20 Calls, 12hours, still off the air

My cellphone was ****** around 12 noon on 28 January with my MTN prepaid sim therein. I bought a new sim an hour later, RICA'd it and followed the instructions to get my old number back. This meant having to dial 173 and speak to a consultant (service champion). Initially I was told the system is down and to call back in 1 hour. Later on I was asked some security questions to confirm that I am not an impersonator: 'When last did you recharge and the amount? 'What kind of phone were you using?' After answering these , I was asked when the time before last was that I had recharged. The answers did not seem to please the consultant and I was told that a sim swop could not be done. Imagine that. The number which I have had for 14 years was not to be mine any more. In fact it was still in the hands of the ***** who had pickpocketed me and fully active.<br> More calls and I was told that my answers could not be verified because the system was still updating - try again later. Later I was told to try again in the morning.