Voting ID Not Recognised – What to Do

If you received an SMS reply saying:
“Oops, we didn’t recognise the entrant you are voting for or you are voting incorrectly. Errors will be billed” – this means your SMS vote was not sent in the correct format.

Don’t worry – we’ll help you get it right!

✅ How to Vote Correctly

Make sure you send the unique voting ID in the exact format, with no spaces or extra characters.

• 5 votes: Send the voting ID to 42037 (e.g. pa1201234) – Cost: R2.00
• 40 votes: Send the voting ID to 38636 (e.g. pa1201234) – Cost: R10.00
• 150 votes: Send the voting ID to 42033 (e.g. pa1201234) – Cost: R30.00

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Adding spaces before or after the voting ID (common when copy-pasting)
• Including extra words, characters, or emojis
• Using an incorrect or outdated voting ID
• Using an ID from a different competition
• Voting from FNB Connect, which is not supported

💡 Tip: Always type the voting ID manually in a new message to avoid hidden characters or formatting issues.

ℹ️ Important to Know

• Billing applies to all SMS submissions – even those with errors.
• We try to manually allocate incorrectly sent votes whenever possible, but it’s not guaranteed.
• If you’d like to confirm your votes have been received and allocated correctly, please contact the contest support desk via email.
• Please note: If an entrant has been removed from the competition, any SMS votes cast for them will also trigger the same “Oops” error message. Please refrain from voting further for that entrant.

SMS Voting Confirmations – What You Need to Know

When you vote via SMS, you’ll receive a confirmation message from us acknowledging your vote and confirming how many votes were received. Please allow up to 30 minutes for this SMS response to arrive.

Vote totals are updated on our website every 12 hours.

If you don’t receive a confirmation SMS after voting, it may be due to one of the following reasons:

1. Incorrect Short Code

Make sure you’re sending your vote to the correct number:

• 42037 for 5 votes – Cost: R2.00
• 38636 for 40 votes – Cost: R10.00
• 42033 for 150 votes – Cost: R30.00

2. Message Not Sent

Sometimes, your phone may appear to have sent a message, but it hasn’t. On some devices (like iPhones), unsent messages can be hard to spot.
If you suspect this might be the case, please check your SMS app carefully or contact your mobile network provider for help.

3. Network or Device Delays

SMS responses for voting are not prioritized like banking OTPs. During times of high network traffic, confirmation messages may be delayed or even dropped by your provider.
Your phone may also be in an area with weak signal at the time of voting, preventing the message from being delivered.

4. Insufficient Airtime

Please ensure you have enough airtime (not data or SMS bundles) to cover the cost of the premium-rated SMS.
Without sufficient airtime, the message may not be processed.

5. Monthly SMS Limits

Some mobile contracts have restrictions on how many premium-rate SMS messages can be sent per day or month.
If you were receiving confirmation messages before and now you’re not, it’s possible you’ve reached your SMS limit.
Please check with your mobile network provider.

Due to the wide range of phones, contracts, and networks in use, we unfortunately cannot troubleshoot each case individually.
Your mobile network provider is best placed to assist if the issue persists.

⚠️ Important: SMS voting is not available on FNB Connect.