Advice needed wrt billing

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Sparky_za

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Hi Guys

I see there are tons of threads about incorrect data billing, so I'd like to know what everyone has done about it? Do you just pay the bill and wait for the credit?

My situation : Bill for last month is over R6000. Around R4000 of this is billed incorrectly as "out of bundle" when clearly none of my bundle has been used. I logged a call on the 08/01/2010 and have now been told that turn around time is 25 working days!

I honestly can't afford to fork out that kind of cash when they readily admit that there is a problem with their system.
 
My bill was double as well because of out of bundle calls (which should have been in bundle). Luckily, my bill was only R1500.

From what I maneged to gather in my fighting, they will only look at your bill query if you have paid it. They take long, like over 2 weeks long (and apparently longer now that they are having so many issues).

Log the call via 808, email to [email protected] and on hello peter. Keep the reference numbers and follow up every week.

It's a huge stuff up. It took me about 25 phone calls, 4 visits to MTN Service Center in Morningside, 6 HelloPeter posts and 10 emails to get someone from MTN billing to call me and sort it out. Don't miss their call, because they will never call back (and they call from private number so you can't even return it).

All I can do is wish you good luck. MTN sucks. And we are powerless as consumers!
 
broken1 said:
My bill was double as well because of out of bundle calls (which should have been in bundle). Luckily, my bill was only R1500.

From what I maneged to gather in my fighting, they will only look at your bill query if you have paid it. They take long, like over 2 weeks long (and apparently longer now that they are having so many issues).

Log the call via 808, email to [email protected] and on hello peter. Keep the reference numbers and follow up every week.

It's a huge stuff up. It took me about 25 phone calls, 4 visits to MTN Service Center in Morningside, 6 HelloPeter posts and 10 emails to get someone from MTN billing to call me and sort it out. Don't miss their call, because they will never call back (and they call from private number so you can't even return it).

All I can do is wish you good luck. MTN sucks. And we are powerless as consumers!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would have to mostly agree.

I now have a bill of R9000 (R6500 out of bundle) payable end of January 2010. I also logged 4 queries last year and another one on Friday. It's useless, they do not call back, ever.

As for me, I am preparing to be cut as they dont/wont listen to reason. It seems the customer is always wrong. I have had it with MTN. Thinking of going Vodacom prepaid. As you say, it seems hopeless.

Luckily I cancelled my DO last year already, as I had to put a stop payment on MTN for 4 months running.

Surely we must be able to fight back somehow?
 
Yeah, I have also cancelled my D.O. so I'm not worried about them just taking the money, but as broken1 states they don't even want to bother looking at the mess until you have paid the outstanding balance.

This is absolutely crazy, I can't believe how they are shafting us over this. Knowing it is their fault, they should suspend all payments for data, like that is ever going to happen. A company actually admitting they are at fault and trying to help the consumer out.
 
Go to your bank and have the amount reversed. Then pay into their account what you worked out that you owe them. Keep printouts of all your MTNActive billing with your daily MB remaining plus all your bills sent by them.
The following month they deduct the moerse amount again plus your new amount. Have this reversed again and pay in the new amount if you agree with it.
This amount outstanding now is the query amount that you know that you don't owe them.
They will now cut you off. You go prepaid.
This takes a few months with no reply to your query.

Now their lawyers send you a pink letter. I skeem they moffies.
Disregard it. They then send you a "please call me" Don't call.
Nothing happens after that as they know that they can't explain the screwed up bill to the magistrate as not even MTN can understand it.

Now you cool and go to VC.
 
...lol@marco

sigh... I fear that your "solution" is going to be the only plan of action.
 
Oh, I forgot.
Their lawyers will state that they will give you a bad listing on ITC.
Email them to say that the bill has been queried and give them the ref no.
Also state that they cannot do so until the query has been resolved.
This gives you time to go over to VC.
If they have listed you, then email ITC and explain to them that the bill has been queried. They have to then immediately remove the listing.
Good luck
 
marco said:
Go to your bank and have the amount reversed. Then pay into their account what you worked out that you owe them. Keep printouts of all your MTNActive billing with your daily MB remaining plus all your bills sent by them.
The following month they deduct the moerse amount again plus your new amount. Have this reversed again and pay in the new amount if you agree with it.
This amount outstanding now is the query amount that you know that you don't owe them.
They will now cut you off. You go prepaid.
This takes a few months with no reply to your query.

Now their lawyers send you a pink letter. I skeem they moffies.
Disregard it. They then send you a "please call me" Don't call.
Nothing happens after that as they know that they can't explain the screwed up bill to the magistrate as not even MTN can understand it.

Now you cool and go to VC.
Click to expand...

Hehe, good one Marco. "please call me", now thats precious. HEHEHE.

Yes, I have in the past only paid what I owed, and yes, I stopped the payments at the bank every month, and yes they cut all my lines. But then...I made a mistake, I said "OK" I will pay off the amount that I KNOW is not mine if you reconnect my phone (that was around R3500). You see, my wife runs a business from home, and she needed the phone, and the b@stards already cut me, so yes, I made a mistake, I thought I did the honourable thing.

But no more my friend. This is it. By the time the "please call me" arrives, I will already be a vc customer. As you, their "legal process" dont scare me none!
 
marco said:
Oh, I forgot.
Their lawyers will state that they will give you a bad listing on ITC.
Email them to say that the bill has been queried and give them the ref no.
Also state that they cannot do so until the query has been resolved.
This gives you time to go over to VC.
If they have listed you, then email ITC and explain to them that the bill has been queried. They have to then immediately remove the listing.
Good luck
Click to expand...

You have done this a few times before hey?

Well, atleast now we have a plan of action!

Which vc prepaid options to consider?
 
Sainet. Works with MTN AND their data counter works. Prepaid at R149 for 500MB bundle.
 
Exactly. Don't let their legal dept. scare you. Their lawyers contract a lawyer in your magisterial district to represent THEM. He will know nix about your scrambled billing . So you are in advantage.
This is why MTN will not go the legal way with the over billing. They know this. I have asked their lawyers to expedite my case as I am going to England soon but no reply.
It sickens me when people say that you can't take on big CO's. The law has now changed to the consumer's favour.
 
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