Why should air time, data expire? And data mysteriously vanishes in Malawi

September 28, 2017 Lowani Mtonga - Nyasa Times 35 Comments

Have you ever wondered why airtime and data should expire? Expiry date is one of the worst conditions subscribers get from telecommunication companies.

Buying airtime or dat should be treated like nonperishable items

Once subscribers buy airtime or data, companies should have nothing do with it. They have sold the data or airtime and recouped their money.  What else do they need?  People buy airtime or data so that they can use it. Even without expiry date customers will still use it anyway.  It is exploitative and atrocious to impose a negative condition on consumers such as expiry date.

Food products have an expiry date because chemicals (preservatives and colourants) become poisonous after a certain period. Certain food is meant to be consumed within a short period, and so expiry date is important. Otherwise they will rot. This is understandable, but this is different with air time or data.

Buying air time or data should be treated like nonperishable items such that once you buy a product, you should be free to use it as you wish. Any condition attached should be to the benefit of the consumer. For example, customers who buy appliances from shops like Game, Shoprite, Checkers etcusually get a one-year guarantee from the manufacturers. If the product is perfect, they have nothing to do it. You paid for it; you decide how to use it.

Telecommunication companies are involved in unfair trade practices.  They “force” customers to use airtime or data within a specific period. It would make sense if the data or air time was free and not paid for. Because of the unfair business practices, telecommunication companies are making huge profits. For example, many people who buy 500MB of whatsapp data bundles are unable to finish the data within 30 days. So they lose the data upon expiry. Hence, they are forced to buy another bundle when they could have used the data for a long period. And this is expensive.

In Malawi, the segmentation of data bundlesis an added problem. There is a separate data bundle for whatsapp, internet, Facebook etc. Even for internet, there are different categories (e.g. smart social, smart surf bundle, smart standard bundle etc).

On the face of it, this may seem to give customers a wide range of options to choose from. But the reality is that the options are costly to consumers. Since many people communicate on several platforms (e.g. Facebook, whatsapp) and read online publications, it means they have to buy specific data bundle for each of these platforms.

Why not remove segmentation and have data bundles that can be used for all communication platforms as they do in other countries? For example, data bundles for MTN, FNB, Vodacom, Telkom, Cell C can be used for all platforms. Whether you buy a 20MB or 50MB, 100MB or 500MB data bundle you can use it for internet, whatsapp, email, Facebook etc. This is cheap and convenient to customers. It is also adds value to communication.  Can TNM and Airtel do away with segmentation of data?

As if segmentation of data bundles is not enough rip off, many times data disappears without customers knowing even when they have taken precautions to close other applications to save data. Sometimes you load a 500MB data bundle, but it disappears in a few minutes.

And you know there is cheating. Sometimes air time is chewed while browsing the internet, meaning you are charged twice because you are using an internet bundle. Many Malawians are aware of this data “theft”.  But there is nothing they can do about it. Even when they complain, officials are very unhelpful, often giving  evasive responses.

There are just too many problems with Malawian telecommunication companies (ranging from poor network, exorbitant tariffs to data theft) that need to be sorted out.  When will Malawi Regulatory Authority start working? Can Consumer Association of Malawi and Parliamentary Committee on Media and Communications assist as well?

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35 replies on “Why should air time, data expire? And data mysteriously vanishes in Malawi”

  4. what did the networks mentioned in the article reply when the writer of this article asked them to comment ?
    investigate from the consumers with references , report what the networks replies and then go to the government authorities get their answers. bring your findings to the CAM, compare with the govt acts eg laws on trading standards, policies, if there is fraud, corruption, exploitation, theft, cheating? we will sue them even going to international courts

  5. Just protest and boycott from using their products, asiya mchitidwe umenewo.Mavuto a pa Malawi sadzatha ngati ife eni sitikutengapo gawo poonesa kuyiidwa halo vutolo .
    All these so called communication companies,must be fined forthwith because what they are doing ndi kuba-period!!!

  7. This is an important article written by an intelligent person, you can say all this again and again, MACRA or those in authority in protecting consumer rights are in deep slumber. We are being scammed.
    As you rightly put it poor network service is another way these providers are using to steal from us. For example Airtel is the worst provider whose network has been so poor lately… its always like we are trying our best to fix it and its been like this for half a year now, Lilongwe is worse compared to Blantyre in terms of their network provision. We fail to fully utilize our bundle before due date

  8. This is very right? the telecommunication companies akutibela kwambiri, its high time they must rework their tariff system. A macra sakuona kodi, this is theft, especially when you have data bundle and airtime used simultaneously.

  9. Thanks very much Lowani for critical analysis. However, does the country have a vibrant Consumer Association of Malawi or MACRA or Competition and Fair Trade to protect the consumers. CAM only acts where its CEO will be bribed after making a lot of noise…otherwise we don’t need this CAMA. One tend to wonder why Airtel in Malawi is different to Airtel in East Africa. MACRA only works when it is pushed by politicians to close media houses in the country….SHAME. Otherwise this country lucks leaders who walk the talk. To borrow politicians words, this country is full of madeya PERIOD. Continue doing the good work Lowani

  12. Dear Lowani,

    As much as I understand your plea, I decry your professionalism. This article does not seem to be bound to well done research or facts but rather a rant by a simply unsatisfied customer.

    Firstly, these companies are businesses, they need to make profits to stay afloat hence the prices and expiry dates. Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Malawi Regulatory Authority) HELPS to regulate the prices. Why not find out the rates they are charging these companies per call, sms, data, even transmission, so we can better understand the rates the companies are charging us. We’ve read that Airtel let go of a number of employees and was operating at a loss if they are charging such exorbitant prices, how can this be so? A year ago, the calling rates were raised citing the increase in charges from Macra, why not find out more?

    Secondly, segmenting data came about to provide different needs to different people. If you use whatsapp a lot, its easier to buy a whatsapp bundle so you spend less on a standard bundle. But if you know your whatsapp usage is low, THEN SIMPLY DON’T BUY IT, there are many standard bundles available. FYI providers you have mentioned such as MTN and Cell C, also provide this segmentation in other countries (ref: https://www.cellc.co.za/cellc/get-databundles http://www.mtnzambia.com/en/products/bundles/Pages/data-bundles.aspx )

    So next time you want to write an article to PUBLISH without proper research and a proper back ground because your data went missing and you “feel some typa way”…DONT. Because you’re not only writing to the masses, you’re writing for us, and professionalism is crucial.

    Thank you.

    1. Lowani attempted to get their thoughts prior to publishing this article. Only that he failed to get the desired ideas from the so called professionals well versed in this field. Basically, what he wrote hinged on the lamentations of the voiceless who have time an again failed to be assisted whenever they posed this issues to the service providers. Customer care was found wanting.

    2. John, Lowani is against exploitation. Yes, Airtel and TNM are in business to make profits. That much we know. but they should not exploiting people to get rich.
      On segmentation, you go it. The segmentation of MTN is 20MB, 50MB, is fine. But you can use the data bundles for everything. eg.whatsapp, email, internet unlike in Malawi.

  13. This is true, Telecommunications company akutibela heavy, why should we have 4 bundles running simultaneously when we can only have one that can cover for all???? We really need to do something about it

  16. well said, how I wish responsible authorities could take this very seriously. I’m a Malawian by nationality. every time I come to Malawi, I get disappointed too.

  18. Lowani Mtonga, you have just wrote about a very important topic. All the issues you have raised are true, poor Malawians are being reaped off and they can’t do anything. Malawi is one of the few countries in the world which have people in many public institutions but the sleep on the job. Possibly these fools in MACRA, MERA, they are not qualified and therefore they don’t know what to do. But this could also be the fruits of nepotism where you put fools in position because they come from Thyolo or thereabout. These people are embarrassing the government. There is no reason why they should not check their fellow thieves in TNM and Airtel and stop such malpractices.

    Look what is happening in the transport sector. A passenger is forced to sit in a bus from 7 am up to around 12noon before they start traveling. This is a big joke where we have the whole ministry of transport. Where in the world can you find this nonsense????????? When people say this country does not have leadership its because of these issues where there is nobody to intervene. Things move on their own. Look at how all the banks are failing to improve their services, making people cue the whole day as if the only thing they do is banking. The authorities are very stupid in this country.

  19. This article is massive. We need to be asking these questions to our service providers. Airtel and TNM always oppose when we say phone and data tariffs are very expensive in Malawi but the reality is that they are expensive. I really wonder what the Malawi government through its regulatory bodies has not been acting to save the consumers since these complaints have been there for a while. sometimes am tempted to believe that the powers that be benefit from this scenario hence their unwillingness to take these providers to account. To be honest we are being made poor by the service providers, not just the mobile operators as what you have written here is also true with the TV providers. Talk of our banks, they almost charge for every service and the charges are too high. A few months ago someone asked why we should pay a lot of thousands just to transfer cash from one account to another account in a different bank through internet banking. Are we really encouraging internet banking? Our government is sleepy to be honest. Malawians continue to be impoverished by inadequate regulations on the businesses that rip consumers

    1. Its cheaper to withdrew the cash from one bank account even if it is millions of Malawi Kwacha and dash to deposit it another bank. Never mind about the distance!

  20. Bravo Lowani Mtonga. Anthuwa atibera kwanthawi yayitali. even talking time ya airtime ndiyochepa kutengera ndi ndalama zomwe wagulira airtime. MACRA ili phwii kumangonyambita basi.

  22. This is very true. These companies are stealing from customers. They are doing unfair trade to poor people. it would be better if the expiry period be removed. Indeed airtime/data is not milk that it will be attached by bacteria. Kuba basi

  23. I quote “There are just too many problems with Malawian telecommunication companies (ranging from poor network, exorbitant tariffs to data theft)” end of quote. This is very true, and these service providers should be taken to task. There is total theft on poor Malawian. I wish we had listening authorities.

  24. I agree it is indeed exploitative and atrocious to impose a negative condition on consumers such as expiry date on data which one has duly paid for – VAT inclusive! Macra as a regulatory authority need to side with the people they are serving instead of concentrating on cuts benefits from the service providers who are just passing on the bucket to the consumer. Let us wake up from the slumber Malawians. once in a while CAMA has raised up the issue…….it falls on deaf ears. is it perhaps our legislators airtime is well covered by the public purse such that they don’t REALLY feel the pinch?

  25. My fears have been confirmed by this article. I have never activated my phone with a view to use internet, whats app, email, Facebook etc .because of this “data” theft. It is a sign that in Malawi the laws on Internet and the related crime that go with the use of whats app, email, Facebook etc are not well developed. Consumers are being ripped off. On another front, fears still linger on use of Internet banking.

  26. Has it ever occurred to the author of this article that DSTv “airtime” also expires whether you watch or not? The same argument should be extended to Multichoice Limited. Just thinking aloud.

  27. Tuesday night I bought 500MB for whatsapp, by 5:30 yesterday (wednsday) it was gone, and i wasnt even that active on whatsapp, prior to the 500MB i bought on Tuesday, i had 350MB in the afternoon, and it disappeared, collectively they’re telling me that I used about 800MB in two days just for whatsapp alone, what have i been doing on whatsapp to use that much, even viewing whatsapp status can’t chow that much data.

  28. This is very true. mores especially the using of your credit when you didn’t buy internet bundle or when it is used up. these service providers are thieves.

  30. This is one of the best articles I have read on Nyasa times…so thoughtful and analytical…we need such kind of articles that ignite thinking in peoples minds!!! Hey network providers, have a second thought on this,….why should a data bundle expire?? If you do not give it a life span what will happen, will it turn into a bomb and kill some one…eish do something,,,,,economic times are really bad….eish!!

  32. Very good analysis. sometimes I wonder even if there are network problems, and this happens when you most needed to communicate and as cushion those hours are supposed to be added back and extend the data period for the user to enjoy but nothing is done. shame indeed

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