MTN = False advertising and pass the buck specialist!

We app**** for the Note 9 online the moment the Pre-order deals came available. Please find below the confirmation Email: Ref ********** 17 - This deal included the phone, starter pack and a 24" curved monitor.

We did not hear anything back from the MTN Direct store for about 2 days when I personally phoned them to confirm the preorder was done, the call centre lady said it was and that someone will call us to complete the deal.

2 Days before the phone launch date, my wife received a call from MTN around the pre-order and asked her to go to the MTN Canal Walk Store 101, she should take with her ID, Proof of address and Payslip/bank statement. She informed me that we are collecting the phone the Friday as the phone is launched.

On arriving at the store we met a sales guy, surname Mafekole, tel. no. ********** we explained we are there for the pre-ordered phone and he immediately helped us and even knew we wanted the blue handset as stipulated on the online application. He even confirmed we are one of the first 5 Note 9 customers. I specifically asked about the pre-order gifts and he informed me someone will call me to arrange the delivery around that or we can go to the Samsung store afterwards.

Once we got the phone we went to the Samsung Store as per his instruction. Samsung did not know what we were talking about and referred us back to MTN. This continued up and down for about 3 or 4 trips without any help. The next day a lady from Samsung, Lisa (the Samsung rep in the store) helped us do the online.celcom.co.za process. I have also spoken to Herman from Samsung, help-desk, who was a lot more helpful than MTN's help desks, Please find below our email conversations around this. Please also note at this time we were under the impression the Monitor and Starter pack is delivered and supp**** by Celcom.

I never received one call from MTN to assist or try and correct this drama experienced although I have mailed, called and complained online, in-store and telephonic. We received a Late last week mail from Celcom confirming that the Starter Pack will be delivered sometime this week. However, they did not mention the monitor. I called Celcom and they confirmed they are not at all aware of any promised monitor. I then again contacted Herman from Samsung he confirmed it was an MTN specific value-added product and they should help me. I contacted the MTN sore sales guy and he has returned the following Whatsapp response:

[10:37, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: Good day [10:38, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: Just want to thank you for the effort in getting us sorted. We are still hunting down our promised monitor but so far so good [10:46, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: Do you maybe know who I can speak to about getting the monitor? [11:30, 9/4/2018] Mafekole: Monitor is for customers who do the upgrade or newline online you only get the welcome pack in the store [11:34, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: But we did the online process... [11:34, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: We were told.to go to your store to Finnish the process [11:35, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: I have our online confirmation mail and everything [11:35, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: What is your email address? [11:35, 9/4/2018] Mafekole: Then you can escalate it to the online store and I will try to give you Samsung Reps number [11:37, 9/4/2018] Happy-go-lucky: I will do so thank you [14:46, 9/6/2018] Mafekole: **********

I have since he has sent me this submitted 3 different online "contact us" forms on https://www.mtn.co.za/Pages/Contact-us.aspx and I have called the Contract Customer Service on 083135 number 5 times, the My Contract on 083 ********** 4 times and 8 times MTN Direct Sales on ********** 667.

Every time I get chased from pillar to post without anyone taking ownership or even trying to assist me. I was transferred 3 times during my last call that lasted over 45min before an agent refused to assist me and kept demanding I go back to the store and that after I told her the store referred me to this number 4 times every time I need to explain over and over again. I asked to talk to a manager when my patience ran out after the agent was extremely rude and refused to transfer me giving me nonsense excuses when I started to make a sense she suddenly was able to get a manager online. The manager I am not sure what her name was requested I write this mail and she seems genuinely interested to help us resolve the issue.

Bottom line:

We app**** online - prove below. We got a call from MTN to go to MTN Store Canal Walk 101 to complete the pre-order (my wife was called and we might be able to track the call on her phone still if need be.) We did not get our promised online "gifts". We as the customer are ******. If the sales guy, who confirmed we get the screen and starter pack when I double checked it with him, my wife again as a witness, at that moment told us it is online only deal we would have escalated and corrected any misunderstanding there and then. We as the customer did nothing wrong, except maybe trust MTN to deliver on their promise it seems.

Ruhan van Niekerk ********** 229