Vodacom's Contract Data Bundles are ILLEGAL

[MrGray]

So, AFAIK, if you have a Vodacom contract, the only way that you can avoid extortionate OOB per mb pricing is to bolt on a 24 month data contract for, say 750MB per month, which I've done. The problem is that there is NO WAY to top this up, but worse, each month's data allocation expires after 90 days and, to top it off, they use the NEW months data first, so to utilise any leftover bandwidth from a previous month you have to use your whole current month allocation and only then will it start using previous months' leftover allocations!!!

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but expiring ANYTHING you've bought and paid for is specifically mentioned as being OUTRIGHT ILLEGAL according to the National Consumer Act? I find it very strange that the NCA has not investigated this, and that Vodacom persists with a practice so utterly hostile to (by definition) their most loyal contract clients.

 

[Necuno]

first.

 

[Jola]

They will continue with this as long as people continue to buy those contracts.

 

[MrGray]

They will continue with this as long as people continue to buy those contracts.

And the choice is?

Pay out of bundle rates?

Some ppl are stuck on a contract for good reasons, so porting not that easy. All we want to be able to do is buy data bundles the same way that prepaid folks can, and preferably for them not to expire.

 

[Jola]

Get a Top Up contract - that is what I use.

 

[jannievanzyl]

So, AFAIK, if you have a Vodacom contract, the only way that you can avoid extortionate OOB per mb pricing is to bolt on a 24 month data contract for, say 750MB per month, which I've done.

Getting a data bundle is the correct way to avoid OOB, agree.

The problem is that there is NO WAY to top this up,

Wrong, you can buy any number of once-off data bundles on any voice or data contract.

but worse, each month's data allocation expires after 90 days

End of the next month, actually.

and, to top it off, they use the NEW months data first,

Correct, as per the contractual obligations - read my numerous posts on the topic.

so to utilise any leftover bandwidth from a previous month you have to use your whole current month allocation and only then will it start using previous months' leftover allocations!!!

Correct - as per above.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but expiring ANYTHING you've bought and paid for is specifically mentioned as being OUTRIGHT ILLEGAL according to the National Consumer Act?

This is not anywhere in the CPA. You're thinking of the livespan of a voucher I think.

I find it very strange that the NCA has not investigated this

Because it's not in the Act.

 

[jannievanzyl]

Get a Top Up contract - that is what I use.

Best way to control OOB, I agree. But I suspect OP is talking about about default rate and not OOB.

 

[jannievanzyl]

And the choice is?

Pay out of bundle rates?

Some ppl are stuck on a contract for good reasons, so porting not that easy. All we want to be able to do is buy data bundles the same way that prepaid folks can, and preferably for them not to expire.

You can buy any size once-off (ad-hoc) bundle, as many times as you like. Just like prepaid.

 

[MrGray]

Wrong, you can buy any number of once-off data bundles on any voice or data contract.

Um, no. I get told that since I'm a corporate customer this is not possible.

End of the next month, actually.

Even worse, then.

Correct, as per the contractual obligations - read my numerous posts on the topic.

Well then you contractual obligations suck. If you are going to expire data, then it would only be fair to use and expire the oldest first - anything else is just plain dumb, sorry... or deliberately designed to cause data to expire earlier. Either way, Vodacom's not exactly covering itself in glory.

This is not anywhere in the CPA. You're thinking of the livespan of a voucher I think.

Um, no. Section 63 of the CPA refers to "credits" and certificates as well as vouchers. But, honestly, it speaks volumes if you're going to defend this practice on a technicality like the nature of the purchase of the bandwidth. What you're actually saying, then, is that if I were a prepaid customer buying data on a prepaid card it will take 3 years to expire because that CPA provision is unavoidable, but if I technically buy the same bundle on account, you can "exploit" the loophole. Nice way to treat your long term contract clients, hey?

 

[MrGray]

Get a Top Up contract - that is what I use.

Sounds good. So can I just switch my corporate Talk500 contract any time I want?

Edit:

Oh, I see the catch. Even if I could just switch, the call rates, etc on the "TopUp" contracts are minimum one third higher for everything. E.g. peak Vodacom to other is R2.60 on the Topup contract vs R1.54 on a normal Talk 500.

 

[Nerfherder]

You can buy any size once-off (ad-hoc) bundle, as many times as you like. Just like prepaid.

How because I battled to get them on My Blackberry contract?

 

[Nerfherder]

Um, no. Section 63 of the CPA refers to "credits" and certificates as well as vouchers. But, honestly, it speaks volumes if you're going to defend this practice on a technicality like the nature of the purchase of the bandwidth. What you're actually saying, then, is that if I were a prepaid customer buying data on a prepaid card it will take 3 years to expire because that CPA provision is unavoidable, but if I technically buy the same bundle on account, you can "exploit" the loophole. Nice way to treat your long term contract clients, hey?

All the providers expire their data, not saying I like it but that is how ad-hoc bundles work.

Airtime is an actual rand amount but a data bundle is something that can change in value... so it will expire.

 

[jannievanzyl]

Um, no. I get told that since I'm a corporate customer this is not possible.

Sounds like you're not the master account holder and your company won't allow you to buy a bundle.

Probably best to pick this up with your IT Department?

 

[Ockie]

Sounds like you're not the aster account holder and your company won't allow you to buy a bundle.

Probably best to pick this up with your IT Department?

Business and corporate requests are to be put on a signed letterhead giving permission for the bundle to be loaded. We do not activate or remove services without having it in writing from corp or bus clients.

 

[MrGray]

Business and corporate requests are to be put on a signed letterhead giving permission for the bundle to be loaded. We do not activate or remove services without having it in writing from corp or bus clients.

Yeah, that's real convenient every time you want to load a once off bundle.

 

[MrGray]

Sounds like you're not the aster account holder and your company won't allow you to buy a bundle.

Probably best to pick this up with your IT Department?

It's a small company and I'm one of the owners. Have you ever actually tried to get something changed on a "corporate" account, let alone try to do it regularly on an ad hoc basis? It's completely impractical to have to send signed letterheads and whatever else, every time you want to top up data, especially if you're travelling. Why why why can't we just load a once off prepaid bundle onto a contract phone? Is this rocket science?

 

[Ockie]

It's a small company and I'm one of the owners. Have you ever actually tried to get something changed on a "corporate" account, let alone try to do it regularly on an ad hoc basis? It's completely impractical to have to send signed letterheads and whatever else, every time you want to top up data, especially if you're travelling. Why why why can't we just load a once off prepaid bundle onto a contract phone? Is this rocket science?

Because technically it is the company that is paying for it, not the user. Can you imagine the nuclear fallout if a owner of the company finds out that his users have been adding 5GIG bundles and downloading crap on the company's account? We recently had a query where a user was transfering airtime from his company contract line to his GF's prepaid line using airtime transfer. The company only noticed this 5 months later. Every month month for 5 months he transfered R250.00 to her. When it comes to companies...we need to be careful because it can backfire badly.

 

[Ho3n3r]

Even VodaScammers' best in-bundle rates are exorbitant. Move to 8ta, like many already have. Happiest day of my life when my Vodacom data contract expired and I cancelled it.

 

[MrGray]

Can you imagine the nuclear fallout if a owner of the company finds out that his users have been adding 5GIG bundles and downloading crap on the company's account?

Sure, but why can't you just do this on a company Vodacom4Me login or something? Why must I struggle to find the right rep at my service provider that I then have to spend half the morning trying to get on the phone, another 10 minutes trying to explain the concept, confusion, wait for a callback, then draft the required documents to fax, and then wait some indeterminate time for the bundle. Seriously? And I must do this every time I want to load an additional data bundle. WTF, this is 2012 not 1912.

Or... why not just allow user to load PREPAID data onto ANY line??

 

[simons]

I spend on Avrg R2k per month on my vodacom contract. And I have to Buy a 1gig Adhoc Monthly bundle for R249.00 per month. I am a highend paying customer and Vodacom are still happy to extract every little cent out of me. I would even pay for the contact at R89 per month for there latest promo, but guess what, cant add that data onto my current contract sim card.

@Vodacom - Your business model makes no sense. My contract expires in Nov 2012 and I will definitely be moving to 8ta.