Safaricom defends itself over claims it has been deducting subscribers money

Safaricom came out to explain itself on claims it has been deducting money from its subscribers’ M-Pesa wallet when buying airtime and data bundles for other indebted users.

The telco said some customers must pay attention to the steps required to benefit from this service so that they do not incur costs they did not plan for when transferring credit and bundles to subscribers with a Okoa Jahazi debt.

“Customers, however, are always advised to note a few things about the services before going ahead and buying airtime or bundles for a loved one from their phones,” read in part the statement from Safaricom.

Sambaza credit and Okoa Jahazi are services that have really helped Kenyans connect and communicate when in dire need of airtime.

Before finalizing the process of Sambaza, Safaricom will first ask you whether to offset the pending Okoa Jahazi balance and also purchase additional resources within the same transaction, or cancel the whole transaction.

For example: to Sambaza a data bundle, dial *544#, select 98 to see more, pick option 13 to send a data bundle to another customer.  In the last step, you will be provided with the choice to also Sambaza them additional airtime to offset their Okoa Jahazi, should there be an outstanding balance.

That is, if a customer wanted to buy their loved one bundles worth Ksh100 and they have an Okoa Jahazi of Ksh 50, they’ll end up spending a total of Sh 150.

Once you choose accept, you are then directed to the M-PESA menu and again asked to confirm the transaction including both amounts by keying in your PIN.