A Port Elizabeth firm which is a bulk SMS provider with direct links to the national cellular networks warns consumers to be alert to unauthorized payments to “opt out”.
Right now, more than half (54%) of South Africans live below the poverty line, surviving on R779 or less a month many can barely afford enough food. So to be charged to opt out of unwanted SMS communication puts further pressure on those under financial strain.
“When individuals reply STOP to unsubscribe, they’re having to pay for that SMS to unsubscribe from communication they maybe didn’t even request,” advises SMSPortal managing director Charles Stretch.
In section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) (No. 68 of 2008), it states that consumers not only have “the right to restrict unwanted direct marketing” but that “the consumer may not be charged for opting out or registering a pre-emptive block.”
However, he said consumers were still wrongfully charged
Article source: http://www.heraldlive.co.za/my-heraldlive/2016/09/06/stop-charging-sms-opt/
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