Zero engagement, lacking integrity.

I have been a client of MTN for around 20 years, and in all this time never ever missed a payment and even felt happy with their service that included various upgrades and new contacts. THERE WERE NO HIDDEN COSTS OR FEES EVER. The amount agreed upon was always honoured. However in February I received a call from MTN saying that I’m due for an upgrade. The person calling me (Shakira from MTN Summermobile) offered me a contract for minutes and data only asking if I’m still happy with my current phone. This sounded like a great option to me in a time where finances are tight and my phone is perfectly fine. I asked her numerous times to confirm the amount that I will be responsible for and the amount of R399 per month plus a once off admin fee of around a R100 was mentioned - more than once. On 15 March 2021 when my debit order is due, MTN attempted to take R3,807.08 from my account. I did not have that amount available, so my debit order bounced.

After a call to customer care I was told that it is a migration fee. This was the first time this amount or fee was ever mentioned to me. I logged a complaint saying that this was at no point ever mentioned to me and I would like to know what this is for, and when I was supposedly informed about it. The only communication I received in response to this was a sms saying that this case is now closed. I find your manner of dealing with my complaint lacking in every way MTN – do you think this is an appropriate response to my complaint logged? Upon phoning MTN to find out what this sms meant, I was told my account is now blocked.

I have since phoned again and again and up to date -10 April 2021- have received no engagement, apart from a ‘we will listen to the original recording’ and a threatening sms saying I will be blacklisted. Funny that – after paying you religiously for 20 years you have the audacity to threaten me with blacklisting. If you bothered to listen to this recording you would have heard that this was never mentioned. Dare I say you know it was never mentioned to me ?

As a self-employed person that have felt the severe impact of covid in my business, I would NEVER have agreed to a deal that involved these costs – and quite frankly I don’t see why anyone would... It makes no sense. Your behaviour lacks integrity, is devious and shows zero interest in your clients. I AM STILL WAITING FOR A RESPONSE FROM YOU MTN. Not a single person from your company has been able to tell me • what this migration fee of thousands is • why it was added to my bill • why I was never informed about it prior to giving consent to your proposed upgrade

And I see here on Hello Peter that I’m not the only person on the receiving end of exactly the same thing.

This is an ugly power game against the little people that have been part of your story for a very long time... Suddenly I am treated as the dishonouring client, despite my numerous efforts and hours trying to figure this out. While actually yóú MTN have been totally absent in this whole fiasco, dishonouring your credibility as a service provider.