MTN sanctioned in SA for misleading adverts

MTN South Africa has been sanctioned for misleading advertising with regard to their one-day data bundles. 

MyBroadband reports that an MTN user, Christo Boshoff, complained to South Africa’s Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) that the mobile operator was advertising ambiguously and often misleading customers regarding the duration of their one-day data bundles.

The one-day bundles are advertised within MTN’s app without a clear indication of when they expire.

Boshoff reportedly bought a one-day 2.5GB bundle, expecting that it would last 24 hours, but it expired faster than he expected.

Upon calling MTN customer service, he was told that the data was only valid for the day he purchased it. This means that the one-day data bundles, regardless of when they were purchased, expire at 12:59 PM on the day of purchase.

There are other major mobile operators that offer data bundles which last only until midnight. Usually, they clearly indicate that their daily bundles expire at midnight. For example, Vodacom calls such offerings “Until Midnight” bundles while Cell C calls theirs “Till Midnight”.

The regulator has therefore ruled that MTN’s advertisement was indeed misleading and in violation of Clause 4.2.1 of Section II of the Code of Advertising Practice.

Even though MTN had refused to interact with the ARB when the case was filed, the company accepted the ruling and affirmed that it will remove such ambiguities from its advertisements.

In Ghana all the telcos, including MTN offer 24-hour bundles which actually last for 24 hours and don’t expire at midnight on the day of purchase.