False advertising / failure to satisfy terms of contract

In mid-August, I upgraded my MTN contract opting for the Samsung S9 handset as it was advertised that I would receive a free Samsung Gear with the handset.

Only after the contract was concluded was I informed that the watches were not held at the store and I needed to order it from Samsung. As I was traveling abroad I asked if I could then redeem the watch at a later date and I was assured that I could.

On my return to work, the 1st September, I went into the MTN to find out how I was to redeem the watch. To my dismay, I was informed that I needed to redeem it before the end of August. I obviously wasn't happy and what followed was weeks of waiting for MTN and/or Samsung to resolve the issue. Each time I visited the store the store manager either promised me that they were working on it or I spoke via a Samsung Rewards representative also ensuring that he has escalated the problem to a senior employee and that I would receive feedback as soon as possible.

The feedback never came and each time I would have to visit the MTN branch again to find out if there has been an update. And the same s**** would follow as above.

I finally decided to cancel the contract with MTN on the 1 October after waiting a month for the issue to be resolved and returned the handset to them. I also had my bank reverse the debit order from MTN that they deducted from my account on the 30th of September.

Terribly disappointed in the service and the false advertising from both MTN and Samsung. Seriously considering moving to a different network provider and not purchasing another Samsung product again and encouraging friends and family to do the same.