This Is Guernsey

By Simon Tostevin

SURE has attacked Airtel-Vodafone over its advertising, claiming that it is misleading pay-as-you-go customers.

Its concern is over adverts Airtel-Vodafone is running which compare the cost of calls on its network with those of Sure and Wave Telecom.

Sure says Airtel-Vodafone is not making it clear that the two charge for calls in a different way.

‘On the face of it, Airtel-Vodafone is cheaper but what customers won’t realise is that for all calls they make with Airtel-Vodafone they will be charged by the minute, compared to Sure, who charge by the second for all local calls,’ said Sure marketing director Paul Taylor (pictured).

‘It might only be a small difference if you take one call in isolation, but over time it could be considerable.’

Mr Taylor said a 30-second local call to a Sure mobile would cost one of its customers 5p. Sure’s per minute charge is 10p, but local calls are charged by the second.

The same 30-second call would cost an Airtel-Vodafone customer on the Islander tariff 8p.

That is the per-minute charge to any mobile or landline in Guernsey, but customers must pay that for any call up to a minute as well, meaning a 30-second call would cost 8p and a call lasting 61 seconds would cost 16p as it goes into the second minute.

But Matthew Morel, head of brand communications for Airtel-Vodafone across the Channel Islands, has rejected the criticisms.

‘We do charge per minute and we are very open about that. The reason we do that is because it’s easy for the customer to understand, whereas Sure charges in various different ways.

‘They have highlighted one example where they charge per second, but we charge per minute on everything we do for calls.

‘We clearly highlight in the adverts that terms and conditions apply.

‘I think the general public reading the adverts appreciate the fact that we can’t highlight everything because of the limits on space.’

Mr Morel added that Airtel-Vodafone also offered a choice of two tariffs for pay-as-you-go customers compared with Sure’s one.

‘Since we have come into the Channel Islands, we have driven other operators’ costs down considerably because our rates have been so competitive. We have the best value rates in Guernsey and Jersey.’

But Mr Taylor responded: ‘Many people use their mobiles for making lots of very short calls, from phoning home to say you’re on the way or letting a friend know that you’re running late. Most of these calls last no more than 30 seconds.

‘With Sure you’ll only pay for what you use, which we feel is an honest and straightforward way to deal with our customers.’

Article posted on 28th December, 2009 - 2.30pm