I remember one day being stranded, needing to call a family member for help. I only had enough money to buy R5 airtime. I loaded it, tried to make the call, and nothing went through. When I checked my balance, it was zero.
That moment was more than frustrating. It was helpless. This did not happen once. It kept happening over and over again. Sometimes I would not even notice immediately. The deductions were small enough to be overlooked, but frequent enough to matter.
When I tried to get answers, I was told the charges were linked to third-party services. Yet, as an MTN customer, I could not understand how money could leave my account without my knowledge or permission.
I do not recall ever knowingly subscribing to any service that would deduct money from my airtime daily. And I began to realise that I was not alone.
A friend later showed me how to check and cancel subscriptions. When I did, I found multiple active subscriptions on my number, services I had never consciously signed up for. Even after cancelling, similar issues would return over time.
I first noticed something was wrong when my airtime kept disappearing. At first, it was small amounts. I would buy a few rand of airtime, sometimes just enough to make a quick, urgent call, and when I tried to use it, it would already be gone.
But what concerned me even more was what I was seeing in my own family and in others around me.
My mother, a pensioner, has experienced the same thing. Airtime sent to her would simply disappear. She has never knowingly subscribed to any service. Imagine a pensioner, already trying to stretch a small income, now losing money in small amounts without understanding why. That airtime is not extra money; it is meant for essential communication.
My father has also experienced unexplained services on his phone, things he does not understand and does not remember activating. He does not fully understand English. And this raises a serious question: how can consent be meaningful if it is not fully understood?
But this issue goes beyond my family.
Across South Africa, many of the people most affected are those who can least afford it — prepaid users, unemployed individuals, and social grant recipients. Imagine a grandmother relying on a small state grant, carefully budgeting for food, transport, and a little airtime to stay in touch with her children and grandchildren.
Now imagine that airtime slowly disappearing, a rand at a time, without her fully understanding why. For her, that loss is not minor. It is meaningful.
South Africa has millions of prepaid mobile users, people who do not have the cushion of monthly contracts, but instead load airtime in small amounts when they can afford it. Airtime is bought with intention. It is rationed. It is used carefully. When it disappears unexpectedly, it disrupts daily life.
In a country facing high unemployment and economic pressure, even small, recurring deductions can contribute to financial stress. A few rand a day may seem insignificant to some, but over time, it adds up, especially for households already under strain.
With millions of mobile users in South Africa, the scale of this issue cannot be ignored. If even a fraction is affected by recurring charges of R1 to R5 per day, the cumulative impact becomes substantial for both individuals and communities.
Many of these charges are linked to subscription services operating through third-party billing systems connected to mobile networks.
While these services may rely on some form of user interaction, the question remains whether that interaction amounts to clear, informed consent, especially in a country where language barriers and digital literacy challenges are real.
It is important to acknowledge that mobile networks may not directly create these subscription services. However, they provide the billing systems that make these deductions possible. This places a responsibility on them to ensure that customers are not exposed to charges they do not fully understand.
Regulatory bodies such as the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and the National Consumer Commission have a critical role to play in strengthening consumer protection, particularly around transparency, informed consent, and accessible cancellation mechanisms.
At its core, this issue is about fairness.
When people lose money from their mobile accounts without fully understanding why, it affects more than their balance. It affects their ability to communicate, to seek opportunities, and to support their families.
Because when airtime disappears, it is not just data that is lost. It is a connection, opportunity, and, for many South Africans, a small but meaningful part of their dignity.
For many South Africans, airtime is not a luxury. It is a lifeline, a way to look for work, call family, respond to opportunities, or simply stay connected in an increasingly digital world.
*Nontsokolo C Mhlotshana is a MA in Cultural Policy and Management Practice graduate from Wits University and a Canon Collins Scholar. She is a creative director, researcher, writer, facilitator and art education specialist. She is currently running a campaign against the unauthorised deduction of airtime. Click on link below to participate: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7J6UpWKY_5hc5q1vKnnti6jSOwSp2j7qZm6jpMrDfLjlTHA/viewform?usp=dialog
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