Vodacom Festive Faces SPAM mms!

B

bboy

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Ok, so now why the HELL do vodacom suddenly decided to spam me with these really stupid advertising MMS's?

I did not request them, i do not want them, and i certainly do not want them arriving at 1:18 AM IN THE DAMN MORNING while i am trying to SLEEP!

I have now received 3 in the last 24 hours!

Grow some sense, the last thing your subscribers want is unrequested CRAP from your own network!
 
Well vodacom phoned me and have taken the number from the mms to investigate!
 
funnily enough though it is advertising on their behalf/their service!
 
At 1 in the morning? Are these spammers bonkers?

If it's starting to get out of hand, then you'll either have to disable the MMS/SMS ringtone when you go to sleep... :rolleyes:
 
Just typed a long response and promptly lost it :( (bloody proxy servers) so here's the short version....

I believe it was the "Funny Face" MMS?

If so, they only go out in office hours but if your handset was not available for MMS (you could have been on a call, etc.), it could have been delayed.

There is also an opt-out option as part of the message. Did you see it?
 
opt-out?
Why send the crap in the first place?
 
Maybe Telkom gave Vodacom the tip?

I know Telkom sold a lot of their users email addresses to companies... :mad:
 
Don't blame it on Telkom. Vodacom supplies external marketing companies your details. They then call and SMS you for marketing Vodacom services. I believe this is where your number gets hived off to the uncrupulous spammers for a fee. Vodacom then has deniability because they didn't do it directlythemselves.

The marketing company then blames Vodacom and you are in the spin cycle already! When you do get irritated, they ask you whether you 'opted out' or not, trying to pin it on you. It's very very unsavoury if you ask me. I can see why you never get straight answers.
 
Vodacom must be going through some serious financial difficulties if it needs to supplement its turnover by selling cell numbers to third parties...:rolleyes:

The more reasonable assumption is that sms spammers just blast any and every number, and when spammers get a positive delivery report you're confirmed as a target for spam for life...
 
Fyre said:
opt-out?
Why send the crap in the first place?
Click to expand...

Seems the vast majority of MMS handset owners don't know they have the capability, so the promo was designed to bring it to their attention. The first phase also included a bunch of laptops and data cards up for grabs, so it's not such a bad idea to partake in the campaign. I'd gladly send one MMS to stand a chance to win a laptop....

The second phase is around the 'Funny Face' promo. This was designed to show the type of tings you can do wit a MMS. You send a facial photo of someone to 33336 and you get a morphed one back. Check it out on http://www.vodacom.co.za/about/festivefaces.jsp. Apparently very popular with the kids.

Getting an opt-out option is a huge step from the last time we discussed this topic. Think there is still a link in the FAQ.
 
On the MMS topic .. do I pay to retrieve a MMS message, or is the connection to the MMS AP (from the receiver's side) free of charge?
 
ic said:
Vodacom must be going through some serious financial difficulties if it needs to supplement its turnover by selling cell numbers to third parties...:rolleyes:

The more reasonable assumption is that sms spammers just blast any and every number, and when spammers get a positive delivery report you're confirmed as a target for spam for life...
Click to expand...

Just to clear it up; This is a Vodacom-driven campaign, not an SP one, targeted at MMS handsets (a few million of them) to create awareness of he capability. (And it also fully complies with the EC&T act.)

For example, how many of you still send 160 character SMS messages or pay for two SMS's to get 320 characters, when you can have a text message (of a few Kb) sent via MMS for the same price as a single SMS?

Vodacom does not sell numbers to anyone, b.t.w.
 
vodacom3g said:
For example, how many of you still send 160 character SMS messages or pay for two SMS's to get 320 characters, when you can have a text message (of a few Kb) sent via MMS for the same price as a single SMS?
Click to expand...

That is a VERY cool tip, V3G - I've never really thought of that! *blush*
 
vodacom3g said:
Just to clear it up; This is a Vodacom-driven campaign, not an SP one, targeted at MMS handsets (a few million of them) to create awareness of he capability. (And it also fully complies with the EC&T act.)

For example, how many of you still send 160 character SMS messages or pay for two SMS's to get 320 characters, when you can have a text message (of a few Kb) sent via MMS for the same price as a single SMS?

Vodacom does not sell numbers to anyone, b.t.w.
Click to expand...

What is SMS "spam"?
Much like e-mail spam, an SMS message is considered to be spam if it was unsolicited and was sent by a company with the intention of selling you a product or service.
Click to expand...

The above quote is from the WASPA site.

My question is, are these MMS messages solicited by the user and is the intention to sell a service e.g. the MMS service? To avoid confusing the issue a simple yes or no will suffice.
 
vodacom3g said:
Seems the vast majority of MMS handset owners don't know they have the capability, so the promo was designed to bring it to their attention. The first phase also included a bunch of laptops and data cards up for grabs, so it's not such a bad idea to partake in the campaign. I'd gladly send one MMS to stand a chance to win a laptop....

The second phase is around the 'Funny Face' promo. This was designed to show the type of tings you can do wit a MMS. You send a facial photo of someone to 33336 and you get a morphed one back. Check it out on http://www.vodacom.co.za/about/festivefaces.jsp. Apparently very popular with the kids.

Getting an opt-out option is a huge step from the last time we discussed this topic. Think there is still a link in the FAQ.
Click to expand...
OK, so let me understand what VODACOM are saying. I researched and bought an MMS capable phone. Now VODACOM assume I didn't know it could send MMSes? [mistake 1]

So VODACOM take it upon THEMSELVES to send me some marketing SPAM, despite my opting out at all levels??[mistake 2]

(Is there a separate opt-out now for MMS??)

(** angry Yawn.... **) Hands up whoever's tired of this arrogance from Vodacom?

[EDITED: ** In future, and to avoid any more refractions from ic, when I say "YOU" in this context I mean Vodacom and not the person - the official representative - known here as Vodacom3g **]
 
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Skeptik said:
OK, so let me understand what you are saying. I researched and bought an MMS capable phone. Now you assume I didn't know it could send MMSes? [mistake 1]
Click to expand...
The vast majority of MMS handset owners are not aware of this service. Fact.
So you take it upon yourself to send me some marketing SPAM, despite my opting out at all levels??[mistake 2]
Click to expand...
Please send me the number on which you received this MMS.

Also, how did you opt out on all levels? I'd like to put the process you used in the FAQ for all forumites.
 
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