MTN account settled but Phone still Blacklisted - No response for 9 months

Absolutely shocking service from MTN.

I had a cellphone contract with MTN that unfortunately went into arrears and was handed over to their third-party collections company. I settled the full outstanding amount with the collections agency within 3 months (June 2025) and received a paid-up letter confirming the account was fully settled.

During this time MTN blocked/blacklisted the cellphone from accessing the mobile network, meaning no SIM card works in the phone. After settling the account I immediately contacted both MTN and the collections company, provided the paid-up letter, and requested that the phone be unblocked so that it could be used again. This was never resolved.

To make matters worse, about a month later I received an invoice from MTN claiming that I still owed money, even though the account had already been settled in full. I contacted them again and the only response I ever received was that the matter was “being investigated”.

Since July 2025 I have sent countless emails to MTN’s customer service, complaints department and legal department, and went in store to try and get this resolved. Not once have I received a proper response, update or follow-up. Every email simply results in a new reference number with absolutely no resolution.

It is now March 2026 — almost a YEAR later — and the issue is still not resolved. The phone remains blocked even though the account was fully paid and I have proof.

MTN seems more than happy to send invoices and reference numbers, but completely incapable of actually resolving a simple issue.

This level of service is unacceptable and extremely frustrating. Customers should not have to chase a company for nearly a year just to fix something that should take a few minutes.

If you are considering taking out a contract with MTN, seriously think twice.