MTN Billing and Data allocation repetitive issues #BlackFriday

3 contracts I have had came with bad administration and incorrect issues, this spans over more than 4 years all together. All of these contracts were special offers advertised and offered in their YellowTrader monthly booklets.

1. Data contract 1, (telephonic upgrade via MTN) was an offer of 20gb + bonus 20gb anytime data and 20gb + bonus 20gb night time data for a full 24 months and there was an option of adding a device, which I did opt in for.

The first issue I picked up was the data allocation it was incorrect, received the correct night time allocation. When I picked this up and tried on multiple occasions to resolve this telephonically no operator was able to assist me correctly. They either did not have correct product knowledge or just did not know what needed to be done to resolve the issue, they were also confused by the 30gb once off bonus data given for the upgrade.

The second part of this issue was that I got billed without the the discount, so it was inflated to 4 times the amount.

It took 4 months to resolve this issue, after which for more than a year my data allocation had to be done manually, discounts need to be app**** during billing, my device was written off as they discovered no device was meant to be offered on this and my credit limit had to be inflated to R20,000.00.

2. Cellphone contract, I had enough of upgrading via MTN so I took up an offer via iStore. I found out later came with availability issues as MTN provides handsets and the store cannot issue their own stock, so timing was a long winded issue.

When the device came after a few weeks, opted not to insure it and keep my older handset insured.

The contract was MTN Sky Lite with 3gb + 2gb bonus data, I only received the 3gb data and not the extra 2gb. Again called and had to escalate this issue for weeks on end. Finally got it resolved and got the correct allocation.

The billing side was the other part for 3 months I was not billed correctly for my handset.

3. Data contract number 2, which I opted to upgrade via an MTN walk in store in a shopping mall. Advertised in the YellowTrader as MTN MadeForHome 120gb the offer was 210gb (80gb anytime + 80gb Night Time + 50gb DSTVNow and ShowMax streaming + [50gb once off bonus data] + 4G Modem) all at R599pm.

This upgrade was done mid cycle so first allocation was not going to be the full amount, which is understandable. But it ended up being less than a third of the monthly allocation which seemed a bit unfair.

After the first data contract issue I knew I had to pay attention to what was going to be allocated and my billing. Low and behold, my bill was 4 times the amount. I flagged this immediately as it was within the same week that I opened the contract.

I went back to the store and I was reassured that my data + bonus data which was not allocated and billing discounts would be corrected by the end of the billing cycle.

During this time I received multiple messages via email, to the modem and my cellphone that I have not signed up for a MTN Business data contract? I went on the MTN app and checked my contract it stated that it was MTN MadeForHome 110gb. When I questioned this telephonically and at the store where I opened the contract I was told I should just ignore this it will go away. The problem is that when the messages stating that the contract is a business contract – you get disconnected from the internet sporadically, so you are interrupted from what you are doing on the internet. And when you call in after hours to MTN call centre for assistance, they claim they cannot assist you as it is a MTN Business issue?

The billing cycle came and no adjustments were made but my data allocation was corrected. Up until now the bill still is not reflecting the correct amount and the amount due is still more than what is due.

My last issue is that the monthly price stated does not include VAT, is this legal in retail?

When is MTN administration going to start getting things right? And is this a retail Ombudsman issue or an ICCASA issue to resolve correctly?

This is not fair on anyone and more than any customer should have to put up with.