possible scam? cell c/vodacom/mtn partner company offering card

[twinscythe12332]

Hi All,
I just received a call from someone claiming to be from a company affiliated with cell c/ vodacom/ mtn and that I have been marked as a valued subscriber. They were offering me a card that I can get cash back from when I spend money at any number of stores. the card was being posted to me and it would require a once off activation of R49. They also asked to confirm that the number they had was correct (for who knows what purposes.) after telling the guy no thanks, he seemed confused as to why I didn't want to take it. I just said no thanks and put the phone down.

anyone had anything like this happen? scam or not?

[Dave A]

That sounds like a variant of the discount voucher marketing scheme. You didn't get the name of the company by any chance?

The basic plan is they approach a number of companies to give discounts on their products as the "cost" of participating in their marketing program (we'll be steering business your way). They then sell a book of vouchers to the public at a fraction of the potential savings. It's pretty much a case of "spend R50.00 to get a savings of R500.00."

The problem is if you don't spend, you don't get the saving. And you might end up spending in places and on things you might not otherwise have bought, so is it really a saving?

I'm not sure the method could be classified as a scam as such - perhaps more a case of sharp practice.

The affiliation claim to the cellphone companies is an interesting twist. If you had purchased, would it have gone onto your cellphone bill?

[twinscythe12332]

I have a feeling that's where the number confirmation came in.

[Dave A]

I'm starting to wonder where VAS products might end up with cellphone companies.

Anyone remember when Telkom launched premium rate services? They really got taken for a ride - and hurt lots of consumers along the way.

Then there was some controversy about some subscription VAS that was promoted via MMS recently and seemed to be using an auto-subscribe must-opt-out-to-refuse strategy...

Don't the cellphone companies make enough money already from core business?