Cell C's advertisement stating: "If it costs more than 15c/MB you're paying too much", has to be removed and the phrase may not be used again in its current form.
This follows a ruling yesterday by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which upheld a complaint by a Cell C customer, who lodged a complaint over misleading advertising with the authority, after he exceeded his data bundle and discovered he was in fact being billed 99c per MB. Upon querying the higher amount, Cell C informed the customer that he needed to purchase an additional data bundle on top of the data allowance included in his contract to qualify for the 15c per MB rate (which the ad does not mention).
In its defence, Cell C stated: "Cell C offers two types of data charges, the first being a flat 99c rate, the second is when one loads a 'smart data bundle' to secure the 15c/MB rate. The advertisement invites the consumer to query the statement online or in store. It does not promise the 15c/MB rate to all Cell C customers, nor does it link it to a particular package."
However, the ASA took the complaint on board, stating in its ruling: "This is misleading. The concern here relates more to what is not being said than what is being said. The initial impression when confronted with this billboard is that Cell C is offering a rate of 15c per MB. There is no qualification or mention of the fact that this is an opt-in and/or extra expense. It is, therefore. reasonable to conclude that this is the going rate for any and all Cell C customers."
Cell C was consequently ordered to withdraw the advert and never use it again, "in its current format".
Collective complaints
Although the first to take Cell C to task in a tangible way, the said complainant was not the first to find the 15c per MB advertising phrase misleading.
In January, an entry posted on customer complaints site HelloPeter reveals a similar misunderstanding, with the complainant demanding reimbursement for being "overcharged for data".
Short of two weeks later, another HelloPeter post claims "false advertising" and echoes: "I'm paying 99c per MB and not 15c as advertised."
Cell C responded to the latter complaint saying: "The 15c rate is only applicable if you add an additional bundle ranging from 50MB to 2Gigs via *147#. We do hope that the above is resolved soonest and you are able to utilise the Web with our low data rates."
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