Horrible Experience with MTN Woodlands

I bought an iPhone 6S in March 2017. The phone worked for less than a month and just died/switched off. I took the phone back to MTN and since it was still under warranty MTN was supposed to give me a new phone.

I have been waiting for the phone until now. It is the 31st of December 2017. I go to MTN very often, sometimes even twice a week to ask them for the phone. All I ever get is... "Our manager is not in, please come back on..." Or "We will call you" - which never happens....

And the one I get most often... "We have not received any stock" OR "The stock for that phone comes and is finished very quickly - people are buying that phone"

Now my questions are: 1. Since I have a contract with MTN and have been paying for this phone since March, why don't they put a phone aside for me when the stock comes?"

2. Why don't they call me to fetch the phone when the stock arrives

3. Why don't they give me any other options?

MTN has been sending me payment statements for a phone they fail to give me. They are quiet happy to take my money but cannot even provide a proper service to me.

When I did ask them for options they told me that the other iPhones they have are more expensive than the one I am paying for and they will need me to pay more money than what I'm paying at the moment.

They also advised me to take another brand (which I will not mention) and not an iPhone since I "can't afford one".

The funny thing is: I was using that other brand when I came to buy the iPhone in March and they are the very same people who mocked the brand and adviced me to buy the iPhone in the first place. Now the same MTN staff is telling me to change from the iPhone and buy the same brand they said I shouldn't buy!

At some point, I went to the store and they were renovating, no one in the shop informed me about this. I had to keep checking to see if the renovations were done. Again, no one called to inform me as a client who is coming everyday to ask for a phone. No one told me about the renovations even when I was coming to MTN to ask for the phone. In fact, I was told to come back and when I did, they were closed for renovations.

What I expect: I expect MTN to give me the iPhone that I am paying for! They said to me very recently... "That phone has not been delivered in a long time. We doubt that we will ever receive stock again"... Who's problem is this? Mine or MTN's? I expect them to give me something better for the same price that I'm paying, to apologise for the way they have treated me. If I was in their shoes, I would give my client a free phone just to apologise for the bad service and the situation which the client has not brought upon themselves. I expect MTN to be the one to deal with the i-Store and not me.

I have a friend who bought the same phone from another MTN shop and the same thing is being done to them.

The service I have received has been absolutely abominable! I want to switch networks as soon as this whole issue is sorted because I feel that I am not valued there as a customer. I told the people in the shop, including the manager, but they told me that they have people who are not happy with other networks, that are coming to them regularly, so it doesn't matter to them if I switch networks.

Bottom line is, for over six months, I have been and am still paying for a phone that I do not have.

I recently went to the shop, now in December, they told me that they couldn't help me. I then asked for a refund for the time I didn't have the phone. The store manger told me it was beyond his control. He said I need to apply to terminate the contract and give reasons why I'm terminating. He then said, I am not guaranteed the refund.

He then sent an email saying he needs paperwork for the phone, as they have lost all my paperwork and need that document from me in order to carry on. This is absolutely ridiculous. This is what I think, they have paperwork because when you buy a phone, they actually file the paperwork and even keep electronic copies where you sign digitally! This is how they want out of this, according me, if I also lost the paperwork, they will then tell me that they just can't help me and then they win and I pay for the phone for yet another year. They are hoping I have lost the paperwork. Well... I haven't.

I am mad as hell and I really do not know where to go from here!