A dropped call is defined as a call that is prematurely terminated without either party hanging-up, and can account for as much as three to six percent of cell phone charges for contract users.
 
The judge provisionally dismissed the case, and has given the parties thirty days to make submissions, failing which the judgement will become final. The legal team, headed by Michelle Gishen of Louis Gishen and Associates, will decide on its strategic course of action shortly.
 
Jason Blacklock, founder of Cell Check, brought action against Vodacom on behalf of its client Hilti, for dropped call charges in the amount of R18 200. I began the business after I had successfully claimed back money on my personal account and been refunded, and decided that there must be a niche for a company that offers a forensic auditing type service to large corporates and individuals who lack the time and infrastructure to perform this, says Blacklock.
 
He explains that in SA most cellular service providers charge a flat rate for the first minute and then per thirty seconds thereafter. Thus, if the call is dropped mere seconds into the call, the caller is still charged for the full minute, and then pays again for the first minute again when he redials the connection.
 
Vodacoms subscriber base is estimated to be in the region of eighteen million users, and, depending on the cellular service and provider chosen, consumers are spending between R1,80 and R3,60 per minute.
 
We approached Icasa to step in on behalf of ourselves and the consumer. But when it declined due to lack of resources, we founded the Cellphone Complaints Authority of South Africa to register complaints and discrepancies in cellphone billing, says Blacklock.
 
In terms of international benchmarking, cellular service companies in the UK, for example, are fined up to £5 000 for billing for dropped calls.
 
Cell Check does not charge for its services, instead it takes a percentage of the money it claims back from cell companies on behalf of the consumer.