Samuel Mlangeni thought he had received an early Christmas present when he was offered a free starter pack from Cell C last month.

Samuel Mlangeni thought he had received an early Christmas present when he was offered a free starter pack from Cell C last month.

The airtime was worth R55, he said.

Mlangeni said he had gone to Edgars in Randburg to pay his account when he was approached by a person promoting Cell C airtime contracts.

He claimed he was tricked into signing up.

"That promoter told me I could give it to a relative or my girlfriend if I really did not need it.

"I accepted it and gave her my name and surname for her records," he said.

Mlangeni gave the starter pack to his cousin, but at the end of December he was billed R55 for the airtime he had earlier received for "free".

The bill was included on his Jet account.

"On inquiry, I was told that by accepting the starter pack I had signed up for a six-month Cell C contract and that it was a binding contract that would expire at the end of May."

He has since paid the required amount, but wants to be released from the contract.

"This is an unfair way of doing business. I do not think I should be held liable by Cell C because I did not even sign a contract when accepting their airtime.

"I also cannot understand how that woman obtained my Jet account number in the first place," he said.

Both Jet and Cell Cell are now investigating his complaint.