East Coast Radio - Catch Up Consumer Hacks with Wendy Knowler

Know when your cellphone contract ends — or face a bill up to three times more

Loading player...
When your cellphone contract expires and you haven't given 30 days' notice to cancel or signed a new deal, your network can move you onto a month-to-month rate — at a dramatically higher price. Nadene's MTN contract was R189 a month. When it expired at the end of May, she got an SMS telling her it was converting to R580 a month. She asked for immediate cancellation and was told she'd have to give that 30-day notice first, meaning she has to pay that R580 for at least one month.
So, check your contract end date now. Set a phone reminder three months out so you have time to negotiate, switch, or cancel on your terms, not theirs.
22 Jul English South Africa Education · Self-Improvement

Other recent episodes

Do you know what your store cards are costing you?

Store cards can quietly drain your wallet through monthly service fees, even if you have what you assume is a zero balance. Last month Woolworths raised its store card fee to R52.49 a month, applying it even to those customers who have a zero balance. That works out to R630…
14 Aug 1 min

How much do you value after sales service?

Nico Grobler and his wife bought two Grafton Everest leather recliners from Tafelberg Furnishers. A few years in, the leather on the armrests and leg rests began to wear and scuff – prematurely, in their view. But because the chairs were well out of their two-year warranty, the couple’s first…
13 Aug 1 min

Still using the green ID book? Let your bank help you out, pronto

Home Affairs has launched a site that shows you the closest bank branch where you can apply for a Smart ID Card. It's at myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za. There are 372 participating branches so far, and new ones appear on the site as they sign up. Since March, more than half a million…
12 Aug 1 min

Even with saved beneficiaries, check the account details before paying

When you pay a company by EFT, where do you get the banking details? If they’re saved in your banking app, that’s worth a second thought. A Truworths account holder made debt repayments using saved beneficiary details, but the debt collectors had switched banks. Her money landed in a dormant…
11 Aug 1 min

Missing a visa rule could cost you - a lot

A couple flew from Joburg to Auckland, with the return journey via Perth, but were refused boarding because their Perth layover was longer than eight hours, meaning they needed an Australian transit visa. Being Sunday afternoon, it was too late to apply. They had to buy two Cathay Pacific tickets…
10 Aug 1 min
All episodes