Players of the Expand mobile app game claim their winnings were stolen, but the game creator claims there was a “system error” that marked players as winners when they weren’t.
Precious Vilakazi told the mail and guardian who won R3,000 but never received his money. “I sent multiple emails to the Expand folks and they responded saying my answer was wrong.”
Another player, Moshe Kekana, ran into the same problem as Vilakazi. Kekana said that he had won R20 but never received it.
Vilakazi shared screenshots of his “earnings” with the M&Gwhich seem to confirm that he won R3,000.
But Expand founder and CEO Warren Bedil, who created the app, said Vilakazi’s claims were “all bullshit.”
“On that particular night in question, the answers didn’t change. It was unfortunate that her answer was wrong,” she said.
According to Bedil, the ad-based game takes place Monday through Friday at 8:00 p.m. Players must study an ad for the day and then answer questions about it. If they are correct, they receive their earnings after 24 hours through Nedbank’s mobile banking.
“Winners are randomly selected after giving the correct answers. The answer [on the night that Vilakazi played] was ‘Taking from nature’ and Vilakazi’s response was ‘Taking from nature’.
“It wasn’t a spelling mistake; his answer was wrong, ”Bedil emphasized.
When asked how she was selected as the winner when her answer was incorrect, Bendil said there was a “system error” that night that was rectified within two minutes.
“Expand is a highly reputable business, we have worked with big brands in the country and recently we partnered with the national television channel eTV. Everyone charges. In the last six months, we have paid out more than R10 million to our winners and with no disputes,” he said.
The game has a rating of 3.2 out of five on the app store, with many negative reviews about its poor functionality.
Section 6.7 of Expand’s terms and conditions states: “If a dispute arises, our decision will be final and binding in all respects of the competition and we will not discuss the dispute further.”
Bedil advised Vilakazi to “keep playing”.
