Is it legal for your cellular network provider to announce sudden price hikes?
Many of us have received some interesting texts in the last few days and we're here to unpack it all in Explained Well with Christelle.
Mobile network provider businesses seem to be struggling just like the rest of us.
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In recent weeks, certain companies have had to let their customers know that they can expect a price hike if they are contract/subscription holders.
While these companies have released statements in which they thoroughly explain the situation, many consumers were caught off-guard and had some very serious questions they needed answering.
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In this edition of Explained Well with Christelle, we discuss the price hikes, why they are needed, and whether or not these companies could have gone about breaking the news in a better way.
Vodacom has released an official statement in which they address their need to increase prices:
Vodacom subscription price update 2023 As South Africa's leading network, we're committed to keeping you connected. As part of this, one of our top priorities is to provide value through the products and services we offer. Despite the range of challenges we are facing including increased battery theft, base station vandalism and a difficult economic climate with inflation, exchange rate pressures and intensified loadshedding, we remain committed to keeping our prices as low as possible. From 1 April 2023, there will be an average tariff plan increase of 6.7%. This only applies to the tariff plan and not the overall bill, meaning there is no change to your handset financing or any value-added services. When it comes to your total bill, this means an average increase of 4.2%. To further absorb as much of the costs as possible, and to make sure you get the best value for money, we've added 20% of additional anytime data to your plan.
You can find Vodacom's official list of updates here.
MTN has since also made the same announcement:
At MTN our focus is to keep providing you with fast internet, the widest 5G network, and the most extensive coverage. The impact of the current inflationary environment has resulted in increased input costs, driven by loadshedding and rising fuel usage, which have been further aggravated by ongoing battery theft and vandalism. All of this has compelled MTN to review its contract pricing. In some instances, the actual subscription fee increase may be higher than the average of 5.1%, with a maximum of 7.4%. Voice call rates per minute will increase on average by 4.0% We will implement the price increase from 1 April 2023. The increase will be applied during customer’s April billing cycle, which will be on our normal bill runs of the 1st/ 12th/ 17th/ 27th of the month. All current discounts and promotional values will not be affected.
You can also find their list of updates here.
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