[kictanet] Safaricom Attitude - Consumer Issues

[Andrea Bohnstedt]

Edith,

Why do you find it so surprising that you can't send an M-PESA payment if
you don't have an M-PESA account? Can you make Zap payments without having a
Zap account?

In a bank, you can pay cash into someone's account without having a bank
account, but you need to go to that person's bank, and you can't make a bank
transfer either without having an account yourself.

Also, the need to register before you make any mobile money payments is, as
far as I know, a banking sector requirement imposed by the Central Bank of
Kenya (CBK), the Know Your Customer (KYC) rules to combat money laundering
etc.

That you need an M-PESA-enabled SIM card is an old story - that's been
communicated since the beginning of the service, I think, even if it's of
course it's regrettable that the agent you visited didn't have one.

Many regards,
Andrea


On 23 August 2010 22:28, Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.or.ke> wrote:

>   There's need for consumer issues to be taken VERY seriously in the
> Kenyan Telecommunication market. I believe CCK is listening and this should
> not be allowed to happen to any Kenyan consumer.
>
>
>
> As a non-user of money transfer services (I'm a proxy user), I decided to
> try the Mpesa service today as I did not have a 3rd party proxy to undertake
> the transaction on my behalf as I usually do. The last I tried to register
> for the service, I was informed that I had an old generation SIM card and
> needed to replace it yet the agent did not have the replacement SIMs. I was
> directed to follow a convoluted process of getting the replacement SIM,
> which I did not have the time for at that point.
>
>
>
> Today, I was rudely informed that as a non registered user I cannot send
> money by Mpesa (Prestige service provider) - never mind that I have a very
> active Safaricom line. This puzzled me as in the banking sector, you can
> always bank money into any account at a bank in which you're not a "member".
>
>
>
>
> So in search for an answer to this issue, I decided to call a
> Safaricom Officer (Ms Bernice - department that issues Short Codes) to get
> some assistance. I called her on my Zain line. As soon as she picked the
> call, she was very cold and retorted "for starters, you have called me from
> the wrong network - meaning from Zain - and secondly, you cannot send money
> if you are not a registered user".
>
>
>
> My issue as a consumer is - why should I be rebuked for using my Zain line
> to call Safaricom? Is it a Safaricom policy that no one should call them
> using a Zain line or lines from other network providers? what does the CCK
> regulations say about such issues? My little telecommunication background
> tells me that the "consumer is king" and that a consumer must exercise their
> "right of choice" in a competitive market. why should I be dictated to what
> network I MUST USE or NOT use to make calls? Is this a reflection of the
> interconnection issues that are currently hitting media headlines?
>
>
>
> I have taken this issue very seriously and demand an apology and response
> from Safaricom. I believe CCK will take appropriate action to ensure that
> this is not the* modus operandi* in the Kenyan telecommunication market.
>
>
>
> Edith
>
> Kenyan Consumer
> *                          *
>
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-- 
Andrea Bohnstedt
Publisher
+254 720 960 322
www.ratio-magazine.com
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