....
Click to expand...
I bet thats exactly what they'l do:mad:

CathJ said:
Yeah, but generally your one month only starts at the end of your contract, so your contract is actually 25 months and not 24.
Click to expand...
:confused::confused:

Garyvdh said:
Does this mean that stupid R150.00 admin fee that Vodacom charges to renew a contract falls away?
Click to expand...
Yes. If not, contact ICASA:cool:
 
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