http://www.taramo.me
DO NOT USE THIS. They are a Namibian company that will charge you N$ 8.00 per week though there is no service you receive.
They have this in their fine print and not on their front page.
Hidden in their Terms of Service:
5. PAYMENT
To participate, you must sign-up at www.taramo.me .Part of the mobile services provided by us will include reverse billed premium rate text SMS services.
When you participate, you agree to be bound to the following:
We charge a weekly subscription of N$ 8.00 (excluding VAT). Because it is a weekly subscription, subscription is not automatic, therefore, if you wish to continue to use this services, you must subscribe again.
You receive on the first day a free grab-feed activation;
We charge a daily fee of N$0.99 grab-feed activation;
All transactions and/or payment are final and errors are billed.
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Code of conduct for debt in South Africa
A code of conduct released this week between credit providers and debt counsellors is expected to significantly improve the debt counselling process and possibly puts South Africa at the forefront globally in dealing with over-indebtedness.
An estimated 8-million South Africans are indebted with 110 000 people under debt review making debt repayments of R214-million a month with total outstanding debt at R40-billion of which 75% is made up of mortgages.
Every month a further 7 000 people apply for debt counselling. There are 92 000 people whose home loans are now delinquent and face repossession.
The codes of conduct seek to streamline the debt counselling process by standardising the content of debt proposals and payment plans; establishing an ombudsman scheme to resolve disputes; and providing clear guidelines for debt counsellors to determine whether consumers are able to afford to take on more debt.
As part of this code of conduct, realistic timeframes have been set for the repayment of debt and in order to meet those timeframes and ensure that the consumer is able to be fully rehabilitated within a reasonable period, the credit providers have agreed to lower or even cancel their interest on the loan.
Read MORE:
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-07-code-of-conduct-on-debt
An estimated 8-million South Africans are indebted with 110 000 people under debt review making debt repayments of R214-million a month with total outstanding debt at R40-billion of which 75% is made up of mortgages.
Every month a further 7 000 people apply for debt counselling. There are 92 000 people whose home loans are now delinquent and face repossession.
The codes of conduct seek to streamline the debt counselling process by standardising the content of debt proposals and payment plans; establishing an ombudsman scheme to resolve disputes; and providing clear guidelines for debt counsellors to determine whether consumers are able to afford to take on more debt.
As part of this code of conduct, realistic timeframes have been set for the repayment of debt and in order to meet those timeframes and ensure that the consumer is able to be fully rehabilitated within a reasonable period, the credit providers have agreed to lower or even cancel their interest on the loan.
Read MORE:
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-07-code-of-conduct-on-debt
Monday, 6 December 2010
What your credit listing means
Your bank manager looks at your credit report – Not at You.
This is one list you never want to be on – the Credit Blacklist. A bad credit rating can put your life on hold for many years as it makes getting credit impossible. More and more Namibians are getting caught out, sometime unfairly, and the Namibia Consumer Protection Group felt more information must be circulated to consumers about the issue.
A credit default is a black mark against your name that doesn't wash away and the three Credit Bureaus, (Transunion ITC, Compuscan and Credit Information Bureau Namibia) currently list over 50 000 Namibians that are branded as credit lepers.
I have found that mostly young Namibians are prone to having problems with credit. The advertising makes it sound so easy, “Buy Now, Pay Later”. Unfortunately, when it comes time to pay, these items are not always first on their list. This then causes problems as they start falling in arrears and eventual find themselves blacklisted.
Often, a person does not realise they have a credit black mark on their name till the next time they apply for credit.
Recently, a consumer approached the NCPG about a problem they were facing.
“I have recently had the chance to buy my Uncle’s house. The Government (where I work), has already agreed to give me a housing loan and I qualify for enough from the bank. But now the bank does not want to grant me credit for a black mark from a cash loan company. I spoke to the cash loan company and it turns out they did not cash one of my cheques for the amount owing. I spoke to my bank and explained but they do not accept the explanation.” The consumer, in tears stated, “I cannot believe it. Through no fault of my own, someone is allowed to list me as a bad person!”
There are many other horror stories out there and it would fill an entire magazine to tell them.
What is a credit report?
A credit report is a collection of information about you and how you pay your accounts. It may also include information about how much credit you have available, what your monthly debts are, and other information that can help a lender such as a bank to make a decision about whether you are a good or bad credit risk.
The report itself does not say you are a good or bad credit risk. It is only a tool to assist the lender. Unfortunately, most lenders reject you outright if you are listed at a credit bureau.
Where does all this information come from?
Credit bureaus, (or credit reporting agencies) collect this information from companies, doctors, or any person that you have done a credit business with. These businesses are providing information to the bureau in exchange for information they might require on other customers. The credit bureau sells your data for lenders to make a decision on your creditworthiness.
What is in my report?
Personal identifying information
This includes your name, address (current and previous), ID number, telephone and cellular number, your current and previous employers, and possibly also your marital status.
Credit History
This section includes information on your banking history, stores where you have credit cards, and possibly also business who have granted you credit such as doctors, dentists, and even your pharmacy. It includes information about each account you have, such as when did you open it, what type of account is, how much credit you have been given, what your your monthly payment is and how well you pay your account.
Public records
This includes judgements against you or any other court interventions. This is easily available from the courts.
Inquiries
This section indicates any credit business that has requested to see your information. This section is not always available to you as an individual. It should also include any companies that have bought your information for marketing purposes.
What is not on my report?
• Income
• Bank account balances
• Race (cultural group)
• Religion
• Criminal records
• Driving records (speeding fines, drinking convictions, etc.)
• Maintenance defaults (not yet)
What should you do?
Get a copy of your credit report, have a look at it and make sure you understand it so that before you apply for your credit you know where you stand
This is one list you never want to be on – the Credit Blacklist. A bad credit rating can put your life on hold for many years as it makes getting credit impossible. More and more Namibians are getting caught out, sometime unfairly, and the Namibia Consumer Protection Group felt more information must be circulated to consumers about the issue.
A credit default is a black mark against your name that doesn't wash away and the three Credit Bureaus, (Transunion ITC, Compuscan and Credit Information Bureau Namibia) currently list over 50 000 Namibians that are branded as credit lepers.
I have found that mostly young Namibians are prone to having problems with credit. The advertising makes it sound so easy, “Buy Now, Pay Later”. Unfortunately, when it comes time to pay, these items are not always first on their list. This then causes problems as they start falling in arrears and eventual find themselves blacklisted.
Often, a person does not realise they have a credit black mark on their name till the next time they apply for credit.
Recently, a consumer approached the NCPG about a problem they were facing.
“I have recently had the chance to buy my Uncle’s house. The Government (where I work), has already agreed to give me a housing loan and I qualify for enough from the bank. But now the bank does not want to grant me credit for a black mark from a cash loan company. I spoke to the cash loan company and it turns out they did not cash one of my cheques for the amount owing. I spoke to my bank and explained but they do not accept the explanation.” The consumer, in tears stated, “I cannot believe it. Through no fault of my own, someone is allowed to list me as a bad person!”
There are many other horror stories out there and it would fill an entire magazine to tell them.
What is a credit report?
A credit report is a collection of information about you and how you pay your accounts. It may also include information about how much credit you have available, what your monthly debts are, and other information that can help a lender such as a bank to make a decision about whether you are a good or bad credit risk.
The report itself does not say you are a good or bad credit risk. It is only a tool to assist the lender. Unfortunately, most lenders reject you outright if you are listed at a credit bureau.
Where does all this information come from?
Credit bureaus, (or credit reporting agencies) collect this information from companies, doctors, or any person that you have done a credit business with. These businesses are providing information to the bureau in exchange for information they might require on other customers. The credit bureau sells your data for lenders to make a decision on your creditworthiness.
What is in my report?
Personal identifying information
This includes your name, address (current and previous), ID number, telephone and cellular number, your current and previous employers, and possibly also your marital status.
Credit History
This section includes information on your banking history, stores where you have credit cards, and possibly also business who have granted you credit such as doctors, dentists, and even your pharmacy. It includes information about each account you have, such as when did you open it, what type of account is, how much credit you have been given, what your your monthly payment is and how well you pay your account.
Public records
This includes judgements against you or any other court interventions. This is easily available from the courts.
Inquiries
This section indicates any credit business that has requested to see your information. This section is not always available to you as an individual. It should also include any companies that have bought your information for marketing purposes.
What is not on my report?
• Income
• Bank account balances
• Race (cultural group)
• Religion
• Criminal records
• Driving records (speeding fines, drinking convictions, etc.)
• Maintenance defaults (not yet)
What should you do?
Get a copy of your credit report, have a look at it and make sure you understand it so that before you apply for your credit you know where you stand
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Mobile Contacts Databases for sale:
The company Credit Information Bureau Namibia has developed a consumer and business database of Namibia. The complete database comprises of approximately 1 million individuals and 10,000 businesses. CRIB provides mailing and telemarketing lists to clients in the financial and personal services industry.
The company has filtered this database to create a "Professionals Database" made up of over 15,000 mobile numbers of high-net worth professionals throughout Namibia.
HOW LIST RENTAL WORKS
Most of the lists we have available are offered on a list rental basis, ie they are supplied for once off use only at a rate quoted as a cost per 500 individual consumers or company executives. For example - the cost to rent 1,000 professionals from the Namibian Professionals Database will be 1,000 x N$ 3.50 per 1000 for once off telephone, mailing and fax usage = N$ 3,500.00 excluding VAT. A processing charge of N$ 500.00 is also charged for any order. We will supply you with counts and quotes based on your selection criteria at no cost. Once you have decided what you want to rent we will invoice you and ask you to sign a list order confirmation. Once we have received the signed confirmation and proof of payment we will supply a zipped file of the data via e-mail in the file format you require (usually MS Excel).
You can contact Milton Louw at tel +264 61 222 227 for further information.
The company has filtered this database to create a "Professionals Database" made up of over 15,000 mobile numbers of high-net worth professionals throughout Namibia.
HOW LIST RENTAL WORKS
Most of the lists we have available are offered on a list rental basis, ie they are supplied for once off use only at a rate quoted as a cost per 500 individual consumers or company executives. For example - the cost to rent 1,000 professionals from the Namibian Professionals Database will be 1,000 x N$ 3.50 per 1000 for once off telephone, mailing and fax usage = N$ 3,500.00 excluding VAT. A processing charge of N$ 500.00 is also charged for any order. We will supply you with counts and quotes based on your selection criteria at no cost. Once you have decided what you want to rent we will invoice you and ask you to sign a list order confirmation. Once we have received the signed confirmation and proof of payment we will supply a zipped file of the data via e-mail in the file format you require (usually MS Excel).
You can contact Milton Louw at tel +264 61 222 227 for further information.
Monday, 25 October 2010
Namibia: WACS cable will arrive in 2011 but monopoly legacy holds back prices and growth
Namibia’s regulatory position is like stepping back ten years if you’re more used to the competitive rough and tumble in Africa’s more developed markets. The historic incumbent Telecom Namibia still has some monopoly privileges and the new incumbent, Government-owned mobile operator MTC is in danger of behaving in much the same way. Sadly the country has closed its regulator with a view to opening a new one. However, this has meant all things regulatory have gone into a holding pattern. Russell Southwood looks at the key market barriers that are holding things back.
Historic incumbent Telecom Namibia has an infrastructure monopoly and although the power utility NamPower has fibre assets, it has only recently tendered them: MTC (which may build a link to South Africa), Telecom Namibia and some ISPs are all interested in the capacity.
Telecom Namibia invested in what was then Africa’s only real international cable, SAT3 but didn’t invest enough to get a landing station. This is something it has regretted ever since because for many years South Africa’s incumbent Telkom South Africa would over-charge it for transit to the SAT3 landing station in South Africa.
But now if you want to get fibre access to South Africa to Telkom South Africa’s SAT3 landing station, you have no choice but to use Telecom Namibia. According to one of its customers:”The route this side of the border is 45% more expensive than what Telkom South Africa offers (in a competitive environment) on a distance basis on the other side of the border.” Telecom Namibia also has a deal with Neotel (in which it is a shareholder) for Seacom bandwidth, further limiting alternative competitive offers.
The new WACS cable will arrive in Q2, 2011 but there are understandable concerns in the market that Telecom Namibia will be the monopoly owner of the only international landing station with no other independent competitive route to South Africa being available. If MTC opened up a route, it would simply be a second Government company offering an alternative and one run by a management that is probably the least price competitive on the continent. In other African countries joint public-private partnerships are being set up to ensure equitable access to the landing station and fair, cost-oriented pricing but there is not even a discussion about this in Namibia.
Pricing has not been set and Telecom Namibia’s formal response to its customers is “it’s too early to say”. But well-informed industry sources say US$ 1,686 per mbps has been discussed. Currently customers are paying US$2,248, about three-quarters of the current satellite equivalent. Both prices seem very high when compared to the kind of wholesale prices available across the border in the more competitive South Africa.
Inevitably this has a knock-one effect to retail pricing strategy for the Internet. One aggrieved customer told us:“At a retail level, we’re paying US$15-20 per mbps. It’s immoral and they should be sent to hell for it”.
Telecom Namibia is owned by NPTH, a state holding company that also holds the Post Office, the new mobile incumbent MTC and a properties division for all three companies. The CEO of Telecom Namibia is the Chair of MPTH. Whilst most acknowledge that there has yet been no practical example of a conflict of interest, it is undoubtedly as one person told us “a fundamentally incestuous” way of running the different companies. There are no currently plans to privatise Telecom Namibia. It has international shareholdings in Multitel in Angola and Neotel in South Africa but looks likely it might pull out of the former.
Both policy and regulation in the sector seem to be in a holding pattern for as one industry insider told us: “The biggest problem is the Namibia Communications Commission (NCC), which is supposed to be changed to the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN). There’s very few staff left from NCC and not enough are qualified.” There were only 7 staff when NCC ceased to operated. There has been no sign yet of the Gazetted announcement promised in early October to give life to the body.
A good example of the impact of the regulatory holding pattern is number portability. NCC wanted number portability (which might open up competition in the mobile market) but whether this goes ahead, it will now wait for CRAN to “get its feet under the desk”. The new Chair of CRAN is Lazarus Jacobs, a businessman, co-owner of the Windhoek Observer and a pioneering stand-up comedian (No jokes, please.)
In terms of the mobile market, there are three players: Telecom Namibia (with its Switch product); Leo and MTC. Switch (a CDMA 2000 product) was an attempt by Telecom Namibia to act as a spoiler to Leo’s entrance into the market. There was subsequently an argument as to whether the service should be limited to the towns only and in the end there was a trade-off in which it got permission to have national coverage in exchange for there being more than one international gateway. It says it currently has 200,000 subscribers. However, Switch is likely to be closed down and Telecom Namibia will go into GSM.
This makes Leo, which was launched 3.5 years ago, the main challenger. It was set up by local investors including NamPower and Old Mutual with a Norwegian management contractor. Eventually 100% of its shares were bought by what was then Orascom’s Telecel subsidiary. By all accounts, it has the cheapest network to call on but has not made much of dent on MTC, which had many years as sole operator in which to entrench itself. Leo started to offer 3G in Windhoek a couple of months ago and has recently launched Blackberry handsets.
MTC is the largest mobile player and is 66% owned by the Government through NPTH and 34% by Portugal Telecom, which provides strategic management and key personnel. It is offering iPhones (which it did before South Africa) and iPads but does not have a Blackberry offer. It has 85% of voice business and probably 60% of all markets by value, enough for it to be considered as having significant market power. There is an agreement between CRAN and the Competition Commission on addressing issues of this kind either jointly or by CRAN alone but action will depend on CRAN getting its teeth into the barriers that affect the market.
None of the mobile operators operate m-money services like M-Pesa but Mobipay was recently launched. The Bank of Namibia gave Mobicash Payment Solutions authorisation to operate a mobile payment system where clients pay for goods, as well as transfer money, using money that is virtually stored on their cellphones.
The absence of number portability makes it hard for the challenger to peel off new subscribers from the incumbent mobile operator:”People don’t shift their number easily,” was the refrain from all sides. Leo does dual SIM card Samsung handsets (in which unusually, both SIMS are active and you don’t have to switch manually) in an effort to overcome this problem.
In terms of the Internet, there are probably around 120,000 subscribers and MTC has
3G subscribers in the low tens of thousands. By all accounts, it is a relatively slow-moving and conservative market. There are no signs of triple play offers and no e-commerce worth speaking of.
Telecom Namibia’s iWay subsidiary is the largest market player with 60% of the market and it launched ADSL two years ago. The key players are: MTN Business or corporate customers (formerly Verizon/UUNet); ITN (locally owned) and Africa Online (Telkom South Africa) which is completing its merger with MWeb.
Telecom Namibia supplies ADSL wholesale to ISPs but it took one ISP 15 months to get a reseller agreement and obviously it needs to forced to offer wholesale and retail in an equitable way to all players in the market. ITN and Africa Online offer Wi-MAX services.
Although small in population terms, Namibia has a buoyant economy and a great deal more potential than is currently being realised. Perhaps the arrival of CRAN will help take off the artificially imposed brakes but don’t hold your breath.
Historic incumbent Telecom Namibia has an infrastructure monopoly and although the power utility NamPower has fibre assets, it has only recently tendered them: MTC (which may build a link to South Africa), Telecom Namibia and some ISPs are all interested in the capacity.
Telecom Namibia invested in what was then Africa’s only real international cable, SAT3 but didn’t invest enough to get a landing station. This is something it has regretted ever since because for many years South Africa’s incumbent Telkom South Africa would over-charge it for transit to the SAT3 landing station in South Africa.
But now if you want to get fibre access to South Africa to Telkom South Africa’s SAT3 landing station, you have no choice but to use Telecom Namibia. According to one of its customers:”The route this side of the border is 45% more expensive than what Telkom South Africa offers (in a competitive environment) on a distance basis on the other side of the border.” Telecom Namibia also has a deal with Neotel (in which it is a shareholder) for Seacom bandwidth, further limiting alternative competitive offers.
The new WACS cable will arrive in Q2, 2011 but there are understandable concerns in the market that Telecom Namibia will be the monopoly owner of the only international landing station with no other independent competitive route to South Africa being available. If MTC opened up a route, it would simply be a second Government company offering an alternative and one run by a management that is probably the least price competitive on the continent. In other African countries joint public-private partnerships are being set up to ensure equitable access to the landing station and fair, cost-oriented pricing but there is not even a discussion about this in Namibia.
Pricing has not been set and Telecom Namibia’s formal response to its customers is “it’s too early to say”. But well-informed industry sources say US$ 1,686 per mbps has been discussed. Currently customers are paying US$2,248, about three-quarters of the current satellite equivalent. Both prices seem very high when compared to the kind of wholesale prices available across the border in the more competitive South Africa.
Inevitably this has a knock-one effect to retail pricing strategy for the Internet. One aggrieved customer told us:“At a retail level, we’re paying US$15-20 per mbps. It’s immoral and they should be sent to hell for it”.
Telecom Namibia is owned by NPTH, a state holding company that also holds the Post Office, the new mobile incumbent MTC and a properties division for all three companies. The CEO of Telecom Namibia is the Chair of MPTH. Whilst most acknowledge that there has yet been no practical example of a conflict of interest, it is undoubtedly as one person told us “a fundamentally incestuous” way of running the different companies. There are no currently plans to privatise Telecom Namibia. It has international shareholdings in Multitel in Angola and Neotel in South Africa but looks likely it might pull out of the former.
Both policy and regulation in the sector seem to be in a holding pattern for as one industry insider told us: “The biggest problem is the Namibia Communications Commission (NCC), which is supposed to be changed to the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN). There’s very few staff left from NCC and not enough are qualified.” There were only 7 staff when NCC ceased to operated. There has been no sign yet of the Gazetted announcement promised in early October to give life to the body.
A good example of the impact of the regulatory holding pattern is number portability. NCC wanted number portability (which might open up competition in the mobile market) but whether this goes ahead, it will now wait for CRAN to “get its feet under the desk”. The new Chair of CRAN is Lazarus Jacobs, a businessman, co-owner of the Windhoek Observer and a pioneering stand-up comedian (No jokes, please.)
In terms of the mobile market, there are three players: Telecom Namibia (with its Switch product); Leo and MTC. Switch (a CDMA 2000 product) was an attempt by Telecom Namibia to act as a spoiler to Leo’s entrance into the market. There was subsequently an argument as to whether the service should be limited to the towns only and in the end there was a trade-off in which it got permission to have national coverage in exchange for there being more than one international gateway. It says it currently has 200,000 subscribers. However, Switch is likely to be closed down and Telecom Namibia will go into GSM.
This makes Leo, which was launched 3.5 years ago, the main challenger. It was set up by local investors including NamPower and Old Mutual with a Norwegian management contractor. Eventually 100% of its shares were bought by what was then Orascom’s Telecel subsidiary. By all accounts, it has the cheapest network to call on but has not made much of dent on MTC, which had many years as sole operator in which to entrench itself. Leo started to offer 3G in Windhoek a couple of months ago and has recently launched Blackberry handsets.
MTC is the largest mobile player and is 66% owned by the Government through NPTH and 34% by Portugal Telecom, which provides strategic management and key personnel. It is offering iPhones (which it did before South Africa) and iPads but does not have a Blackberry offer. It has 85% of voice business and probably 60% of all markets by value, enough for it to be considered as having significant market power. There is an agreement between CRAN and the Competition Commission on addressing issues of this kind either jointly or by CRAN alone but action will depend on CRAN getting its teeth into the barriers that affect the market.
None of the mobile operators operate m-money services like M-Pesa but Mobipay was recently launched. The Bank of Namibia gave Mobicash Payment Solutions authorisation to operate a mobile payment system where clients pay for goods, as well as transfer money, using money that is virtually stored on their cellphones.
The absence of number portability makes it hard for the challenger to peel off new subscribers from the incumbent mobile operator:”People don’t shift their number easily,” was the refrain from all sides. Leo does dual SIM card Samsung handsets (in which unusually, both SIMS are active and you don’t have to switch manually) in an effort to overcome this problem.
In terms of the Internet, there are probably around 120,000 subscribers and MTC has
3G subscribers in the low tens of thousands. By all accounts, it is a relatively slow-moving and conservative market. There are no signs of triple play offers and no e-commerce worth speaking of.
Telecom Namibia’s iWay subsidiary is the largest market player with 60% of the market and it launched ADSL two years ago. The key players are: MTN Business or corporate customers (formerly Verizon/UUNet); ITN (locally owned) and Africa Online (Telkom South Africa) which is completing its merger with MWeb.
Telecom Namibia supplies ADSL wholesale to ISPs but it took one ISP 15 months to get a reseller agreement and obviously it needs to forced to offer wholesale and retail in an equitable way to all players in the market. ITN and Africa Online offer Wi-MAX services.
Although small in population terms, Namibia has a buoyant economy and a great deal more potential than is currently being realised. Perhaps the arrival of CRAN will help take off the artificially imposed brakes but don’t hold your breath.
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