MTN no longer runs a conventional contact page. Its help section is a self-service knowledge base and its own site pushes you towards the MTN app, the USSD menus and online chat. The call centre still exists and MTN publishes its number inside its own terms and conditions documents, which is where the numbers below come from.
MTN call centre
- From an MTN number: 135
- From any other network: 083 135
Those two are the same call centre reached two ways. There is no separate published number for contracts, upgrades or cancellations; they are all options behind the same line. Self-service alternatives MTN points to are the MTN app and the USSD menus, including *234# for rewards.
Cancelling a contract early
This is the query that brings most people here, so it is worth being precise. Under the Consumer Protection Act you may cancel a fixed-term agreement at any time by giving twenty business days written notice. You do not need a reason and the network cannot refuse. What you remain liable for is a reasonable cancellation penalty plus anything still owed on the device.
- Give the notice in writing and keep proof of the date it was sent, because the twenty business days run from then
- Ask for a settlement figure in writing, itemised into the device balance and the cancellation penalty
- Cancel the debit order only after the account is settled and confirmed closed, not before, or you create arrears
- Get written confirmation that the contract is closed and the number released or ported
Upgrades and migrations
An upgrade is a new agreement, not a continuation of the old one, so the term restarts and the cancellation clock restarts with it. Ask what the new term is, what the device portion of the instalment is, and whether the tariff you are being moved to still exists at that price after any promotional period ends. A migration to a different price plan mid-term is a separate thing again and may carry its own conditions.
RICA and ownership
- A SIM must be registered under RICA to the person using it, and a contract cannot be transferred informally between people
- A cession of a contract to someone else has to be done through MTN with both parties present or documented
- Never hand your identity document to someone else to take out a contract on your behalf; you remain liable for it
If a complaint is not resolved
- Raise it on 135 or 083 135 and insist on a reference number, then escalate through the MTN complaints procedure published in its help section
- ICASA regulates mobile network operators and takes consumer complaints once the operator has had a reasonable chance to resolve it
- For a billing or credit agreement dispute, the National Credit Regulator handles complaints about credit agreements