MTN’s conduct, borders on outright ***** and deliberate misrepresentation

I am writing to express disgust and frustration regarding MTN’s conduct, which I believe borders on outright ***** and deliberate misrepresentation.

Last year, I entered into a contract with MTN as a birthday present for my daughter. Having been badly burned by MTN over a decade ago, I have remained a cautious prepaid user ever since. I was deeply skeptical, and I made this clear to the sales agent at the time. Despite my reservations, I took the leap, emphasizing repeatedly that my daughter has reliable Wi-Fi both at home and at school. I stressed that there should be no need for her to have additional data over and above what has been allocated monthly. The agent explicitly reassured me this would not be an issue and will not have to overspend. My understanding, and what I agreed to, was a fixed monthly amount of R750 covering the device, allocated airtime, and data, nothing else.

My trust was shattered three months later when I received an exorbitant bill. I was told my daughter had exceeded her spending limit—a shock, given our prior discussions. I had been explicit: this contract was for my daughter, and should her data run out, she was to use Wi-Fi. This was the entire basis of our agreement. avoiding surprises.

On 26 September 2025, I lodged a formal complaint with consultant Ms. Mabulelane Mlethwane. She provided a call reference (***), assured me an investigation would take place, and even promised to share the recording of the original sales call. I received nothing. On 20 October, I engaged another agent, Ms. Zanele Makhabane, who used the same reference number and made identical promises of follow-up. Again, nothing.

All the while, MTN has continued to bill me for these unexplained charges. I have repeatedly tried and failed to activate the spending control via USSD (*135#)as advised by their agent, receiving only a generic “Error performing this request: Unknown error.” This failure feels deliberate, a systemic ploy to ensure customers consistently exceed their thresholds.

Frustrated beyond measure, I escalated the matter again with Ms. Zanele Mkhabane on 23 December 2025 (Call ref: ***). I recounted this entire ordeal and pleaded for the issue to be raised with a supervisor. To this day, I have heard nothing—no apology, no investigation update, and certainly no copy of the sales call that would prove my case.

This is more than poor service, it is ********* business practice. MTN has failed to honour our original agreement, failed to investigate its own staff’s false and deceiving assurances, and failed to provide the most basic customer care. You continue to inflate my bill based on terms I never accepted.

Therefore, I demand that MTN immediately cancel this contract. I entered into it in good faith based on specific representations that have proven false. I will not be held liable for charges that are the direct result of your company’s misrepresentation and systemic failures. I expect a full reversal of all disputed amounts and a formal resolution without further delay.