MTN's uncapped data bundle is a ****

I was just ****** by MTN! Let me explain what just happened. I am needing to download something which is a few gigs big. I received an SMS on my device notifying me that my current data bundle is expended and I could dial *141*2*999# to purchase more data. Since I only need the additional data to download this one file I chose to purchase a once off uncapped data bundle valid for 24 hours for R40. Seemed like a good deal and I thought "MTN are the good guys" since R40 for uncapped data for a whole day isnt a bad deal. After activating the databundle (which is a topic all its own, why someone has to go through the rigmarole of purchasing a databundle using USSD codes and then have to wait for an SMS to notify you that you then have to use more USSD codes to activate the data bundle is beyond me, but none the less I did it) I had hardly begun the download when I noticed my download speed dropping ... dropping ... dropping and I wondered whether I had a connection issue, and as soon as I picked up my device to check, I got the SMS. "You have reached your 150MB fair usage limit, you can continue to use the internet but at reduced speed". WWWHHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT???????? A reduced speed of 128kps to be precise. So there are two issues here for me. 1) On what planet can any data bundle be advertised as being uncapped when you are given a 150mb fair usage limit? This is the exact same as a food outlet offering bottomless coffee or soft drinks and after you have poured a quarter of a cup full the tap automatically restricts you to a few drops per minute instead of filling up your cup at normal speed. Or a car hire place offering unlimited mileage on a rented car but as soon you are out the driveway the cars max speed drops to 10km’s per hour.

2) If the terms and conditions of the fair usage policy can be accessed via the USSD I dont know, but I can tell you I couldn’t find them. I went through the entire procedure a second time and stopped just before confirming the purchase to see if there was anything there that hinted as to what MTN termed uncapped and fair usage, and there isn't. Not a peep, deliberately so. In fact I had to do a Google search to see what on earth was happening and only then did I find an article from a journalist explaining it. So it seems they expect a consumer with no data to use data they don’t have to search the internet to find an answer from a third party because MTN refuses to be upfront. So this means that MTN is advertising this data bundle as being uncapped, withholding from the consumer the terms and conditions associated with the purchase AT THE TIME the purchase is made. And i know that MTN is going to reply and say "the terms and conditions exist in the paperwork you signed when you became a customer of MTN and so therefore you already agreed to them.” I get that, I’m sure not going to go back and reread it so I will take your word for it. BUT, each purchase made by a consumer is in itself a new agreement between the consumer and the supplier. The agreement is in its simplest form that the consumer will pay the agreed upon amount to receive from the supplier the agreed upon service or product within the agreed upon period of time and for the agreed upon duration of usage. If there is anything in that agreement contrary to the expectations of either the consumer or the supplier then it needs to be brought to the attention of the respective party prior to the completion of the agreement. Its like going to a tool hire place to hire a 5m ladder. The client pays the amount, collect the ladder and takes it to where he is going to use it. Upon inspection however he sees that the ladder doesnt have all its rungs, in fact of the 50 rungs its supposed to have it only has 20. So he calls up the tool hire place to complain and the response he gets is "You asked for a 5m ladder, we gave you one thats 5m high, you said nothing about wanting to be able to climb all the way to the top. You should have asked more questions." I understand that in this day and age that T&c's, as they are so euphamistically termed, are a part of day to day business but how on earth can we as South African consumers sit back and be bul**** by large companies who go OUT OF THEIR WAY, yes MTN I am looking at you, to keep us in the dark regarding what exactly it is we are getting in return for our very hard earned rands.

I hereby challenge the MD or CEO of MTN to explain to me how purchases using their USSD codes is not designed by them to deliberately mislead the consumer into spending their money and in return all the consumer gets is a bitter experience, poorer and the sense that they have just been ******. After all MR/MRS MD/CEO we all know that had there been a little message that popped up saying “Please be aware that there is a 150MB fair usage policy associated with our 24 hour uncapped data bundle, thereafter your speed will be throttled at 128kbps” I, and I dare to say most of your customers, would never have gone through with the purchase which means MTN, you stole from me!