New twist in anti-Cell C banner saga

The City of Johannesburg will issue a notice of removal to the landlord of the World Wear Shopping Center, instructing him to remove the banner which states that Cell C is the “most useless service provider in South Africa”.

A spokesperson for the City of Joburg metropolitan municipality said that they never received an application for the banner which has been erected on the outer wall of the World Wear Mall.

To comply with the municipality’s outdoor advertising by-laws the landlord will have to remove the banner, the spokesperson said.

News of the anti-Cell C banner first emerged on Friday, 7 November 2014.

Cell C launched an urgent interdict with the South Gauteng High Court to have the banner removed, but Judge Sharise Weiner dismissed the application on Thursday, 13 November.

Prior to the judgement, the billboard was first modified to remove Cell C’s branding, and later vandalised to instead say “We love Cell C” and “The most useful service provider in SA”.

The court also heard how George Prokas, the man who put up the banner, was R5,754 in arrears with Cell C despite spending in excess of R61,000 to erect the banner.

Prokas asserted that the amount he had been billed was not legitimate, and was for another customer’s usage. Cell C disputed this and said it would pursue the matter of Prokas’s outstanding bill in a separate legal process.

It is not just Cell C’s ire that Prokas has drawn, it would seem.

“The City of Joburg will further pursue its own legal proceedings to remedy non-compliance with its Outdoor Advertising By-laws,” the spokesperson said.

MyBroadband contacted Prokas’s lawyer and World Wear Shopping Center for comment, but neither responded by the time of publication.

More on bad customer service banner complaints

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Cell C “most useless service” billboard anger the tip of the iceberg

We’ll get it right: Cell C CEO

Anti-Cell C banner owner not a hero: Cell C

Cell C court case costs more than “most useless” banner

Anti-Cell C billboard can stay up: judge