A disgruntled consumer recently lodged a consumer complaint against Cell C for its free emergency response service that was advertised in a range of media media.<\/p>\n
This commercial states that “Cell C is the first cellular network in South Africa to offer all its customers free Emergency Roadside Assistance…”<\/p>\n
According to Mr AA Khan, this free service is one of the deciding factors that customers take into consideration when choosing service providers. <\/p>\n
“This service was communicated aggressively to customers. However, when it was cancelled, customers were not adequately informed,” Mr Khan is quoted as saying in his complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA).<\/p>\n
Cell C responded by saying that when it cancelled the service it informed all its customers via their bills and SMSes. <\/p>\n
“However, ICASA rules stipulate that service providers may not communicate with third party subscribers. It therefore sent letters to its external service providers, such as Nashua, Autopage and other channel partners, to inform their customers of this change,” Cell C is quoted as saying. <\/p>\n
Cell C said it has removed all advertising relating to the 148 emergency services and will not use it in future.<\/p>\n
The ASA was satisfied with Cell C’s response, and accepted it on condition that all advertising promoting its free emergency service is withdrawn and not used again in the future unless fully operational.<\/p>\n