When it comes to patrolling the television waters of South Africa, there is none so fearless as TV with Thinus. And according to their investigations TopTV could get in big kak for their very disorganised debit order system. Thinus is reporting that some customers have had double the subscription amount taken off from their accounts recently, while some who aren’t even TopTV customers also had money taken from their accounts. The result is that “scared and angry current as well as former TopTV subscribers are threatening to cancel their subscriptions”. Did you also wonder why they were scared? Ja, me too.

“…several of whom claim that the additional amount – ranging from R99 to R249 depending on their subscribed bouquet package (meaning some were debited R498 for instance instead of R249) – are creating massive strain on their personal finances, leaving them unable to afford food, petrol or pay for other basic services.”

Look, if an extra R249 or even R498 a month is going to put a “massive strain” on your budget, then pay television is probably something you should not sign up for in the first place. But the point is still the point – don’t attempt to play with the big boys if you can’t keep up. All it takes is one person like Thinus to do his job as a journalist, and a person like me to mention it here. And like they always say in the movies: this is not a threat, but merely a piece of friendly advice. People are very much over monopolies in this country – we love competition and want the best bang for our buck. So make it worth our while.

[Source: TV with Thinus]