Cell C giving subscribers R10,000 to cancel their Vodacom, MTN contract

Cell C has launched its Contract Buy-Out promotion, offering subscribers up to R10,000 to cancel their contracts on competing networks and switch to an “Epic” contract on its network.

Those who switch will also receive a new handset with their Cell C Epic contract, and a guarantee their prices won’t change for 2 years.

“So many South Africans are feeling trapped in long-term contracts by their providers that ask for extortionary cancellation fees for early termination,” said Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos.

“Cell C’s Contract Buy-Out proposition releases customers from those fees by offering to help buy themselves out of their existing contracts.”

The Buy-Out values on the new Epic contracts from Cell C are summarised in the table below.

Each Epic contract comes with a Rand airtime value equal to the number in its name (R100 for Epic 100, R500 for Epic 500).

The Epic Infinity contract comes with unlimited calls, SMS messages, and 3GB of data. As a launch promotion, new subscribers will get 7GB of data for 4 months on Epic Infinity.

“We understand that carriers must recoup costs for the handset when customers leave before a contract comes to an end, but charging any percentage of the remaining contract subscription as a termination fee is ludicrous.”

Asked whether the R10,000 grant to cancel a contract leaves opportunity to game the system, Dos Santos said their offer was designed with input from actuaries.

“This is more an opportunity for someone who is halfway through their contract,” said Dos Santos.

Cell C also requires that subscribers hand in their old handsets when using the Buy-Out offer.

The Buy-Out promotion is currently scheduled to end on 30 September 2015.

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