Vodafone Fiji has rejected allegations that it quietly increased mobile data prices and allowed unauthorised withdrawals from customers’ M-PAiSA accounts.
It said the claims were based on a misunderstanding of existing plans and a recently introduced auto-renewal feature.
The response followed a complaint by customer Ratu Tevita Rokobau, who had called on the Consumer Council of Fiji and the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC) to investigate what he described as “predatory business practices”.
In his complaint, Mr Rokobau claimed Vodafone had “significantly altered its data bundle structures and pricing without any prior notification, public announcements, or social media disclosures”, citing data plans costing $9 for five days, $12 for seven days and $14 for 10 days.
He also alleged that Vodafone’s M-PAiSA app was automatically transferring money from customers’ wallets to phone balances without their consent, describing it as “a blatant breach of transparency and financial security”.
“The people of Fiji deserve immediate answers and protection from these predatory business practices,” Mr Rokobau said.
Responding to the allegations, Vodafone Fiji’s head of communications Lavenia Raisole said the prepaid data plans referred to by Mr Rokobau “were introduced in 2025 and have not been recently introduced or revised”.
She said the only recent change was the conclusion of two promotional data offers on June 30.
Ms Raisole also rejected claims of unauthorised M-PAiSA withdrawals, saying the auto-renewal feature introduced on June 10 applied only to customers who voluntarily subscribed to eligible data plans through M-PAiSA.
“The feature requires customer consent during the subscription process, including PIN authentication.”
She said customers were notified during the purchase process, received confirmation and reminder SMS messages, and could also disable auto-renewal at any time by managing their plans through the M-PAiSA menu.
Ms Raisole said Vodafone had informed customers of the changes through SMS notifications, newspaper notices, its website and information displayed during the subscription process.
