Just under 2,000 Vodacom, MTN, and Cell C customers have been refunded after paying\u00a0to opt out of a \u201cfunny video\u201d service, following\u00a0a spam SMS campaign which charged them to reply \u201cStop\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to The Power Report in the Sunday Times, a Pretoria business called Xihari Consulting used MTN IWS \u2013 an MTN-owned WASP \u2013 to send 44,230 cellphone users a message which read: \u201cYou have been recommended to receive funny videos for R50\/day. Otherwise Send STOP to 47672 now, T&Cs apply.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 1,786 consumers who replied Stop were charged R3 \u2013 a contravention of the Consumer Protection Act.<\/p>\n
The message also bypassed the Act\u2019s ban on negative marketing; and violated industry rules which require the name of the service, contact details, and a link to a site detailing the offering and terms.<\/p>\n
Audrey Price-Dix was one of the affected consumers \u2013 she lodged a complaint with Waspa and was instrumental in the charges being reversed.<\/p>\n
Xihari has pleaded ignorance to the allegations of flouting the Act, while MTN IWS \u2013 a member of Waspa \u2013 said Xihari had broken the rules and customers would be refunded.<\/p>\n
The Power Report stated, though, that MTN IWS, which is aware of the rules governing WASPs, is \u201cpossibly as guilty as Xihari, if not more so\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the WASP that facilitated the campaign, it has a duty under the code to ensure that the campaign is CPA and Waspa-compliant,\u201d stated\u00a0the report.<\/p>\n
Xihari owner Sylvia Shibambo said the messages were sent on behalf of a client, which was running similar campaigns in other\u00a0African countries.<\/p>\n
The cellphone numbers which the messages were sent to were obtained from \u201cvalue added service providers\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n
No one contacted was a subscriber of the \u201cfunny video\u201d service\u201d, as no service was running yet. The spam SMS messages were part of a \u201cpilot project\u201d, she said, in preparation for a \u201cmuch better campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n
The full report is available in the Sunday Times \u2013 20 September 2015 edition.<\/em><\/p>\n Stellenbosch lecturer fired over \u2018racist\u2019 SMS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on SMS<\/h3>\n