MTN swaped my faulty Sim Card which failed to complete, and, so far swiped my money instead

I am a 78 years old but active male.

Like many others I rely on cellular connectivity for essential voice and data communications.

I have a number of cell phones.

They are all prepaid for reasons that large companies sometimes used creative accounting to part me from my money.

Cellular companies, unfortunately, often use "customer care centres" and "call centres" with personnel lacking in either knowledge and or authority to solve problems makes it either impossible or uneconomic to have problems redressed.

Having prepaid accounts does not fully redress the problem. but helps to, at time, limit the damages.

The following is a totally disgusting ongoing experience I have with MTN South Africa.

I keep as spare phone with a Cell C Sim Card to use in emergencies when connectivity fails at other networks which happens from time to time, especially during load shedding or when I am at places where other cellular companies have poor or non existent coverage.

I also take it with me when I travel because at some remote places where other service providers have limited or no coverage.

In order to facilitate this I usually keep a prepaid balance of between R450 and R550 so that when the need arises I can by a sufficiently large data bundle to keep me connected. When I buy such a data bundle I usually buy one that lasts for at least 30 days.

To avoid losing my numbers and the prepaid money attached to them I occasionally make a one or two minute wasted call to or from each of my less often used devices.

On Tuesday, 20 July 2021 I discovered that one of my devices, Samsung S9 that had an MTN South Africa Sim Card with the number *** was indicating it could only make emergency calls despite a strong signal.

I rebooted it to no avail. I cleaned the Sim Card and rebooted also to no avail.

Calling the device from another revealed that the number is still alive. This indicated that the Sim Card may have failed.

On the morning of Wednesday 21 July I went to MTN as Morningside, Sandton to request a Sim Swap and was attended to by one L. M. (full names withheld). He confirmed that my number was still alive but would not confirm what my balance was under the flimsy excuse of customer confidentiality.

I have brought with me my ID document and proof of my residential address but was told that MTN also required a Police Affidavit explaining the reason for the Sim Swap. This was easily comp**** with as the Sandton Police Station is Just across the road.

After I brought the Affidavit, I was assured, again, that my number is still alive, but still fobbed off with some flimsy excuse why they would not confirm my balance.

A Sim Swap was initiated and even though usually those swaps should function immediately I was informed that it may take between 2 and 24 hours.

2 hours, then 24 hours had passed. The balance disclosed by the Sim Car was zero.

I made an EFT recharge of R180 and have a confirmation from the Bank by SMS but the balance reflected is still zero. I then discovered the number on the Sim Card is still the one built in originally. The Sim Swap was never completed.

Calls to the the call centre resulted in conflicting information and at first suggested that the swap would take up to 72 hours. Internet searches confirmed previous responses to other customers that the swap is usually immediate but may take at time between 2 and 24 hours.

A lengthy call to MTN on the morning of Thursday 22 July revealed a suggestion that my number was "tagged" because of too many Sim Swaps or attempts. The only such attempt I was aware of during the last few years was the one initiated by me at the MTN Office in Morningside Sandton in the morning of Wednesday 21 July 2021.

I was told by the call centre that only the office at Morningside Sandton could lift or override those "tags" and it would require me to go there in person.

I went to their office on that afternoon and after being told to wait and waiting for a long time I was told there was no one there to fix the problem and I would have to come again the following day.

It also appears that they have record of my R180 EFT recharge, but that all my other money has disappeared.

My Sim Card is still not connected to my number. My money has disappeared, either ****** by MTN or by others on their wathc,

I have so far made two wasted car trips to and from their office and expected to make at least another one, and so far no one offered to compensate my for them.

All I can say about MTN and especially their management that I wish they would receive as good a service as they have so far provided to me.

Had they at least disclosed that my money was gone, whether ****** by them or not, I would have cut my losses an I would have not bothered to request a Sim Swap, nor would have spent an extra R180 on a recharge I still cannot use or a fwe hundreds of rands wasted on travel to and from their office only in order to receive, so far, a totally nauseating so called service.