Vodacom entices subscriber to run up massive SMS bill

Pensioner Hendrikus Wessels from Cape Town South Africa managed to run up bill of R48 000 (over $6,600) in just two weeks in the hope that he could win in Vodacom's "100 BMW's in 100 Days" competition.

The smses (text messages) cost R10 a shot and the promotion has a bonus draw each week for the subscriber that sends the most amount of entries. With a subscriber base of around 22 million, this promotion must be a massive money spinner for Vodacom.

As hard as I try to fell sorry for Mr Wessels, who has subsequently had his account suspended, I just can't.
There are many of premium priced competitions which charge from R5-00 to R30-00 an sms. In my opinion these 'competitions' merely are a very obvious form of gambling, making the companies that run them a hell of a lot of cash.

Eish!! readers, stay away from them.