MTN - Mobile Telephone Networks South Africa Reviews 86

I got a new pay as you go sim. I activated on a phone but did not give the number to anybody, not even family and friends. I am swamped with spam marketing calls, clearly MTN is selling numbers - not acceptable

Needed to do a sim swap with my number that I have with this service provider . Bad service, didn’t help ! How are social security questions containing what was the last amount of airtime I bought about instead of doing their job like checking what the actual number was RICA(Ed) by . Changing networks because wth. Do actual security questioned like checking the locations I’ve mostly used my SIM card in and stop asking unnecessary questions that no one can remember. NOT HAPPY AT ALLL!!!!!

If I could give a negative star rating I would. MTN is a large black-hole that sucks the light out of your day with their endless incompetencies.

I've never been an MTN client and only recently I tried them out, a decision I've come to regret heavily.

I make it point to make sure I never sign any contract and only have a pay as you use set up with network providers. MTN is no exception.

In July I got the R269 month to month home Wi-Fi. I was told I'll need to pay pro-rata for the remaining days in the month as I got it mid month. So I did, I paid R240 odd. Then not even a month in, a week later I'm charged R511, not once not even twice but 6 times. The cost of those transactions and reversals on my account was R270. They still haven't paid.

When I called and asked why they said I owed them for the month I just started and the next month. Even after agree to pay on the 22 of each month. Then on the 22nd I was told I owe R750 odd. How? I have no idea.

When calling them you'll learn the names of each person in each department as they send on a journey of horrible and disgusting customer service. Using the words customer and service should be illegal if you intend to refer to MTN.

The branch will be just as enlightening, you'll send documents and proof of being done dirty and still you'll never hear from them. They told he, "yes sir but you have to pay R750". Pigs will fly and sun will turn blue before I do that.

I've sent a complaint where it, according to them, takes 14 working days to sort out with you or at least contact you regarding it. We're in September now and still nothing.

Now I keep getting SMS'S about orders I haven't made and business products I didn't order. I have used the router as they disconnected it abd somehow I still owe these greedy, sticky fingered, good for nothing pieces of horse excrement!

In short save yourself some time and money, you're better off starting your own network providing company than use MTN.

I am beyond frustrated with the terrible service from MTN and the security risks that come with it. On Sunday, I received an SMS (ref: 1110000) stating that an order had been submitted on my account, and by Monday, my SIM card was no longer working. It kept saying "No Service." After trying the SIM in multiple devices and restarting my phone as instructed by MTN customer service, the issue persisted.

I called MTN several times, and after multiple calls and no resolution, I was informed on Tuesday that someone had performed a SIM swap on my number without my consent! I was forced to take time off work to visit the Brooklyn branch to resolve the issue. At the branch, the manager casually mentioned that unauthorized SIM swaps happen "a lot lately"—a serious concern about the security of MTN’s systems. To add insult to injury, I was told I would have to pay for the SIM swap that I did not even request!

The consultant at the branch was clueless and wasted 45 minutes doing nothing productive, only to tell me the system was offline. After promising to get back to me, I’ve received no follow-up. I’ve made over 10 calls to MTN, spoken to different consultants and supervisors, and every time, I’ve been told my issue would be "escalated"—yet nothing has been done.

It’s now Friday, and I still don’t have a working number. My phone number is linked to my bank accounts, meaning I can’t make payments or receive OTPs, which is a huge security risk. Despite being a loyal MTN customer for over 5 years and paying over R5000 per month, I’m shocked by the lack of service, accountability, and concern for customer security.

I strongly advise anyone considering MTN to stay away from this provider. Their systems are unsecure, and their customer service is abysmal. This experience has been nothing short of a nightmare, and I’m considering switching to another provider. MTN, fix your service and security before you lose more loyal customers!

Fraudulent Subscriptions Ignored by MTN

I have repeatedly messaged MTN regarding fraudulent subscriptions charged to my account without my consent. These fraudulent subscriptions include:

* Boksquad: R90 per month
* YellowDot TV: R150 per month
* D Games: R60 per month
* Superme: R150 per month

This adds up to a staggering R450 per month or R5400 annually,.


It is infuriating to see a company like MTN exploit its customers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. MTN is not just ignoring complaints—they are actively participating in what feels like theft. I urge other customers to check their bills closely and hold MTN accountable for any unauthorised charges.

I am utterly outraged by the appalling service I have received from MTN. My initial application for an iPhone was a complete disaster. The contract I received was filled with errors, and despite sending it back with all corrections highlighted, MTN has failed to address these issues.

The billing is a nightmare – I was promised a monthly installment of R339.00, but I’m being charged well over that. Additionally, MTN assigned a phone number that doesn’t match my request, and I was told there’s nothing that can be done to fix it. This level of incompetence is infuriating.

To make matters worse, I am being charged for data and airtime that I am not receiving. MTN’s response to my repeated complaints has been dismissive and unprofessional. Their handling of my case has been nothing short of a frustrating and infuriating experience.

The lack of professionalism and the constant runaround I’ve received are unacceptable. My experience with MTN has been incredibly disappointing, and I would strongly advise others to be wary of their service, it will have you in absolute shock.

My daughter had insurance claim rejected, after any armed robbery in our House. They now come up with stupid policies they never to as talked about when to t as taking insurance.

Apparently I am being charged R4, 559.97 for "Promo Service Fees"
1) I have no attached device to this number for the last 4 years maybe
2) It's a line only contract
3) Can never upgrade as they never have stock this is why my contract has not been upgraded
4) When it was upgraded though in August 2022, it was done illegally as MTN allowed someone to use different company documents and signatures to buy phones under my business

Anyways my average bill is R1, 200.00 but they want to charge me 4k for something "PSF" more like we just want to steal from our clients :) and PSF is their way of doing it...

MTN's LTE 'cancel anytime' is a HUGE LIE!

My husband and I subscribed to their LTE service in January 2024, lured by thier "cancel anytime" promise. Our first payment was made on January 29, 2024. We only utilized the service for about a month, as our fiber connection (with a different provider) was operational by February.

We disconnected the router on February 29 and sent MTN an email requesting cancellation on March 1, 2024. We considered this email our cancellation request, initiating the '20-day notice period to cancel a contract'.

Despite this, we were invoiced for March, and we reluctantly paid at the end of the month. During this period, we tried to return the router to the MTN store in Fourways Mall, but they refused to accept it. After multiple emails, we finally returned the router, receiving proof of delivery and IRMS number near the end of March. The reason we keep paying these invoices is because MTN absolutely RUINED our credit score after we didn't want to pay for March (despite us not even getting the contract on credit, it was more a no pay, no service contract - but no they tanked our credit score so we were forced to pay.)

Now April comes and they wrongfully invoiced us AGAIN, which we were forced to pay under threat of credit score damage. The same happened in May and now June as well, with yet another incorrect invoice. We have paid for FIVE MONTHS worth of LTE when we only used it for one month.

We have called customer service, DM'ed MTN on Twitter, emailed the complaints department NUMEROUS times, but they are no help and either promise it will be cancelled soon, or just keep saying they'll 'escalate this'. We may be forced to consult a lawyer or ICASA soon as MTN refuse to cancel our contract, and actively force us to pay every month. MTN is full of lies, bad customer service and will just steal your money from you!

I am finding it impossible to cancel a debit order of R85.00 that is going through my account from MOBILES PLUS - MTN's reseller. I cancelled my MTN contract several years ago. Despite weekly calls to Mobiles Plus where they assure me that the debit order will be cancelled, it goes through again every month. The call centre employees will not provide me with any means to escalate this issue to a person or division within the organisation or to provide me with proof that I signed up for this service, which is apparently for a FAX service that I signed up for in 2010! Comments would be appreciated.

Very bad service from MTN, after I canceled my contract and payed the quote given I'm still being charged a random amount of R696, which I've emailed them about for the past 3 months and get a standard reply that it's been sorted. Absolutely disgusted with them I am at my wits end, i feel they are scamming me!!!

I have tried for the past month to upgrade my MTN contract and there are just too many issues. On every phone call there is a new issue and the 3rd party Mondo just ends the call and does not even try to assist.

When going through the online upgrade it says you get the Galaxy watch 6 for free when upgrading online but when they phone you there is an additional charge.

On my last phone call I was informed that my account is now blocked due to ***** and that I have to make yet another call to another department and submit my ID.

Well done MTN you jave made a sime upgrade process absolufe hell. I am done and will be cancelling my MTN contract after 15 years.

Tried to take out a cellphone contract at MTN Woodlands Mall Pretoria, was told my information would be verified where after I can collect the phone, but was never called and I never got the phone. Now I am being billed since January for a phone I did not receive. I have reported and followed up with MTN about this issue since January but it is still not resolved. It seems they could not care less and they are still deducting money from my account every month. Think twice before using them as your service provider they do not care about customers

I requested my MTN contract to be cancelled in January 2024 already and even paid the early contract cancellation fee on the 20th of January 2024. I sent the proof of payment and spoke with a whole lot of MTN consultants both verbally and in writing. The reason why I spoke to a whole lot of consultants verbally is because of poor network coverage, some consultants were rude, and I had to call multiple times until I was able to reach the end of the call properly and my request to be actioned accordingly.

I was shocked last night when I received a billing invoice from MTN saying I owe them after I had requested more than a month ago for the contract to be cancelled. Will this contract ever get cancelled as per my request without any hesitation and having to make endless calls to get assistance. This is really frustrating.

MTN South Africa is at best described as a scam. We bought a SIM card at the airport in Cape Town for 30 days and were surprised that after two weeks all the 150min were gone! It turned out that they send a lot of garbage to my SA phone number and even though I just deleted them and even blocked the numbers they charged every time minutes to my account. Same for just looking up the balance. So stay away from this company and go with Vodafone!

Mtn is a rip off to clients. I used to purchase data for R299 for 17 gigs then it changed to R12 gigs for the same price. Then mtn consultants started calling to say we noticed this and tried to sell a better upgrade on contract. All of a sudden there is no made for you deals . For the R299 I can barely get enough, nowhere near 12 or 17 gigs. Trust me for struggling, people like us this is not a rip off but an insult . Wish I was never with mtn , not like mtn cares anyway, cos they making the money they need to , off innocent hard working people. What will one person matter. Wish this world had decentcy, clearly not cos a big brand like mtn can take common people for inhumane beings ... no values ! I'm sure it's gonna be a case of o just one idiot complaining for mtn. But the world should know!

You go for cheap and you receive cheap service. What's the difference between MTN customer service to that of the government?

I had a router problem which was new and could not connect. I bought it online, apparently Online and Branches don't belong to the same MTN company.

Their employees, including the manager, simply told me it was not their problem that my router which I didn't buy from them was not working. How was I supposed to know I was going to a different service provider with the same name brand?

I stood my ground, till the manager asked to see the router, only to realize the problem was that it was not RICAd, which they could do.

Did I have to go through that mental and emotional anguish before you even try to find out what's the issue? Never again!

I would definitely rate MTN Zero if I could. I've been waiting for my device to be delivered for almost two weeks now, which is way over the "3 - 5 Working days". Communication is less than satisfactory, and calls are being dropped.#APPALLING SERVICE.
Makes you wonder do these companies not do relevant checks before using a courier service or do they just go for the cheapest one, coz @Courierit is pretty useless quite frankly.

We did a trade in at mtn. It was a special and I gave in my old phone and traded it in for a new one(R900 original amount and after trade in R300) its been 2 almost 3 months and they just don't fix the amount. We drive every other day(it's 20min drive from us) it just doesn't get fixed. We work from our phones and each time we get cut off because of mtn...

DO NOT USE MTN EVER!!!!!! YOU WILL BE SCAMMED, THEY REFUSE TO CANCEL MONTH MONTH CONTRACTS, INSTORE PERSONEL REFUSE TO HELP, I GET DISCONNECTED EVERYTIME I CALL. RATHER SIGN UP WITH VODACOM OR ANY OTHER NETWORK REALLY. MTN IS A MONEY HUNGRY ENETRPRISE EAGER TO GET THEUR HANDS ON YOUR POCKETS AND DELIVER HORRIBLE SERVICE.