Serious billing problem with 3G service not attended to

I WISH to formally publish my absolute disgust at the manner in which senior management at MTN Fairlands head office fail to acknowledge receipt of numerous emails dating back to June, highlighting the problem relating to a billing anomaly for our 3G service.

Whenever I phone the MTN customer care enquiries line to discuss my problem the call is answered with: “Sorry, the line is not available at present, please try again later,” and this can go on for 30 or 40 minutes.

The issue started with our original 3G service being terminated as a result of an excessive account being received for data being logged for which we were totally unaware until our service was terminated.

This matter was referred to a senior billing queries administrator at the Fairlands accounts building on June 24 who highlighted that our traffic usage and bill was for 12 942,6GB for April or May.

He was sympathetic to the point of stating that because this was a data charge for which we were unaware, and he would arrange for a credit of at least 50 percent of the bill and that on receipt of this I would have to pay the balance.

After much haggling we eventually, after two months, received a credit of 28.3 percent of the original bill, I then (very reluctantly) immediately paid the balance in order to clear the deficit and be reconnected.

This gentleman recommended that we immediately go to the Boksburg MTN office and enter into a new contract for the capped MTN 10GB wifi system for R299pm and not have any more billing problems, so we thought.

Suddenly our service was again cut in September.

No sense calling customer care.

I then went to the Boksburg MTN office where I presented my problem with a very helpful consultant with who I had updated my contract for the wifi system.

He informed me the reason was that there was an unbilled invoice generated in the MTN system after my settling the original balance, of which I was totally unaware.

He sent a mail message to senior persons at MTN head office to have this matter rectified.

To date there have been six follow-up messages sent to the MTN head office – both from the Boksburg consultant and a very strongly worded message from myself appealing for somebody to attend to this matter.

The consultant at Boksburg has also sent copies of every correspondence to MTN and still no response.

So frustration reigns supreme.

Discussing our dilemma with friends recently they have also had very similar aggravating issues with MTN for which they are also awaiting some response.

One reads in the press of the new MTN appointments at megabucks packages and how efficient this service provider is.

Sorry, this must be one of the most inefficient organisations in South Africa today.

Do customers’ legitimate correspondence mean anything to anybody?

I and many others do not think so. Peter Wyche