Power Report: Vodacom gets to fill the hole that 'Minecraft' dug

One of my earliest lessons in responsibility came from a beloved, but unconventional, aunt.

Taking a new ball just received by a young relative at Christmas, she decided to have a game of fetch with the dog.

Amid cries of protest from the boy and others, she announced: "Don't worry; I take full responsibility for this ball."

Within minutes the ball lay punctured on the ground; the dog triumphant, the child in tears. But my aunt was true to her word and the ball was promptly replaced.

Most of us expect that promises made will be kept. It's no different in business, where services paid for, and assurances given, are expected to be honoured, no matter what.

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But what happens when a supplier offers a service and then (quietly, I would argue) adds a disclaimer to its contracts that stymies even the National Consumer Commission? Something's not right here.

Vodacom customer Susan Tarr can attest to that. When her seven-year-old son Matthew clocked up a staggering R20000 data bill on his Samsung tablet last August, Tarr refused to pay and went to war with the network.

Why? Because she'd specifically requested a R50 overdata limit when she took out the MYGIG2 open contract for R319 a month last April.

She was advised by SMS of "unusually high data usage" only when the account had already hit R17000.

"I can only assume it had been my son's Minecraft tutorial videos on YouTube," said Tarr, of Hoedspruit, who sells firewood sourced from alien vegetation. "We had moved house at the end of July; we'd been staying with my brother where there had been Wi-Fi."

A few days after Tarr was handed over to debt collectors, Vodacom responded to my query by agreeing to write off the data debt.

"Vodacom, in keeping with our principles to provide the best customer service and experience, has taken the decision, in good faith, to credit Ms Tarr for data charges billed," said spokesman Byron Kennedy this week.

Good news, for sure, albeit coming nine stressful months later. And surely Vodacom had no choice but to waive the debt, considering Tarr had set a limit on the account?

Not so. Although each case is "taken on merit", Vodacom has a neat little disclaimer in its standard terms and conditions that gives it an out should the limit requested by a customer not kick in.

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Simply put, call and data limit requests are not guaranteed by Vodacom. This, it claims, is due to time delays with call data, as well as variable upload and download speeds. Contract terms clearly state that, "If for any reason whatsoever your limit is not enforced you will remain liable for all amounts due in excess of the limit set."

The disclaimer was enough for the consumer commission to send Tarr packing after she took her fight to its door.

Is this really a just and fair term under the Consumer Protection Act? I'd argue not. But either way, customers should be alerted to the disclaimer upfront.

"When signing up, I was never given a copy of the contract," said the 42-year-old. "Nor was I made aware that the fine print absolves Vodacom of responsibility for limits."

While trying to resolve the problem, Tarr said, she was told a minor should be on a "closed contract". She was also told that the limit she'd specifically stipulated (the lowest overdata limit she could set) had never been loaded. So why wasn't her instruction - clearly written in her contract - enforced?

"In terms of the documentation at hand, the only reference to the R50 limit is penned in the contract activation authorisation form," said Kennedy.

"It is important to differentiate between contract activation authorisation and the voluntary call limit request. The contract call limit, in this case, would have been the appropriate document to complete for Vodacom to temporarily lock the line when the usage reaches a pre-determined rand value.

"The customer was given the incorrect form to complete and as a result the voluntary call limit was not processed ... we apologise for any inconvenience the customer may have experienced in the process."

But that was hardly Vodacom's only mistake.

The company, I've now learnt, offers three types of call limit services to "help customers manage their cellphone expenses". These include a mandatory call limit automatically applied to new contracts for the first seven months to prevent bill shock. Customers can also opt for a voluntary call or credit limit on top of this and get SMS alerts as usage increases.

Then there's a permanent call limit, which is a recurring voluntary monthly limit, and a temporary limit for a specific period, like when on holiday.

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The section where Tarr added in her R50 limit details the network's mandatory call limits - on her contract the call limit was listed as R3000 and the account limit R8500.

Said Kennedy: "Those set limits should have kicked in. Regrettably this did not happen, hence our response to refund the customer for data charges."

Kennedy said Vodacom had put in place several measures, which included daily checks to determine the amount of overspend beyond a call limit requested, and a monthly recon to determine whether the subscriber was affected by any undue delays on the triggering of the call limit lock.

But where, when and how are these mandatory and voluntary limit options explained? Usually during "in-store discussions" with Vodacom staff, Kennedy said. And, of course, the information is available online.

As for so-called "closed contracts" for minors? Turns out there are no designated contracts for children, just appropriate plans offered if requested, he said.

Tarr, whose phone contracts were suspended during the dispute, is unimpressed.

"There are so many issues of concern here," she said. "The unfair T&Cs, the mandatory and voluntary limit options, which I had never heard of, and the debiting of accounts at random." Tarr had to reverse three Vodacom debits made against her account while she challenged the data bill.

"As far as I am concerned, I never want to deal with Vodacom again."

Contact Megan Power

E-mail: consumer@sundaytimes.co.za

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