Share

Vodacom to reimburse BlackBerry users

Johannesburg - Mobile operator, Vodacom Group [JSE:VOD]) said on Friday that it would "reimburse" BlackBerry customers affected by the service disruption earlier in the week.

The crash of the BlackBerry email and BlackBerry messenger services began on Monday affecting users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, and spreading to North America on Tuesday.

Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind BlackBerry smartphones said that the problem had been resolved on Thursday.

"As a token of goodwill, Vodacom will give all BlackBerry customers affected by this week's service disruption 20 free Vodacom to Vodacom minutes for use from Monday to Friday next week. In addition to this we will also be giving affected customers 20 free SMSs for the inconvenience of the past few days," Vodacom said in a statement.

"RIM's technical problems were out of our hands. Many BlackBerry users have been denied the service for three successive days, which is unusually long. It is only fitting that we do this as a gesture of appreciation for their patience," said Portia Maurice, Vodacom's chief officer: corporate affairs.

"We will not be able to do this each time a supplier has a problem, but we do believe this is an exception."

On Thursday SA's third mobile operator, Cell C said that it would also compensate its BlackBerry users.

Cell C said it would give its customers R10 off the cost of their BlackBerry Internet/Enterprise Service for the month of October as well as providing them 10 free SMSs for the time they could not use Blackberry Messenger.

The mobile operator stressed that while it had no role in the service disruption, "the company wants to ensure customers are compensated for the loss of service as a gesture of goodwill. Customers will receive more information about the compensation via SMS next week." 

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders