How Tigo keeps stealing from me in bad faith

I am a heavy Internet user.
This is a fact.
I have been a voracious consumer of Internet since 2005; when I am no busy downloading some scripts from my friends in Australia then I am busy trying to upload new files via FTP to AmeyawDebrah.com after a hack. I use so much bandwidth for doing “normal” things that my friends who actually watched videos online or download movies, games etc via torrents keep wondering how a non-movie buff or gamehead like myself could possibly be using twice their monthly quota in a week.

My heavy internet usage was never a problem. At least, not until two things happened.

1. Vodafone Ghana decided to put a cap on their broadband packages. This was not necessarily a problem though as I just started factoring my internet cost graciously into my invoice for my clients.
2. I moved from Madina to Frafraha (2013) and then Ashiyie (2015). Now this was the real problem. Vodafone Ghana in all their wisdom and knowledge for some reason have not extended their broadband services this far into Accra. (Yes, when I was told this, I also for a second thought I had moved into a village, but trust me Ashiyie is nothing like that)

When the former happened I had to find an alternative that would support my heavy usage of Internet and not leave a dent in my finances. I tried the obvious two; MTN and Airtel. But no, those two were just not going to cut it.

Then someone introduced me to Tigo Ghana and their relatively lower priced internet packages. (But he did warn me to not expect the same reliability as I would from Vodafone and the others, and I didn’t)

But for the past 2 years, Tigo has been bae, (to play on Vodafone’s #XISBae trend). The Tigo has been quite the heaven sent package, and for some reason, the connection was fast (not blazingly fast, but fast enough to wow my Blu 4G/Surfline using friends).

Need I say more? It’s probably obvious that I had grown to love Tigo’s service and I always gave them props for that anytime I could.

THE BAD FAITH
However, Tigo Ghana has been operating some borderline theft business that I sure if goes unchecked would ruined their consumers. To explain better here are some facts in a timeline

28 October 2015 [06:01] – I purchase GHC50.00 worth of Tigo airtime via the ExpressPay mobile app

28 October 2015 [06:01] – Tigo offers me a bonus of GHC50.00 airtime (another reason I loved the network)

28 October 2015 [06:02] – I purchase Tigo 3GB @GHC30 every 30 days (Airtime balance – GHC20, Bonus – GHC50)

28 October 2015 [22:34] – My employer, Ringier Ghana, sends me GHC50.00 airtime

28 October 2015 [22:34] – Tigo offers me a bonus of GHC50.00 airtime (Airtime balance – GHC70, Bonus – GHC80±20)

And today, 01 November 2015, I decide to check my data, and I am met with “You have no bonus”; should I add that this was after 7 unsuccessful attempts to check my remaining data?

I quiver and then decide to check my actual balance and I have GHC14.15 left.

GHC14.15!!!
From GHC70.00 to GHC14.15 in a night. Let me tell you what I suspect happened.

The reason why I woke up this morning and decided to check my data was simple, I had used quite a large amount of bandwidth yesterday uploading files to an FTP server for a client’s web design. And throughout the whole process, I was expectant of the warning SMSes. You know the kind that go like, “You have used 70% of your internet data…..etc”; the kind that Vodafone Ghana is very good at sending? And I got zilch!!!

So probably my internet allowance must have run out somewhere in the process and then Tigo Ghana proceeded to charge me on a PAYG basis. And Tigo PAYG internet is no joke. Here’s the maths.

• BONUS credit before PAYG– GHC80.00 (est.)
• ACTUAL credit before PAYG – GHC65.00
• ACTUAL credit after PAYG – GHC14.15

Thus total amount spent on PAYG would be (GHC80 + GHC65) – GHC14.15 = GHC130.85

GHC130.85!!!
This is theft. And this theft will go unchecked because, yes! I did use the data. But it is theft because I could have been alerted, but Tigo never does.

A friend was asking me how Tigo could afford such large bonuses and reduced data rate. Well, here you have it, they are literally robbing Paul to pay Paul and make Paul think he is getting a cheaper service.

This article was originally published at ROiSKiD.com