MTC Touch: The art of deception!

A new ad for MTC Touch about their “Friends and Family” service is all over the radio stations now. This new service allows prepaid users to select 2 of their most dialed numbers and call them at 30% less.

That means if you were to fully use the $25 card (which actually gives you $22.73) to call your 2 preferred number, you’ll be able to speak 90 minutes instead of 63 minutes. ($22.73 / ($0.36 * 70%) = 90 minutes)

However, what wasn’t advertised is that this service actually has a cost of $3! And they probably did it that way in order not to allow everyone to benefit from this offer.

Anyway, this means you now can’t subscribe to this service unless you speak a minimum number of minutes with your 2 preferred numbers that are enough to cover the service fee and then start saving money on your remaining calls, so let’s calculate this minimum amount.

Let “T” be that amount, then: $0.36 T * 30% = $3 –> T = 27.7, i.e 28 minutes.

And of course if you were to fully use your card to call your preferred number, the total number of minutes drops to 78 instead of 90. That means the decrease is in fact 23.6% instead of 30%!

Couldn’t they have just advertised a decrease of 20-25% instead of playing smart on their customers?

Update:

Alfa (The second mobile operator in Lebanon) turned out to have launched the same service and is advertising for it as well, with the same fee.

Still, to be fair with the two companies, I have to mention that MTC Touch and Alfa JUST manage the two mobile networks, and to my knowledge do not any control over the rates or the offered services and their fees, it is actually the ministry of telecommunication that controls all of that.

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20 Responses to MTC Touch: The art of deception!

  1. Rabih January 5, 2011 at 4:29 pm #

    Its alfa, not MTC?

  2. Rabih January 5, 2011 at 4:33 pm #

    MTC’s new service is Samme3ni

  3. Rami January 5, 2011 at 4:34 pm #

    @Rabih
    It’s MTC actually, here’s the service page on their website http://is.gd/k9Uq7
    And true, they have 2 new ads now, one for Samme3ni and the other for the Friends and Family service.

  4. Rabih January 5, 2011 at 4:36 pm #

    Oh, I didnt know about MTC, but alfa also launched this new service; same 30 %!

  5. Liliane January 5, 2011 at 5:05 pm #

    7aramiye, min zamen, ba3doun w ra7 ydalloun.

  6. Mhammad January 5, 2011 at 7:51 pm #

    If you think this is deception, you should learn about the interest rates on loans..and bank investments lol

  7. rolfen January 5, 2011 at 8:55 pm #

    That’s really scrooge behavior from people who charge so much. In Europe you have plans where you can talk freely as much as you like to one (or more?) numbers of your liking.

  8. ladders January 5, 2011 at 9:04 pm #

    It is always good to share the innovative ideas with others on our demand.That is the main way for the people to know about the useful types of techniques to equip it. It will really gives the crucial moments for others to know about it. It is a useful passion for the people to select the beneficial categories of the stories on the requirements of using it…

  9. Danielle January 5, 2011 at 9:15 pm #

    Wow, too many numbers for me. But yeah, no matter what the case, I’ll stick to texting it seems!

  10. Chantal January 6, 2011 at 9:57 am #

    They’re always finding new services to make us pay more!!

  11. dodosays January 6, 2011 at 10:01 am #

    see that’s what i’m talking about people! thanks Rami for the calculations.

  12. Trella January 6, 2011 at 10:39 am #

    Alfa launched the same service as well, robbers !

  13. Joseph January 7, 2011 at 10:16 am #

    Rami,

    Just to clear things up. Yes the ministry of telecom controls the prices but not to the extent everybody thinks.Here is an example why: We pay 11 cents a minute. out of these 11 cents, 6 cents go to the Ministry of Finance as Taxes and 5 Cents go to the Ministry of Telecom which in return pays MTC and ALFA. So the 5 cents chunk is what the Ministry of Telecom controls.

  14. Abou El Leil January 10, 2011 at 12:42 am #

    Like Joseph said, both companies MTC and ALFA cannot change anything in the prices of their services without getting the approval of the ministry of telecom… and since companies are owned by the government this is why the minutes and sms rates are the same for both MTC and ALFA. this is why there will never be a real competition between the 2 operators and why in lebanon we pay so much and get a very lousy service. the managing companies of MTC and ALFA get like a salary from the government and some small incentives were introduced when the contracts were renewed when gibran bassil was the minister. in the end, heyda lebnen!!! we always have 2 choices between the bad and the worst… this is the formula that they made the people believe is the only solution for this wannabe state

  15. Armigatus January 16, 2011 at 7:19 pm #

    Phone calls are free in the US, after 9pm, and in the weekends.
    Try to beat that

  16. Nelly April 14, 2012 at 10:44 pm #

    Hello hope ur gd.
    Am using ur article in one of my projects but i seem to have one problem regarding ur calcul of the 23.6%.
    If it doesn’t bother u could u please explain to me how u came up wiz it cause my answer is 19.2% :/:/
    Thank u ^.^

    • Rami April 15, 2012 at 11:00 am #

      Here you go
      100*(78-63)/63

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Tweets that mention MTC Touch: The art of deception! | +961 -- Topsy.com - January 5, 2011

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rami, Rami and Marie Nakhle. Marie Nakhle said: FAIL FAIL FAIL! They think we r idiots! Pffff! w @AlfaTelecom bi dahron RT @Plus961: MTC Touch: The art of deception! http://is.gd/k9SOD […]

  2. Beirut Spring: This Is What You Get From Socialised Telcos - January 6, 2011

    […] and family” low cost calls), the user doesn’t matter and all so-called services are big fat scams. […]

  3. New cellphone services aim to cut costs for pre-paid users | Telecommunication in Lebanon - February 7, 2011

    […] According to plus961,  the “Friend and Family” service is a big fat scam. This entry was posted in Alfa, […]

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