CPA and cell contracts

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endlesslyonline

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Just wondering, I can upgrade my contract, will there be big changes with the CPA coming in 2morrow?

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From what I have read, you can specify the contract period and severance penalties are maxed @ 10% of whatever value is left of your contract. Wait till tomorrow so you are covered by the act and can exercise your rights as a consumer properly.
 
Musiclover08 said:
From what I have read, you can specify the contract period and severance penalties are maxed @ 10% of whatever value is left of your contract. Wait till tomorrow so you are covered by the act and can exercise your rights as a consumer properly.
Click to expand...

I've called Vodacom, Cell C, Nashua Mobile, Autopage, Cell C's lead legal council (Graham MacKinnon), even the new National Consumer Commission, and NO-ONE can tell me how the CPA changes things. The operators claim nothing has changed, and I will have to pay for the rest of the contract. The NCC told me the 10% wording was part of the draft regulations, but that has been dropped. it now only says "a reasonable fee". What a "reasonable fee" is, no-one can tell me though. Looks like someone will have to bite the bullet, take out a contract and cancel it just so we can have a test case for this new law. Maybe I'll step up and be that hero.

As I understand it, if the provider gives you a "free" device with the contract, and you then cancel the contract, they can't then suddenly claim you have to pay for the device. They said it was free in the beginning. So the "reasonable" cancellation fee can then only be based on the contract price and what remains on the rest of the contract. Even if it's not 10%, I might be willing to pay the reasonable fee to score the free device. So I might just have to take a contract for a Galaxy Tab or iPad, and then cancel it the next day to prove my point. I'll get some good legal advice from a buddy of mine that's an advocate first though. If I'm wrong, I might be making an expensive mistake.
 
rbarryza said:
The operators claim nothing has changed, and I will have to pay for the rest of the contract. The NCC told me the 10% wording was part of the draft regulations, but that has been dropped.
Click to expand...

That is correct
 
rbarryza said:
I've called Vodacom, Cell C, Nashua Mobile, Autopage, Cell C's lead legal council (Graham MacKinnon), even the new National Consumer Commission, and NO-ONE can tell me how the CPA changes things. The operators claim nothing has changed, and I will have to pay for the rest of the contract. The NCC told me the 10% wording was part of the draft regulations, but that has been dropped. it now only says "a reasonable fee". What a "reasonable fee" is, no-one can tell me though. Looks like someone will have to bite the bullet, take out a contract and cancel it just so we can have a test case for this new law. Maybe I'll step up and be that hero.

As I understand it, if the provider gives you a "free" device with the contract, and you then cancel the contract, they can't then suddenly claim you have to pay for the device. They said it was free in the beginning. So the "reasonable" cancellation fee can then only be based on the contract price and what remains on the rest of the contract. Even if it's not 10%, I might be willing to pay the reasonable fee to score the free device. So I might just have to take a contract for a Galaxy Tab or iPad, and then cancel it the next day to prove my point. I'll get some good legal advice from a buddy of mine that's an advocate first though. If I'm wrong, I might be making an expensive mistake.
Click to expand...

You know the device is not truly "free". With the contract subsidy the sp can offset the handset cost. Now why would u want to use the CPA to rob and defraud the company by expecting them to let u keep the handset by only cancelling the contract. Get serious man and stop encouraging fraud!!
 
tRoN said:
You know the device is not truly "free". With the contract subsidy the sp can offset the handset cost. Now why would u want to use the CPA to rob and defraud the company by expecting them to let u keep the handset by only cancelling the contract. Get serious man and stop encouraging fraud!!
Click to expand...

All I want are clear and reasonable rules on exactly how much cancelling the contract will cost me. The providers are unwilling to provide that, because keeping the customer in the dark until after they signed the contract benefits them. They can then screw the customer at a later stage. Banks use the same technique, they hide their costs in ambiguous language. Until someone uses the new CPA in this way it will stay that way. It's just trying to force them to be clear about what you are paying for, and not using lies like "free phone" as a sales gimmick. If it's not free, don't lie about it then. Be clear about it.

I can say the same thing about the providers' behaviour. It's not far short of fraud.
 
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