Number Porting Penalties

[riaan_pta]

According to the Icasa regulations surrounding number portability published in the government Gazette no 28091:

6.5 "A donor operator shall not charge a subscriber when the subscriber ports their number and shall ensure that the donor service provider does not charge the subscriber when the subscriber ports its number."

That being said - charging for outstanding contract costs I can also understand (calculated pro-rata based on time left on a contract).

Why then does Autopage insist on charging a R3 150 "penalty" on a Weekender contract that is 8 days from its expiry date. There is one month's subscription due of +/- R 180 and free minutes to spare. What costs are they trying to recover? Is this even legal? Me thinks the Icasa regulations are too vague and people are robbed.

Autopage - I will wait the 8 days and you will never get a single cent from me ever again. Goodbye and good riddance.

 

[oronte]

Those regulations do not apply to people in contracts. They can't charge you on prepaid or when your contract is over. During your contract you're subject to your service providers cancellation fees (which are ridiculous).
ICASA tried to introduce regulations to curbs these and other fees but Vodacom blocked them, no news yet on what's happening there. Autopage and Nashua are particularly nasty on this front, good thing you're leaving them. I don't understand why anyone signs up with them in the first place.

 

[Mamajyot]

I know. I am in a similar position. My contract is up for renewal. I was advised by the courteous vodashop consultant, that in order to get no extra charges, I must give notice to cancel my contract. Then convert my number to prepaid(usually one day). And once my number is on prepaid, I can then freely port my number without fear of being billed any extra charges.