Vodafone Live billed me R10 every day until my airtime ran out

Vodacom customers have taken to the company’s forum and MyBroadband to complain about content services being billed to their accounts without their permission.
According to a MyBroadband reader, who is a Vodacom customer and requested that his name not be published, he is being billed for “Vodafone Live” content despite not signing up for the service.
He stated that the Vodafone Live service billed him R10 every day on his TopUp contract until his airtime ran out.
“I am extremely tech-savvy and I assure you that I did not subscribe to anything,” he told MyBroadband.
“The only thing I can think of is that someone subscribed on my behalf or this is some sort of a billing glitch.”
He said he contacted Vodacom, which said it will look into the matter.
According to Vodacom’s website, Vodafone Live is a “treasure trove of mobile entertainment”.
“You can download music and cellphone games, watch mobile TV and so much more,” states the website.
The service is available to all customers, and browsing is free. Users then pay for content like games, ringtones, music, and mobile TV.
Multiple reports on Vodafone Live
In the same week as the complaint above, MyBroadband received a separate complaint about Vodafone Live billing from another reader.
We also discovered an extensive thread on the Vodacom forum, with multiple customers complaining about being billed for the service without signing up.
Complaints ranged in terms of the amounts which were billed, but one user stated they were charged over R200 per month from February 2018.
Another user stated: “Checking on my account this morning there was a deduction of over R70 for Vodafone Live – something I have not subscribed to and Vodacom cannot give me any detail on this. I want proof that I have subscribed.”
The Vodacom forum thread was started in December 2017, and contains complaints up to May 2018.
The “solution” posted in the thread was to log in to the Vodacom Live portal and unsubscribe from the service, but it did not provide feedback on how users were signed up without their permission.
Update – Vodacom responds
Vodacom was initially unable to provide comment on the matter before publication.
A Vodacom spokesperson has now responded to questions on the subject. Its statement is below.
Vodacom is investigating the case which MyBroadband has brought to its attention.
We are also fully committed to resolving the queries listed on our Forum as speedily as possible. While we cannot comment on individual cases until we have completed investigations, we encourage customers with queries on Vlive services to contact our call centre for resolution.
Vodacom recently saw an increase in complaints from customers who had asked to have the likes of Netflix charged to their Vodacom bill.
Previously, this reflected as a Vlive service on accounts. We have remedied this, so that it is clear on their bills what they are subscribed to.
It is also important to highlight that customers can buy games, music, and a variety of content through the Google Play store and have this charged directly to their Vodacom bills.
Vodafone and Vodacom Live are the same platform, referred to as ‘VLive’.
Vodacom reiterates that it has a zero-tolerance approach to any type of illegal activity that happens on our network and we take a hard-line in the event that a third-party contravenes any agreement they may have with Vodacom.