Samuel Nettey George
Yes, I was wrong to respond to the prompt to confirm my PIN, but how was I to know that Vodacash would facilitate a wrong request for my PIN – as evidently happened?
Nevertheless, my expectation was that when the parties to that mystery transaction, and Vodacash, had reconciled their accounts, they would realise that someone had been billed by mistake and a wrongful payment deducted; and refund me.
I reasoned that way because, for example, on the occasions when an ATM has gone faulty and money has not been dispensed despite issuing me a receipt, it doesn’t take long for my bank, the GCB Bank Ltd, to notice the error and refund my account.
But evidently, there is no such self-monitoring system with the mobile money services. It’s some three weeks now, and still no sign of my money being paid back!
Trying to lodge a complaint has been extremely tiresome. Eventually, I got through and on Wednesday, May 10, a Customer Care agent called back and assured me that they would look into the matter; and I would hear from them within five working days.
On Friday, May 12, I got a text message indicating that the problem had been solved. So, I sent a request for a refund. But there was no response.
Therefore, on Monday, May 15, I went to the Vodafone office at Dansoman Estate, Accra, to lodge my complaint in person.
Yet, as at the time of writing this article, I haven’t received any reply to three emails to Vodafone. I guess that their “your reported complaint … has been resolved” is their code for ‘we take no responsibility for this problem’. But is that fair?
My communications with Vodafone indicate that to them they don’t make mistakes; that once I had entered my PIN, the fault is mine, not theirs.
Strangely, despite having made it clear that the transaction I had initiated had been with Zodiac Pharmacy, one agent even told me that they had checked with the First Atlantic Bank and had been told that I had initiated the transaction myself, at the Unicom Chemist Ltd!
Surely, somebody at Vodacash should understand that Zodiac Pharmacy and Unicom Chemist are two very different entities?!
Clearly, Vodacash does make mistakes! It’s just that they don’t want to accept responsibility. Obviously, on May 9, if I had not just done a Vodacash transaction, I would not have received that ‘intruder’ prompt.
Definitely, if I had received a prompt out of the blue, I would have ignored it.
Thus, it appears to me that there is big loophole in the mobile money system if an unknown telephone number can enter another customer’s space, leading to a wrong prompt, causing loss to an unsuspecting customer.
In my view, my continuing ordeal demonstrates that Ghana needs a regulator or Ombudsman to ensure assistance for customers if, and when, they find themselves in my May 9 situation leading to a loss of GHȼ368.37 for no goods bought or services rendered!
Vodacash should kindly explain why I received that May 9 prompt, at that particular time. And I need my money back!
Utility services customers have the PURC to assist with complaints and, evidently, the mobile money sector, too, would benefit from having such a regulator.
Honourable Minister, who knows how many other mobile money customers have suffered similar losses, enabled by a wrongful prompt?
Sincerely,
FAST FORWARD TO SEPTEMBER, 2025
In Mr. Otabil’s case, it is to the credit of MTN that they acted promptly and responsibly in the matter.
In my case, yes, I was naïve, even foolish, to respond to the wrongful prompt, but my question again: HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE WRONG PROMPT TO APPEAR ON MY PHONE?
That is a question Vodacash/Vodafone never answered. Doubtless, it was easier to stick to the self-serving mantra that once I had given my PIN, I had authorised the payment. But WHOSE SYSTEM ENABLED THAT ERROR PROMPT TO APPEAR ON MY PHONE, INSTEAD OF THE RELEVANT PHONE?
As indicates above, I never heard from the Minister, or the ministry, though Vodafone officials called; but, annoyingly, one call on June 1, 2023, was not to offer the expected explanation, but only to lecture me on what I should not have done!
A surprising find:
On September 15 (2025), as I was researching this article, I was astounded to come across in the GhanaWeb News Archives section, a Vodafone June 2, 2023 “press release” referencing my article, a response to my complaint!
The unsigned post stated, among other things: “Following an investigation, we have established that the transaction… was completed on the customer’s authorization. On receiving a PIN prompt from a merchant, the customer entered her PIN…
“The customer …(was) advised that an official complaint be made to the Ghana Police Service.”
But THAT WAS MY FIRST TIME OF FINDING OUT THAT VODAFONE HAD WRITTEN A REJOINDER! (I normally don’t check the Comments Section beyond two days after publication.)
Curiously, although my email address was under the article they were responding to, Vodafone didn’t deign to send their response to me. Why was this “press release” not copied to me? Why not offer me that courtesy?
But, more importantly, their claim that I was advised to complain to the police is beyond strange, because I DON’T REMEMEBR ANY SUCH ADVICE!
And the assertion that I had authorised the transaction was no news, because I had already stated that I gave my PIN, and the circumstances.
But apparently, the Ghana Police were to provide the answer to the question which Vodacash/Vodafone itself wouldn’t, or couldn’t, give! Bizarre, to say the least!
That question, still awaiting a response is, again: HOW DID SOMEONE’S BILL AT A DIFFFERENT PHARMACY MANAGE TO APPEAR ON MY PHONE, GENERATING A PROMPT TO ME, AT THE SAME TIME THAT I WAS PAYING MY BILL AT ANOTHER PHARMACY?
Anyway, Mr. Otabil and I are lucky to have media platforms to share our stories, but who knows how many others are being scammed daily by fraudsters, and by the acts of omission by the telcos?
Where can a hapless victim seek redress, or seek support if the offending telco has an attitude of ‘the customer is always wrong’?
I believe that in other jurisdictions, instead of blaming the unsuspecting customer for responding to what appeared to be a prompt for a purchase being made, the company would have been more interested in finding out how their system failed and WHY an intrusive prompt could appear on another phone.
So, Mr. George, especially given the increasing criminal uses of Information Technology advances, I hope the two examples cited here illustrate the deficiency.
Appointing an ombudsman, to deal with mobile money scams and other online financial complaints, should be seriously considered.
By Ajoa Yeboah-Afari