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Matthew Vella
Go Mobile yesterday rejects all accusations by rivals Vodafone on misleading advertising of its SMS rates, saying the allegations are “nothing more than an attempt to tarnish the company’s reputation and misinforming the customers.”
Last week Vodafone Malta lodged a formal complaint with the Consumer and Competition Division, asking it to investigate with urgency unfair practices by Go Mobile in its comparative advertising campaign on SMS. Vodafone maintains the campaign infringes the Consumer Affairs Act.
It said Go Mobile’s advertising stating that it has ‘the lowest SMS rate in Malta’, that one can send ‘unlimited SMS at 1c to everyone’ and that ‘ONLY Go Mobile offers you SMS at 1c to everyone’ was false and misleading.
Vodafone claimed its SMS prices were equal to Go Mobile’s when calculated, for example, on 400 SMSs, and that to benefit from Go Mobile’s offer of text messages at 1c, one would need to continue buying bundles of messages of 300 or 500 SMSs at one go.
“This clarification is missing in Go Mobile’s advertising. Vodafone’s minimum cost per month is Lm2 whilst Go Mobile’s bundle of 300 SMSs amounts to Lm3 per 30-day window, with the resultant effect that it is more likely for a customer to purchase SMSs in excess of requirements with Go Mobile than it is with Vodafone,” the company said.
In comments to Business Today yesterday, Go Mobile said that “when shorn of all the thrills and frills, the facts regarding the SMS tariffs being offered by Go Mobile and those by Vodafone cannot be disputed. Whichever way one looks at it, the Go Mobile 1c SMS tariffs always work out cheaper.”
Go Mobile said that when their subscribers register to take part in the 1c SMS package, no fee is charged. The tariff has been in force ever since December 2004, and to purchase a 300-SMS bundle at Lm3, subscribers need only send an SMS. Both bundles have a 30-day time window which can be activated whenever the subscriber chooses.
Go Mobile said that even with Vodafone’s current offer of 100 free SMSs, the total comparative cost remains Lm1 more than Go Mobile. “Before being allowed to send an SMS under the 1c tariff a subscriber with the competitor is charged an monthly fee of Lm2. This fee is over and above the cost of the actual SMS, this subject to the subscriber havingg enough funds in the account. If not enough funds are available for the first seven days of the month the charges for SMS for the whole month will be at 2c.”
Vodafone said it was objecting to Go Mobile’s statement ‘go for the REAL 1c SMS Rate’ which implies that Vodafone’s SMS rate or statements about its text plan are false. “This misleads customers into believing that there is no alternative to the Go Mobile offering when, in fact, there is one by Vodafone. Other statements by Go Mobile, such as ‘No extra monthly fee applies. No gimmicks’ also suggest improper practices by Vodafone, when, in fact, the Vodafone plan is straightforward and explained in appropriate detail to customers.”
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