Vodafone prepay changes May 2010

Forums › One NZ (including Farmside) › Vodafone prepay changes May 2010

freitasm

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#61630 20-May-2010 08:59

Just received:

Vodafone announces changes to Prepay

Always wanted any network, anytime calling and TXTing on Vodafone Prepay? How about Simply Prepay!

Available from 21 May, Simply Prepay customers can call any mobile or landline in New Zealand, at anytime for a low price of $0.49 a minute.

Vodafone's Chief Marketing Officer, Aaron Beckman says “Vodafone is committed to providing great value plans to our customers, Simply Prepay is the latest in a line up of new offers launching this year that deliver more flexibility and greater value to our customers."

As well as cheaper calls to any mobile or landline in New Zealand, Simply Prepay customers pay only $0.12 per TXT to any network, making it cheaper than ever to TXT mum when you need a ride home.

“Simply Prepay is only available online and encourages customers to top up by credit card online, by phone or through electronic channels”, says Beckman.

"Some of our customers have told us they want to do more online. Simply Prepay has been created with them in mind."

The new plan sits alongside the existing Supa Prepay plans and On Account offers allowing Vodafone customers more freedom to use their mobiles the way they want to.

At the same time, Vodafone is making changes to its Supa Prepay Add-Ons:

• Today the Talk Add-On will be withdrawn from sale. Customers who have already signed up to Talk can continue to enjoy the Add-On for a further three months.

• From July, the Prepay BestMate Add-On is changing to BestMate 1000 and will include up to 1000 minutes and 1000 TXTs for $6 per month.

ENDS

Notes to Editors
- $0.49 per minute voice calls to ANY NZ mobile or landline at ANYTIME
- $0.12 per TXT to ANY NZ mobile
- Customers will be charged $5 to move from Simply Prepay to Supa Prepay. Moving from Supa to Simply does not incur a charge.
- Supa Prepay Add-Ons such as, BestMate 1000 and TXT2000 are not available on Simply Prepay
- Simply Prepay customers can top up for free using a range of Vodafone’s electronic top up services including phone and online credit card top up, Hotlink and eligible banks ATMs.
- Recharge voucher top ups purchased from retail outlets including petrol stations, supermarkets, dairies and Vodafone retailers/dealers will incur a $1 fee per top up.
- For charging purposes, Prepay calls are rounded up to the next minute. For example if you talk for 1 minute 10 seconds, you are charged for two minutes and any bundles of minutes are reduced accordingly.

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#332094 20-May-2010 09:17

Compared to 2degrees standard plan, this ain't very competitive at all..

44c per minute (or part minute) to call any New Zealand mobile or landline at any time
9c to text any New Zealand mobile...

But on 2d you get extra benefits like:
9c to text and 44c to call mobiles and landlines in 22 countries including Australia, China & the UK
SIM cards cost $5 and come loaded with $1 credit.
It's FREE to call our Customer Care Team at any time of the day or night
When you Topup you get MAGIC bonuses..

I can only see the data being cheaper "possibly" on Vodafone if you are allowed "Data" addon's.

Otherwise 2d is the way to go.

Not competitive enough Vodafone!

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sbiddle

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#332101 20-May-2010 09:26

Vodafone would be stupid to undercut 2degrees.

I think the new plan hits the spot in all ways except the stupid $1 charge to actually topup your phone.

DeroyBoy

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#332102 20-May-2010 09:26

Top ups via recharge voucher will incur a $1 service fee.

Vodafone sure love charging service fees

2 degrees seems like a better choice in every way. Data costs more but people on these types of plans probably don't use a lot of it.

VFNZPaulBrislen

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#332111 20-May-2010 09:33

Top Ups are free if you use electronic channels - so online, ATM machines etc.

The charge is only if you go into a petrol station, dairy or store and use a human to do it.

Cheers

Paul

Paul Brislen
Head of Corporate Communications
Vodafone

http://forum.vodafone.co.nz

lushous3

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#332150 20-May-2010 10:14

It's also free to top up with your credit card by calling 777 and using self service

walt12

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#332155 20-May-2010 10:17

sbiddle: Vodafone would be stupid to undercut 2degrees.

I think the new plan hits the spot in all ways except the stupid $1 charge to actually topup your phone.

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walt12

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#332157 20-May-2010 10:17

sbiddle: Vodafone would be stupid to undercut 2degrees.

I think the new plan hits the spot in all ways except the stupid $1 charge to actually topup your phone.

bonkiebonks

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#332163 20-May-2010 10:20

Simply Prepay is just rebranded Motormouth + 12c TXTs.

walt12

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#332164 20-May-2010 10:20

sbiddle: Vodafone would be stupid to undercut 2degrees.

Why? Ain't that what this is all about? Competition, with ultimately a better deal for the consumer?

Peer out from behind the Machiavellian glasses for a second. Consumers want simple plans with competitve pricing, not plan proliferation with complicated on-net options and expensive data.

Mods - please remove the 2 replies above - apologies ...

Spong

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#332179 20-May-2010 10:34

Interesting that the Talk add-on is being withdrawn so soon after release. IMHO, it's the only truly great thing Vodafone have done in years. I guess a change to the likelihood of MTRs being regulated was the reason for that. I've been on contract since 1996, and was ready to jump to Prepay simply for that reason, but got talked out of it, for 3 months at least. I guess they knew this was on the cards.

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langi27

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#332219 20-May-2010 11:08

For Vodafone to drop their pre-pay prices down to this level, it just goes to show that they have been screwing the kiwi battler for a long long time.

40cents of pure profit now down the drain. Bet Vodafone mothership won't be happy.

Wonder if this will drive more people to 2degrees?

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wreck90

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#332228 20-May-2010 11:19

The thing i detest most about vodafone right now, is how they charge for calling customer services.

I really really hate that.

Especially, when I am calling about a problem with vodafone services.

Why should I pay to tell vodafone their credit card top up is not working!!!!

spronkey

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#332251 20-May-2010 11:48

I said it on twitter, and I'll say it here. This is a major fail. What does the vodafone plan offer that 2degrees doesn't match or equal? Answer: nothing, except the minor win of not porting your number. The other way around? Plenty - 2degrees' plan is cheaper, you get free stuff on your topups, and you get cheaper on network pricing (which I detest, but that's beside the point).

Let's take a look at Vodafone's points of difference in the prepay marketplace (vs 2degrees). These are the possible selling points you can pull out to make consumers pay more for your services:

Theoretically more reliable network

Faster speeds

More experience and larger support arm

Better economies of scale with add-ons such as BestMate

The market this is aimed at don't care about network reliability past a certain point - and 2degrees is more than "reliable enough". VF's faster speeds don't make a difference here either - half the people interested in this plan won't have a handset to utilise them. Your support benefits are negated by the fact that you charge for them, and the latter point doesn't apply because you can't put add ons on this plan.

So... answer the question - why should I use this plan and not move to 2degrees (who offer more in the package for less money)?

PaulBrislen: Top Ups are free if you use electronic channels - so online, ATM machines etc.

The charge is only if you go into a petrol station, dairy or store and use a human to do it.

Cheers

Paul

Once the infrastructure for these stores is set up (half of them issue vouchers through their POS equipment now anyway), how on earth does this effect vodafone? You don't employ the store owners or operators - so you don't foot the bill for the time it takes them to service my needs for a topup voucher!

You're screwing over retailers by removing reasons to visit their store, and screwing over consumers by making it less convenient to top up! Doing it by credit card isn't always my favored option!

Sometimes I wonder just what vodafone are feeding you to get you to say this stuff... losing your perspective it seems. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that Vodafone are doing something, but this plan simply identifies both vodafone's unwillingness to compete, and the fact that you could have lowered your prices a long time ago and still made a healthy profit.

Yatey

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#332266 20-May-2010 12:12

Why make changes to a great Add-On such as Bestmate? *Cry

Jordan, Auckland University.
“Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” - Paul Rand

kyhwana2

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#332281 20-May-2010 12:24

wreck90: The thing i detest most about vodafone right now, is how they charge for calling customer services.

I really really hate that.

Especially, when I am calling about a problem with vodafone services.

Why should I pay to tell vodafone their credit card top up is not working!!!!

Gotta pay for those guys in egypt with their Phds somehow!

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