KR
Kevin R
Active since Feb 2013
4
Reviews
0
Industries
Reviews
4 reviews19 months ago
Unlimited Mobile Plan is Misleading.
FUP implemented and my line has been blocked from calling out. If you make a call of 1.04 minutes per hour over 30 days you will exceed the “unlimited calls” on your capped package, please don’t believe what you read on adverts. When requesting Melon Mobile to reload my line, they advised that they will not as I have exceeded their FUP over a 30 day period. I have experienced a lock before and the I tolerated the inconvenience as they would reload my account without too much fuss. However, on this occasion Melon Mobile employees provided with an analogy for me to compare their FUP to ordering bottomless coffee from a coffee shop and advised me that they are seeing some *****ulent behaviours from call centres on their network. Neither have anything to do with their FUP and they are simply deflecting from the obvious. They then stated said that they have received feedback from other customers on their current product construct delivers exceptional value and they do not want to remove the product for everyone just because of the small percentage of people not using it for its intended purpose. I asked for testimonials from the clients who have provided feedback and have fact checkers confirm their statements versus facts. This request was obviously ignored. I do not understand their statement “small percentage of people not using it for its intended purpose”, what other use is there for voice and data? I was advised that I used 1500 minutes of a 30-day period which is 2.08 minutes per hour over the that period, which is pathetic to say the least. When I was advised that the FUP is 750 minutes over a 30-day period it is even more deplorable as that then limits you to 1.04 minutes per hour over the same period. Melon says this is industry standard and fair. If you are paying R199 per month to use 1.04 minutes per hour over a 30-day period, what is the actual cost for the monthly fee, you would be surprised to note that it would be R11462-00 per month, compare that to say FNB Connect which cost R437-00 per month with ZERO Caps or limits to make calls. Melon Mobile employees don’t inform you about a news article where the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) had found Melon Mobile’s advertising of “unlimited” mobile plans to be misleading. The complaints, raised by two consumers, argued that the company advertised packages offering “unlimited” calls and SMS messages, only to impose a cap of 750 minutes and SMS under a Fair Usage Policy (FUP). Melon Mobile has defended its advertising as reasonable, arguing that the limits set on usage were transparent and fair within industry norms. However, the ARB concluded that such practices do not align with the strict interpretation of “unlimited,” as they imply no restrictions. The dispute centres on Melon Mobile’s advertising on its website, where phrases like “unlimited calls and texts” and “break free with unlimited plans” were prominent. Complainants alleged that such language falsely promised unrestricted usage, only for customers to discover caps under the Fair Usage Policy. Melon Mobile, represented by Copeland Attorneys, acknowledged the caps but argued that it clearly informed customers of the FUP in its Terms and Conditions. They asserted that consumers are required to accept these terms before finalising a purchase, thus rendering the claims fair and transparent. The ARB’s Directorate disagreed, asserting that “unlimited” is a clear term that implies “no restrictions” without qualifiers or limits. According to the ARB’s ruling, the advertising strategy using the term “unlimited” is inherently misleading. "As the Directorate has advised in previous rulings, to say that there are “unlimited” local calls and SMSs, and then clarify that the local calls and SMSs are restricted, is like saying that an item is free, except that you have to pay for some of it. It is two contradictory statements and is therefore inherently misleading," the Directorate observed, referencing previous cases with similar rulings. This contradiction, the board said, could mislead the average consumer who may take the term at face value. Melon Mobile contends that the limits imposed on its “unlimited” plans far exceed industry averages, citing 120 minutes as a general monthly usage benchmark in the sector. They argued that their limit of 750 minutes on their lowest-tier package was fair and realistic, offering more than six times the average usage. In one complaint, the company noted that a consumer had consistently used over 4,000 minutes monthly, far exceeding the FUP limit. Melon Mobile offered this customer an opportunity to upgrade, which they declined, ultimately resulting in service suspension. While Melon Mobile’s legal representatives argued that consumers have an obligation to review Terms and Conditions thoroughly, the ARB highlighted that the adverti*****t's predominant message was “unlimited usage.” The board further criticised the absence of disclaimers or asterisks highlighting the FUP, concluding that the term “unlimited” had not been adequately qualified. The ARB pointed out that the disclaimer added by Melon Mobile “Voice & SMS usage subject to limits in terms of Fair Use Policy. T’s & C’s Apply” was too inconspicuous to alert consumers effectively. In its decision, the ARB reinforced that companies cannot rely solely on fine print or secondary policies to counteract bold claims made in adverti*****ts. Drawing on precedents from similar cases, including Telkom Mobile in 2016 and MTN in 2020, the Directorate noted that such advertising strategies create a dissonance between the perceived offer and the reality. The ARB has instructed its members not to accept adverti*****ts from Melon Mobile promoting “unlimited” packages where limits are in place. They also don’t inform you of their uncapped controversy on a second news article: Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Melon Mobile will reintroduce unlimited minutes and SMSs on its uncapped plans following backlash from customers after it quietly started hard-capping these allocations. The MVNO, which roams on MTN’s network, launched its “Unlimited” calling plans in November 2023. These packages promised a capped allocation of data and “unlimited” all-network voice minutes and SMSs. With pricing starting at R199 per month for 5GB monthly mobile data, Melon Mobile had the most affordable uncapped calling plan in South Africa. Melon Mobile also offers 10GB and 15GB options for the same prices as the MTN Superflex plans with the same allocations. However, multiple Melon Mobile customers contacted MyBroadband to complain that the calling and SMS allocations were, in fact, not unlimited or uncapped. They explained that their apps’ showed they had a limited number of minutes and SMS. After consuming these, they would need to contact Melon Mobile to extend the allocations. Melon Mobile told MyBroadband it did not have a mechanism to automatically allocate unlimited data when it launched the offering. Therefore, it loaded subscriber accounts with the maximum number of voice minutes and SMSs that it could. “The promo went live with this mechanism in place because it was the only option available to us,” Melon Mobile said. “We are working on a new mechanism that will automatically allow unlimited allocations”. In what was imp**** to be an interim measure, it required that customers talk to its contact centre to get additional minutes and SMSs if they exceeded their allocations. The MVNO would then investigate a customer’s usage to determine whether the plan had been abused for purposes other than personal usage — such as conducting business. However, instead of adding automatic unlimited calling and SMS allocations, the MVNO has put hard limits on these resources. In March 2024, it rebranded the plans to “uncapped” and amended the terms and conditions with a table setting out specific limits for minutes and texts on each package, as pictured below. In response to customer complaints and queries from MyBroadband about the changes, several of the company’s support agents said that it app**** a fair usage policy (FUP) on the “uncapped” voice minutes and SMSs. FUPs are common for uncapped plans in the telecommunications industry, particularly when it comes to mobile packages. Packages with an FUP are subject to throttling of data speeds to prevent the cellular network’s capacity being abused. For example, an uncapped fixed-5G package might be throttled down to 1Mbps speeds after the first 1TB of consumption in a month. However, a package is only labelled as uncapped when a user can keep consuming data regardless of how much they consume. Melon Mobile’s website continued explicitly advertising the five packages in question with “Uncapped” minutes and “Uncapped” texts (SMSs). MyBroadband asked Melon Mobile why it was still advertising these plans as uncapped when it had introduced hard limits on the minutes and SMSs. The MVNO said it decided to s**** the hard limits and revert to the same policy it implemented after the initial promo period, following feedback from its customers and the market. From Monday, 13 May 2024, customers will again be able to request their minutes be topped up at no charge after reaching certain usage thresholds. “As long as they have adhered to our fair usage guidance, which we use to evaluate any signs of unintended usage, particularly business-related activities, and there’s no violation of our terms and conditions, they can continue to enjoy our services without any issues,” the company said. Melon Mobile also said it planned to implement its automatic abuse protection system by the end of May. “This system will eliminate the necessity for customers to go into chat to request additional minutes, as they will be automatically topped-up,” the operator said. A third news article reads: Major ruling for uncapped services in South Africa The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has ruled against Melon Mobile over advertising uncapped packages that are not genuinely uncapped. The ruling further clarifies how the industry regulator allows network operators to use the term “uncapped” in their marketing material. The complainant, Alex Alagiozoglou, submitted a Melon Mobile advert for a bundle offering 50GB of data, uncapped minutes, and text messages for R599 per month. The ARB found in favour of Alagiozoglou, who said Melon Mobile’s claims of uncapped minutes and SMSes were false, as it implements a fair usage policy (FUP) that hard caps minutes and SMSes once a certain threshold is reached. Although Melon Mobile isn’t an ARB member, it submitted a response to the complaint to place all relevant facts before the regulator. However, it noted that it wouldn’t submit to the ARB’s jurisdiction. It submitted its full terms and conditions, which include details on the fair usage policy and other relevant information. It said any user can access its terms and conditions by clicking the link. Furthermore, it said customers are presented with the terms and conditions when submitting an application, which must be accepted for the application to proceed. “There is no suggestion that it offers ‘Unlimited’ minutes and texts as suggested by the complainant,” it said. “Its pre-determined limitations are clearly stipulated in its terms and conditions.” It also highlighted old Advertising Standards Authority rulings where the terms “uncapped” and “unlimited” were differentiated. It said “uncapped” is permissible when throttling and implementing speed limitations, as one’s connection is never completely severed. “Unlimited” implies that there are absolutely no limitations, regardless of what a customer consumes. It’s important to note that Melon Mobile has changed the wording on its products from “uncapped” to “unlimited”. The ARB found Melon Mobile to have breached the Advertising Code of Practice and advised its members not to accept any marketing from the MVNO claiming to offer uncapped SMSes or minutes. The fair usage policy app**** to Melon Mobile’s Unlimited products per its terms and conditions is summarised in the table below. MyBroadband reported in May that Melon Mobile planned to reintroduce unlimited minutes and SMSes on its uncapped plans following a slew of customer complaints. It received backlash from customers when they saw that the MVNO had started hard-capping the allocations. Melon Mobile said that when the offering launched, its platform didn’t have a mechanism to allocate unlimited SMS messages and voice minutes. Therefore, it loaded the maximum number of SMSes and minutes it could. “We are working on a new mechanism that will automatically allow unlimited allocations,” it said. In the interim, customers were required to contact Melon Mobile support for additional SMS and minute allocations if they reached the hard cap. It added that it had plans to launch an automatic abuse protection system by the end of May 2024. MyBroadband asked Melon Mobile whether the system had gone live, but it didn’t immediately answer our questions. The ARB ruling has implications for network operators other than Melon. For example, MyBroadband spoke to Vodacom about its hard-capping of “uncapped” Home Internet 5G products in October 2022. Hard-capping occurs when the mobile operator completely cuts connectivity from a user’s account once they reach a set threshold. While FUPs are generally accepted for uncapped products, operators may not cut subscribers off. Throttling, traffic shaping, and other usage control mechanisms are permitted. Vodacom told MyBroadband at the time that it implemented hard caps on its “uncapped” packages to ensure that all customers receive “the best quality connectivity”. It said high data usage through a single tower in a densely populated area could hinder 5G connectivity as both uncapped 5G products and regular mobile 5G services run off the same site. “In order to ensure the best quality connectivity for all our customers (on 5G Uncapped or mobile products), we have implemented this hard lock,” they added. Following the backlash, Vodacom stopped referring to its products as uncapped. Instead, the deals now clearly state that they are subject to a cap. Unfortunately, it still confusingly refers to it as a fair usage policy rather than a cap.
2 replies
30 months ago
PATHETIC CUSTOMER SERVICE
They are USELESS... they lie about calling you back, they lie about answering their support line, they lie about responding to their whatsapp support number. I will be changing ASAP.
0 replies
47 months ago
Discovery Insure Prompt Service
Marnus Louw - Building Specialist. Thank you for your prompt action on our pool pump claim. As always we appreciate your professionalism.
1 reply
77 months ago
BSIT will be reported to ISPA.
Worst ISP that I have ever dealt with. They have no idea what they doing and can not sort out the basic fundamentals of WiFi. Simply put, disgusted that the MD will not take calls from clients seeking corrective measures from his company and staff.
0 replies
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