The Law and Vodacom

In South Africa we have the law, an then we have Vodacom. It seems "the twain shall never meet" soon.

http://www.economic.gov.za/ccrd/cpact09.pdf

Right to restrict unwanted direct marketing
11. (1) The right of every person to privacy
includes the right to—
(a) refuse to accept;
(b) require another person to discontinue; or
(c) in the case of an approach other than in person, to pre-emptively block,
any approach or communication to that person, if the approach or communication is
primarily for the purpose of direct marketing.
(2) To facilitate the realisation of each consumer’s right to privacy, and to enable
consumers to efficiently protect themselves against the activities contemplated in
subsection (1), a person who has been approached for the purpose of direct marketing
may demand during or within a reasonable time after that communication that the person
responsible for initiating the communication desist from initiating any further
communication.

What does this mean?
http://www.economic.gov.za/ccrd/Consumer_protection_bill.pdf

Your right to discontinue receipt of direct marketing at any time
• Consumers have the right to opt out of receiving unsolicited direct marketing services by
blocking the relevant supplier/marketer.
• Consumers have the right to accept, restrict or refuse unwanted direct marketing.
• Companies and suppliers are not permitted to continue any unsolicited direct marketing of
goods and services, once consumers have opted out.

Also from the same document:

Right to Fair and Honest Dealing

What does this mean for the ordinary consumer?

Your right to protection against unconscionable conduct
• Suppliers are not permitted to use physical force against consumers, coercion, undue influence, pressure, duress, harassment, unfair tactics or any other similar conduct when doing the following:
o Marketing goods or services;
.....
NB! Unconscionable conduct refers to behaviour that is unethical or improper

Some interesting words here that applies to the current situation, I believe.


As I pointed out in my previous post, Vodacom refused to accept my privacy challenge.

However I was contacted by Vodacom's Customer support and assured my cell number had been given to their marketing department and I will not be contacted by Vodacom again with marketing.

Should Vodacom have agreed to my challenge, they would have been out of pocket by R1000.00. However I guess they had no confidence in their own internal systems, that is why they refused the privacy challenge.

Let us look at all the promises made to unsubscribe me after the last incident I published:

From: eccclo@vodacom.co.za

Sent: Thu May 26 09:07:09 GMT+0200 2011

To: (my email removed)

Subject: RE: PC-Z1EK-3V1ZS Re: (576136)

Good day (My Name)

Please except my sincere apology for not responding to you timeously.

Kindly be advised that I have escalated this matter to our Sales Division to remove your number.

Regards

M***** M****

Normally this would have given some form of hope to the trusting consumer.

I am also publishing the email I received from Vodacom to the original privacy challenge to Vodacom. Here I am promised I will receive no more marketing:

So no less than two promises.

This average Joe Schmoe was not as naive as to believe this and would have already been on his way to another service provider were it not for certain personal time constraints.

So have I heard from Vodacom again?


Yes!

On Saturday the 11th of June ... beep,beep ... MMS from +27820099688:

So much for Vodacom's respect for the consumer in South Africa.


In summary, to date I have tried:

• opt-out with "STOP" 
• the normal customer service reps at +82 111
• the supervisor at +82 111
• the manager at +82 111
• indirect contact via WASPA
• indirect contact via HelloPeter.co.za
• An email to ICASA, copying "me-customercare@vodacom.co.za

Some of these avenues were tried numerous times.

I tried getting hold of their marketing CEO, Mr Enzo Scarcella. Surely after having tried resolving this issue numerous times via various routes, I was now entitled to talk to the person responsible for my continous (and now illegal) continous breach of privacy? Previously Dot Field had ignored me.

But no! Vodacom staff are not allowed to put their clients in contact with their executives. That leaves me with the only methods of addressing Mr Enzo Scarcella, this blog.

Mr Scacella, here in the public I pose this question to you:

By what right do you presume to abuse my personal data to illegally impose on my privacy, data that was provided to Vodacom in good faith! Yet then as the executive ultimately responsible for the marketing, you hide behind your staff who have no powers of resolution whatsoever?

That is more than a bit of corporate arrogance and stobnewalling. Yet you expect us to be, and I borrow your term,
"...the company I know and love..."? Are you serious? What is this, a joke?


Yes, I know Vodacom. Their marketing tactics and issues have become extremely predictable to me.

As for "love", I am sure you are feeling my "love" for Vodacom here in this article and you understand my reasons desiring to move away from Vodacom.

Once is a mistake and we can move forward. Twice is a bit thick, but we can get over it. Many times later all Vodacom's promises of resolving the same issue lacks any sincerity and is simply more of the same. Vodacom's marketing calls are unsolicited and the SMS messages are spam.

Now, I am sure you are thinking you are delivering a "valuable service" to your clients by abusing their rights.  But then so does Leo Kuvayev, Alan Ralsky and their peers with their "V1ag@ra" and their other sicks emails. Your marketing communications are exactly just as unwelcome, dysfunctional, unethical and illegal as theirs.

I believe Vodacom is currently a discredit to local corporate advertising and as one of the largest local cellular providers should do some introspection and most definitely show more corporate social responsibility. You owe this to your subscribers and shareholders. Then there is the not so small issue of the new Consumer Protection Act that Vodacom is blatantly ignoring and has ignored on more than one occasion now since it became law.

Maybe Vodacom would like to explain why Vodacom thinks it is excluded from the new Consumer Protection Act? I will gladly publish their reasoning for this belief here as to allow the public to make an informed decision.

Some research on Google
Using Google to search for "Vodacom spam"

Kilo39 on http://mybroadband.co.za 

I can understand the 'educational aspects' of this (but those are just another word for marketing.)

Unsolicited mail by companies is spam. Intrusions in my mailbox is abuse. Opt-out is too late (well I'll put it back or take it out.) Too late.

Sending spam (no matter how educational) is encouraging spam (well if they can do it why can't I?)

supersunbird on http://mybroadband.co.za

I just got this SMS on my new Voda contract. There is no opt out option. Where do I opt out and to who do I complain that there is no opt out?

 Lounger on http://mybroadband.co.za

As Vodacom knows, they never access the DMA list before adding numbers to their SPAM database.

I've been opted out of everything for years and still get them from Vodacom and other companies.

Lounger (again) on http://mybroadband.co.za

The Cell companies tend to ignore that list for some reason and there is/was no penalty for doing so.

Hagu13 on http://mybroadband.co.za

Vodacom insist on sending me promotional SMSs and I can't make them stop.

davemc on http://mybroadband.co.za

Vodacom = Spam

Face facts people, the policy of this company is to spam it's own customers.
No amount of begging them to stop spamming you is going to work.

Remember, you never asked for the SPAM in the first place. 

 Let us move away from MyBroadband, even though it is representative of the South African consumer's feelings. There are still page upon page of complaints to read.


Is Vodacom busy with intentional Spam?

Vodacom, this is intensional spam.  Please grow up.

(Now this is bad! Even on international websites we find complaints regarding Vodacom and spam)

http://www.complaintsboard.com/

Still receiving spam and no response from vodacom

http://www.fin24.com/

"Vodacom does not believe that the MMSs were spam orientated. The MMSs were informative and not aimed at marketing a chargeable product or service." 

Alan Ralsky and Leo Kuvayev would agree with that sentiment, I'm sure. Sending an MMS is not free ....

So the sightings of Vodacom spamming continues.

However it quickly becomes apparent that this author is not the only South African consumer being targeted by the Vodacom marketing menace.

Additionally we find references to the cell phone companies in general and it is reflecting on the cellular industry as a whole. This is clearly not what ethical marketing should be.

Vodacom, you a building up quite a track record!

I also find it ironical that Vodaphone in Europe is sponsoring international events regarding privacy. Then I find this little gem:

"n Vodafone’s Group Privacy Team, we spend a lot of time thinking and speaking out on what we see as the big picture with respect to privacy – not just the formal details of the legal framework for data protection, but what can be done to create and encourage commercial interfaces that truly balance business needs with privacy as a fundamental human right."

 Yet here in South Africa Vodacom is steadfastly ignoring those very rights.