Having been a customer of MTN in South Africa for many years
(around 14 years); you would think I would pick Mascom; however, the cracks in
our relationship were already developing.
I cancelled my four accounts in writing on 31 March 2011 but
that was entirely ignored because I foolishly believed the company actually
read its emails. So, I went off to a ‘service centre’ – that only took two
hours and twenty-five minutes waiting in the queue. In writing, (I still have
copies of the paperwork) I cancelled three accounts with immediate effect because
the contracts had expired. The fourth account was under contract until December
2011, so that was cancelled for December and the amount required to run the
account paid in full in cash.
The company persisted in running debit orders against the closed
accounts until 29 July 2011. Despite numerous emails, the attitude was ‘prove
it’ – so I incurred more costs by asking the bank to produce ‘official’ bank
statements, as the copies from the website were ‘unacceptable’.
It then took until 20 January 2012 to refund the amounts, plus
costs.
But, oh what a surprise, I discover the company has decided
to run the debit order on the fourth account that should have been closed in December
2011, as per its own written instructions. So here I sit again, two debit order
runs on a dormant bank account, costs incurred and my good company banking
record trashed consistently by a ‘service’ provider.
The response – “Thank you kindly for the cancellation
request, kindly see attached I have logged a USD for the credit to be passed.”
It’s not a cancellation request, it’s a demand to return stolen money, as it is theft to take money
from a bank account after an account is cancelled. As to my emails stating that
the second debit order was run at the end of January 2012, the silence is
deafening.
In a recent article, MTN chairman Cyril Ramaphosa states, “MTN
and the Board remain committed to providing the highest quality of services and
products to our customers…” perhaps, he should check out the actual delivery of
that statement, as it is not even close.
So ‘hello Orange’, go away Mascom, MTN and any of its
subsidiaries.
