Customers were taken aback by the mobile network's offer.

The promotion advertised an additional 50% of the top-up value, but this offer was only valid until 24:00 on that day; if not used, the entire promotional amount would be forfeited.

1. Flash Sale

Ms. Hoa, an employee at a media company in Ho Chi Minh City, said that she has been using a mobile phone SIM card from a particular network provider for nearly ten years, but recently she has been very frustrated with the new top-up promotion service.

Specifically, she kept receiving promotional messages offering a 50% bonus on top-ups, and as usual, she topped up 200,000 VND hoping to receive an extra 100,000 VND. Normally, the network provider would split it into 50,000 VND for calls to other networks and 50,000 VND for calls within the same network. This time, she still received 100,000 VND, but it was only valid for that day. “Because I didn’t pay attention to this, the next day, even though I didn’t make a single call, when I checked my promotional account, the 100,000 VND had disappeared,” she recounted.

When Ms. Hoa called the customer service hotline to inquire, she was told that this top-up method only applies to customers who use the network frequently and always top up their accounts with large amounts of money. According to them, this is a way to show appreciation to loyal customers, an additional service for subscribers who use the service often. However, because she didn't read the policy carefully, Ms. Hoa suffered a disadvantage.

2. Offer quick cash advances, but charge high fees.

A few months ago, major mobile network operators competed to launch quick cash advance services to help prepaid subscribers who unexpectedly ran out of money. However, the fees for this service have frustrated many users.

Ms. Hanh (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) said that as soon as her phone balance drops below 5,000 VND, the network provider sends her a reminder message. At the same time, they also send additional messages offering quick cash advance services up to 50,000 VND.

“The first time I borrowed a large amount, I thought it was quite good. However, looking back, I realized the fees I had to pay were even higher than the bank interest rate. Specifically, if I borrowed 37,500 VND, the fee would be 11,250 VND, which would be deducted from my next deposit. This is essentially like paying interest at 30%. Meanwhile, the repayment period was only a few days,” Ms. Hanh said.

Speaking to VnExpress, mobile network operators said that with this new service, depending on the customer's usage time and level, they will offer a suitable advance payment fee. Accordingly, the system analyzes and categorizes each subscriber into usage levels and the amount of credit they can advance. They also offer three different rating levels: low, medium, and high. Based on this scale, if a customer is rated as using a high amount, the fee will be lower, and vice versa. The network operators stated that customers are not obligated to use the service; the offer is only valid upon confirmation and agreement from the customer.

3. Offer things for free first, then secretly deduct the cost later.

Ms. Lan, residing in District 2, stated that a few months ago, she frequently received text messages from her mobile network provider after successfully topping up her phone credit. Most of these messages were about lucky draws.

Specifically, Ms. Lan's phone received a free text message for subscribers with the number 09x5 xxxxxx to participate in a lucky draw for 25 taels of SJC 9999 gold. Customers need to compose a text message according to the specified structure and send it to a specific number to have a chance to win the prize.

Because the message said it was free, Ms. Lan joined immediately, but for several days afterward, she was continuously charged 6,000 VND per day. When she called the hotline to inquire, she was told that the promotion was only valid on the first day, and the fee for subsequent days was 6,000 VND.

"This was nothing short of a trap. After that experience, I no longer wanted to participate in any of the network's advertising programs. I deleted the messages immediately to avoid being bothered and losing money unnecessarily," Ms. Hanh said.

Many mobile network operators use a lottery system where customers win prizes after each successful top-up. Many users report being charged 3,000 VND per day for each lottery cycle (usually 30 days). If customers cancel their service before the cycle ends, they are ineligible to participate in the draw.

According to VNE