HapticSimian
Honorary Master
MTN, why must you be so impossible to deal with [-]sometimes[/-] most of the time? 
So, a few weeks ago I receive my monthly love letter from MTN and immediately notice that the bill is about R350 higher than usual. Eventually I manage to log into MTN[-]In[/-]Active, only to see that the wife's been charged R300-odd for PSD calls on her Blackberry. Of course, I find this rather perplexing. She hasn't been on YouTube once after getting a thorough scolding from me on day one of having the ****ing Blackberry - "NO STREAMING, EVER!" The contract has now been running for about 7 months or so and apart from the odd R1 or R3 for, I presume, MMS downloads not an additional cent beyond the BIS charge has been spent on data.
So, I lodge a query with MTN. I carefully explain that 1) the usage pattern on the phone was no different this past month than the 6 before that, and 2) not only is any mention of any additional APNs on the phone removed (and the setting disabled), but the WAP service book has also been deleted. At this point I hazard a prediction to the wife - there will be an investigation on the billing charges, we won't hear from them again, and in the end we'll simply have to pay or have our lines cut.
I phone back a week later, only to be told that the billing department's turn-around time has been extended because they're battling with a backlog of queries. I guess that's what happens when your billing system is ****ed. But, I leave it for another week... A week later lo and behold, the query regarding the data usage has been closed. I once again explain my concerns, adding that the person I spoke to the previous week at their Blackberry 'Help'desk confirmed my suspicions exactly - without the WAP service book & additional APN settings, the phone should not be able to incur data charges beyond BIS and MMS. I am assured that the chap who closed the query - a certain Saamesh Govender if I recall - will contact me soonest. I am given the additional assurance that my payment is only due on the 14th (tomorrow) and it will all, and I quote, 'hopefully be sorted before then'. So I wait...
Another week goes by and, like magic, ****-all happens. This past Friday I resign myself to the fact that today will once again bring with it a battle with MTN. However, on the way back from dropping the wife at her office, I decide to stop in at the folks for a cup of coffee. I arrive to find an empty house, which immediately has me worried - my parents are not spring chickens any more, and I wasn't aware of them planning on going anywhere at 6:30 in the AM. I pull out my phone & ring my Mom's number only to be greeted by "Your service has been suspended, please call your service provider"... What the tucking ****? It's the 13th, a day before my payment is due according to my damn service provider's own call centre staff, and I have an unresolved query. And my line gets suspended? With me having a near blemish-free payment history of something approaching a decade? **** you very much, MTN.
So, to summarise:
1. Your billing system is still borked.
2. Not with a single query, ever, has any of your employees exhibited the decency of picking up a damned phone & phoning me with an update. Have your employees seen phones? Do they know how to work them? Or do they just sit around all day ignoring emails from the call centre staff - I'm looking at you, Saamesh Govender.
3. The ineptitude of people like Saamesh Govender here causes normally mild-mannered folk like me to go nuclear when speaking to poor call centre staff like Nombulelo and her colleague, whose name now escapes me, that have patiently listened to my rants over the past 3 weeks... and especially this morning.
4. My folks are fine - early-morning car trouble - no thanks to MTN.
So, a few weeks ago I receive my monthly love letter from MTN and immediately notice that the bill is about R350 higher than usual. Eventually I manage to log into MTN[-]In[/-]Active, only to see that the wife's been charged R300-odd for PSD calls on her Blackberry. Of course, I find this rather perplexing. She hasn't been on YouTube once after getting a thorough scolding from me on day one of having the ****ing Blackberry - "NO STREAMING, EVER!" The contract has now been running for about 7 months or so and apart from the odd R1 or R3 for, I presume, MMS downloads not an additional cent beyond the BIS charge has been spent on data.
So, I lodge a query with MTN. I carefully explain that 1) the usage pattern on the phone was no different this past month than the 6 before that, and 2) not only is any mention of any additional APNs on the phone removed (and the setting disabled), but the WAP service book has also been deleted. At this point I hazard a prediction to the wife - there will be an investigation on the billing charges, we won't hear from them again, and in the end we'll simply have to pay or have our lines cut.
I phone back a week later, only to be told that the billing department's turn-around time has been extended because they're battling with a backlog of queries. I guess that's what happens when your billing system is ****ed. But, I leave it for another week... A week later lo and behold, the query regarding the data usage has been closed. I once again explain my concerns, adding that the person I spoke to the previous week at their Blackberry 'Help'desk confirmed my suspicions exactly - without the WAP service book & additional APN settings, the phone should not be able to incur data charges beyond BIS and MMS. I am assured that the chap who closed the query - a certain Saamesh Govender if I recall - will contact me soonest. I am given the additional assurance that my payment is only due on the 14th (tomorrow) and it will all, and I quote, 'hopefully be sorted before then'. So I wait...
Another week goes by and, like magic, ****-all happens. This past Friday I resign myself to the fact that today will once again bring with it a battle with MTN. However, on the way back from dropping the wife at her office, I decide to stop in at the folks for a cup of coffee. I arrive to find an empty house, which immediately has me worried - my parents are not spring chickens any more, and I wasn't aware of them planning on going anywhere at 6:30 in the AM. I pull out my phone & ring my Mom's number only to be greeted by "Your service has been suspended, please call your service provider"... What the tucking ****? It's the 13th, a day before my payment is due according to my damn service provider's own call centre staff, and I have an unresolved query. And my line gets suspended? With me having a near blemish-free payment history of something approaching a decade? **** you very much, MTN.
So, to summarise:
1. Your billing system is still borked.
2. Not with a single query, ever, has any of your employees exhibited the decency of picking up a damned phone & phoning me with an update. Have your employees seen phones? Do they know how to work them? Or do they just sit around all day ignoring emails from the call centre staff - I'm looking at you, Saamesh Govender.
3. The ineptitude of people like Saamesh Govender here causes normally mild-mannered folk like me to go nuclear when speaking to poor call centre staff like Nombulelo and her colleague, whose name now escapes me, that have patiently listened to my rants over the past 3 weeks... and especially this morning.
4. My folks are fine - early-morning car trouble - no thanks to MTN.
Last edited:
