MTN Irreversibly Deactivated My Long-Standing Number After Misleading Notice

I am extremely dissatisfied with MTN’s handling of the deactivation of my SIM card and the dismissive response I received from the MTN store at Clearwater Mall. My MTN number has been irreversibly deactivated, and I have been informed that it cannot be recovered, despite the fact that the number has not yet been reallocated. This is unacceptable. On 4 January 2026, I received the following SMS:

"Hello. You have not used your MTN SIM Card for 110 days, please make a chargeable call within 5 days to keep your number active on the MTN Network. For more info, call 083135."

The sender was listed as “Access4Life”, which I reasonably assumed to be spam or a third-party marketing message, not official MTN communication. As a result, I overlooked it. When I later reviewed my unread messages and realised the significance of the SMS, I immediately loaded airtime and attempted to make a chargeable call — only to discover that the SIM had already been deactivated. I then visited the MTN store at Clearwater Mall, where I was bluntly told that the number is lost forever and that nothing further can be done. I have had this number for decades. It is my only official contact number, used for banking, business, medical services, and personal contacts. Changing it will be an enormous and completely avoidable administrative burden.

MTN Must Answer the Following: 1. How is a customer expected to recognise an SMS as official MTN communication when the sender is clearly displayed as “Access4Life” and not MTN? This is misleading and irresponsible. 2. Does MTN genuinely believe that a single warning SMS is sufficient before deactivating a customer’s long-standing number? 3. Is it reasonable or fair to allow only five days to respond before permanent deactivation? 4. Does MTN consider it acceptable to irreversibly block a SIM after a customer misses an inadequately communicated deadline by only three days — especially when the number has not yet been reallocated? This situation reflects a serious failure in customer communication, process design, and basic consideration for long-standing customers. The response I received at the MTN store only compounded the problem, showing no willingness to assist or escalate a clearly unreasonable outcome. I expect MTN to urgently review this matter, provide a proper explanation, and seriously reconsider whether this rigid and poorly communicated process aligns with acceptable customer service standards. At present, it does not.