South Africa’s Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has ruled against telecom company Rain for misleading customers with an advertisement.
The Ad promises customers they could “join now for just 1 Rand,” and get unlimited 5G home Wi-Fi and free monthly calls and data for two phones.
The complaint was lodged by one Trevor Hill, who highlighted that the ad led customers to believe they would receive unlimited 5G home Wi-Fi and free monthly calls and data for R1($0.054).
However, upon clicking the ad, customers were redirected to Rain’s website where the actual cost was R559 ($30), along with a joining fee of R1($0.054).
The ARB found that the ad’s wording was deceptive, giving the impression of meaningful access to the product for R1($0.054) when, in fact, additional fees applied. The presence of “T’s & C’s apply” did not negate this misleading impression. The ruling noted that the advertisement failed to clarify that the 5G home Wi-Fi and free sim cards incurred separate subscription fees.
Although Rain isn’t a member of the ARB, it is aware of the ruling and has made changes to the advertisement and its website.
This isn’t the first time the ARB has ruled against Rain. In August 2022, Rain was caught in a misleading ad that specified that its unlimited home 5G product offers “Download speeds up to 25Mbps” and “HD (720 pixels) video streaming.” Customers, however, revealed that Rain’s product couldn’t deliver streaming video at resolutions higher than 480 pixels.
