warning , calls to MTNACTIVE (1761) not FREE

3Gee

3Gee

Executive Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
5,599
Reaction score
1,682
MTN is billing clients when calling the MTNACTIVE help line , on your billing statement appears as calls to 176 and not 1761 , you are charged for this calls :eek: :eek: :confused: :confused:

MTN your service really SUCKS
 
called 808 , confirmed that all clients calling MTN ACTIVE have been billed , u need to call in after your billing run to log a billing query , this ranks amongst the worst service i have recvieved ,
 
3Gee said:
MTN is billing clients when calling the MTNACTIVE help line , on your billing statement appears as calls to 176 and not 1761, you are charged for this calls
Click to expand...


MTN announce record profits for the last quarter as a result! :rolleyes:
 
Shame....

We should really help MTN out here by calling this number more often. They are not as rich as Telkom yet you know.
 
Similar thing happened to me just now after calling some helpdesk. I started with the "173" number (without the 083 thing, so it shouldve been free) and then went to the data services option where i held for 10 minutes [no idea what the direct number is], all i know i paid R20 for that call.
 
Last edited:
Now This Is Criminal

diabolus said:
Similar thing happened to me just now after calling some helpdesk. I started with the "173" number (without the 083 thing, so it shouldve been free) and then went to the data services option where i held for 10 minutes [no idea what the direct number is], all i know i paid R20 for that call.
Click to expand...


WAKE UP MTN - STOP IT OR I'LL BUY OUT OF MY CONTRACT NOW THAT I DON"T NEED A MOBILE PHONE. YOU MAKE TELKOM LOOK SWEET AND INNOCENT WITH THESE TACTICS!
 
And where has the MTN rep gone, if I may ask? I would like to hear his / her opinion. Maybe the complainants should pm him... see what happens.

I doubt anything would, actually...
 
Interesting

Cube said:
And where has the MTN rep gone, if I may ask? I would like to hear his / her opinion. Maybe the complainants should pm him... see what happens.

I doubt anything would, actually...
Click to expand...

They disappear into the woodwork when we complain.. like telkom
 
I received a SMS stating that I have been "upgraded" to something and that
I should phone 1716 (they got the number wrong in the SMS) for more
information. Normally when you receive an "upgrade" you get charged for
something you don't want... so I called immediately to try and find out what
I was "given". I asked what the costs involved were and was told that there
are no costs involved!!!

I have recently (last 6 months) only had bad experiences when dealing with
MTN. I've been a (happy) MTN customer for about 5 years now, but don't think I will be for much longer unless they start to rectify their errors and start listening to their clients. 1 July (when they have to have number portability running) is not far away…
 
I am in the same boat

andres101 said:
I received a SMS stating that I have been "upgraded" to something and that
I should phone 1716 (they got the number wrong in the SMS) for more
information. Normally when you receive an "upgrade" you get charged for
something you don't want... so I called immediately to try and find out what
I was "given". I asked what the costs involved were and was told that there
are no costs involved!!!

I have recently (last 6 months) only had bad experiences when dealing with
MTN. I've been a (happy) MTN customer for about 5 years now, but don't think I will be for much longer unless they start to rectify their errors and start listening to their clients. 1 July (when they have to have number portability running) is not far away…
Click to expand...

I was a happy MTN customer but am having second thoughts. I also can't access my previous bills on MTN active - only current. Pity they didn't lose them before I paid :-) The big problem with switching from MTN is that you have to go with Telkom on the other options (with 50% of Vodacom being TK owned and then Cell C using Vodacom's infrastructure and no doubt paing a mint for it...) - correct me if i'm wrong.
 
Last edited:
vodacom is cheaper - but the calls are slightly better on MTN.
 
808 from a contract phone is free, but 173 is not.

173 from a prepaid phone is free, but 808 is not.

173 is the helpline for prepaid, while 808 is the contract equivilent.

The charging for certain types of phone calls has to do with the outsourcing that MTN does. PM me if you would like to contact someone at MTN who can explain it to you.
 
And You thought the Telkom stable was bad!

I guess I'm charging a cell has a whole new meaning with mtn. :mad:


I called 808 and Ray advised that I needed to call back after the billing period had closed, on 28th. Obviously my time is not importent.

What a whole new level on dis-service. I guess their Christmas parties were a whole lot more than R3,000,000 and that this is how they are going to recoup the cost.

/Edit

From the Contact us page:

Customer Care Helpline Dial 1761 from an MTN Cellphone :confused:
Click to expand...

Edit/
 
Last edited:
Make a complaint on Hellopeter. I did this recently, and the next morning I was called by several people at MTN (all dealing with the seperate parts of my complaint). They sorted out every problem I had, or gave reasonable explanations for certain things I had questioned. They also made plans to provide my with a free upgrade of my SIM card (from 16k to 32k) after I pointed out that charging for this was especially punishing for loyal subscribers.
 
The charging for certain types of phone calls has to do with the outsourcing that MTN does. PM me if you would like to contact someone at MTN who can explain it to you.
Click to expand...

Thats no excuse [even with an explanation]. MTN provides a swamp of helpdesk numbers which directs you from one number to another without you knowing at times and they never properly inform you that you are being charged at a given moment.

Heck the whole "this number is free for prepaid and that number is free for contract but not vice versa" is already dodgy if you ask me [confusing to say the least]. Still as a consumer i can't care less what the "technical" or "adminstrative" reason might be, if consumers need special instructions as to which numbes to call on which simcard then MTN is begging for a permanent stream of complaints.
 
In the case of 1761 they clearly state that you have to call this number for the callquest replacement. NOWHERE do they state 'call to this number are charged for @ R10000 / sec' which would be very simple for them to do.

I am also under the impression, which apparently can only be confirmed on 28/12, that they will reverse the charges to 1761 IF I REPORT A BILLING QUERY

Wow, this is so underhand - they are obviously counting on the majority just to pay up, Seems close to an unfair business practice very close to the illegal opt out type of thing.
 
I agree with Diabolus.

But please inform me as to why I would need to phone MTN wrt MTN Active? I have not done so and found no reason for it. After submitting one query to sort out some personal detail errors, everything seems fine. I say this with great caution, however.
 
Richard from MTN called me just after 09:00 to say that they were investigating my comments. A bit later Malcolm of MTN called to offer their apologies. They are reversing the charges on my account as well as all accounts who called 1761.

This is a really positive handling of an unhappy client and I feel that they should receive some kudos for the reaction.

It's a pity that it took a call to hellopeter to elicit the response, but again it's good that they monitor the site and react to it.

Thanks to Debbie2 for the suggestion. Much appreciated.
 
@bekdik , has any credit been passed on your account , as of 24/12/2005 @ 10H23 no credits has been passed to my account for calls made to 1761
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X