Emty promisses and poor Service from MTN

We upgraded our contract with MTN on 30 November 2025 and were offered a new Samsung A56 together with a smart watch. After signing everything, we were informed that we had to submit a claim with Samsung and they would send us the smart watch. The contract was in my fiancé's name, but she donated the phone and watch to me. This info was submitted to Samsung.

We visited MTN several times and were told that the Samsung agents were unavailable as it was the weekend. Later, I discovered emails from Samsung stating the smart watch was a "free gift" and requesting an ID copy and phone IMEI screenshot. I hadn't opened these emails, thinking they were junk.

Samsung emailed me twice, with the last email stating that if I didn't respond by 12 January, I'd forfeit the "free gift". I called Samsung on 19 January, and they told me I'd missed the deadline and forfeited the watch.

I strongly disagree. The smart watch was part of the contract, not a free gift. I'm referring this to the Ombud. It's unacceptable for Samsung to treat customers this way.

MTN failed to properly assist us with our claim for the smart watch, just referring us to Samsung to get rid of us. If we'd known it'd be this much hassle, we wouldn't have agreed to the contract.

To anyone upgrading their contract with MTN: get everything they offer on the spot, and don't accept promises of future delivery, especially for Samsung products.