WASPS AND CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDERS

After reporting poor customer service by Cell C last week I was contacted by one of their consultants on my account. I firstly wish to say that this individual was indeed very professional and helpful to a large extent. That been said, she still did not solve my query as to why my account, a fixed term and payment contract, fell in arrears. The real reason been additional deductions for services from my account that I have not agreed to with my service provider, Cell C.

So, I have fallen victim to a WASP service that I unintentionally and by accident apparently subscribed to. Now what seems rather interesting is that I firstly detected it on my LTE router service. So I thought that it must have been activated by accident on surfing the internet. Then I also discovered that it was also on my phone which is on another contract. The latter been on a month to month simple chewed my airtime within a couple of days so that I had to buy more airtime and data. On discovering this I contacted Cell C followed by many mails and communication and I was told I had to block it as I subscribed. This I did by calling *133*#1 and unsubscribing, also putting my router SIM in a phone and doing the same. Still the charges came through and even this month payable on 30 June. On Friday the consultant assured me that she now cancelled it, thinking that I did it almost 2 months ago. She however reminded me during our conversation that I had to be more careful in my dealings on the web and where I click. So if someone at Cell C can deactivate it, can they perhaps also activate it?

My reasoning from the beginning was simple. How come by clicking on a WASP or any other application subscription it is deducted from my Cell C account? That without acknowledging it or cautioning the client into what is happening. What is the relationship between my service providers and these WASP companies. Why is Cell C the “middleman” for these companies to entertain this at the cost of their clients whom they have contracts with. Clearly there exist some cohesion as I was contacted by WASPA shortly after my initial complaint to offer their help. They however appear to be biased, acting on behalf of WASP companies, and told me I had to claim monies from the WASP company BasePlay. How can I claim monies from someone that didn’t deduct it from me, Cell C did. The latter whom I have asked a hundred times to explain how they entertain this without the consent of their clients. Hypothetically speaking it is the same as another company whom you have a credit arrangement with deducts monies from their account on behalf of some other party you deal with. Your doctor deducting monies from your pharmacy bill on behalf of the latter. It is absolutely preposterous and does not speak of good business practice. That all without acknowledging you as the client, it’s for yourself to find it out. I wonder how many millions are victim of this.

I have asked them for a solution to prevent this. Any means of warning their clients like banks with OTP’s of transactions that will be coming on your account. No answers, besides you must be more careful. Therefore, whereas I have always spoken of high regard of Cell C I now, after been a client for more than 20 years , I can’t recommend them any longer. My personal feeling is that they do not care about their clients, nor protecting their interests. I however still seek advice on investigating WASPS and how come millions of cell users are exposed through their cell service providers.