Complain. How to get a discount on mobile communications in Russia

If you don’t like something about your operator, I have one question for you. What are you waiting for?

Only criticism makes the world a better place. Just a kind word will not make your operator work well. Cursing an iPhone is also ineffective, it’s not his fault.

Do you think everything will change tomorrow? Mythical technical support will never arrive on its own. And he won’t give you a popsicle. you need to put pressure on them and not let anything get away with it.

You understand why, right? On the scale of millions of subscribers, your problem is invisible. And therefore, the indifference of operators is quite logical.

Here is one example of how any “jamb” can turn into a profit. Thanks to the reader who wished to remain anonymous.

An example of a discount obtained from an operator (Megafon)

You don't have to look far for examples. On May 19, MegaFon experienced a global cellular outage. During almost the entire working day, millions of people were left without normal communication or used it intermittently.

MegaFon issued an official apology and offered compensation - free movies or traffic packages. Both did not please the users very much, but they did not offer anything else.

It turned out that you had to simply press down so that the operator could hear you.

A reader of iPhones.ru complained to MegaFon and, instead of official conditions, demanded a discount on service. I wanted 50% right away. Imagine, it was a ride - maybe half as much.

Screenshots of correspondence:

After the reminder, the discount on the tariff was actually applied and will now be active for six months.

Saving money thanks to one negative message is about 1200 rubles. And it only took one complaint.

MTS promotional codes for November

About the MTS online store

PJSC Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is a leading telecommunications group in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe. The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since July 2000 under the ticker symbol MBT, and on the Moscow Exchange since November 2003 under the symbol MTSS.

The concern provides wireless Internet access, mobile communications, broadband and pay television to more than 100 million customers. MTS wireless networks today provide best-in-class speed and coverage throughout Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Belarus. The company continues to grow through product innovation, investments, mobile payments, IT solutions and e-commerce. In particular, the online store of household and digital appliances is among the leaders in Russian e-commerce electronics in terms of sales volumes.

The MTS online store has thousands of smartphones, laptops, accessories and other electronics at low prices. The retailer constantly launches profitable promotions and generates promotional codes for discounts.

Popular online store products

The most popular items in the online store are new smartphones from Apple brands,

Xiaomi and Samsung. Wireless headphones and smartwatches of the same brands are in constant demand, as well as power supplies, chargers and external batteries. Also among the top sellers are wired headphones from JBL, Samsung, portable speaker systems and speakers with the JBL voice assistant, as well as Yandex.Stations, Mail.ru Group capsules with the Marusya voice assistant and other smart acoustics. Also in the category of smart devices, Sber C37 devices, Xiaomi Mi Handheld vertical vacuum cleaners, smart automatic feeders, HIPER pet waterers and much more are often purchased.

Loyalty program

Customers who have issued an MTS CASHBACK card in any salon or office of the bank of the same name have access to cashback of up to 20% on MTS goods, 12% for orders in SberMegamarket, 5% for the purchase of clothing and for food delivery from restaurants and 1% for all other purchases. The accumulated cashback can be spent on orders in the online store and on other company services in the amount established by the program rules. You can register for the service on the company’s website and in the MTS Cashback application by downloading and installing the software on your smartphone.

Payment Methods

You can pay for goods ordered in the online store online with a bank card or in installments from bank partners when making a purchase. It is also possible to pay in cash, by payment card upon receipt and in installments at the company's showroom.

Delivery terms

If courier delivery is selected, an employee of the online store will call the client to agree on details within 30 minutes after placing the order. If the order is placed between 22:30 and 09:00, the operator will call you back from 9:00 to 12:00 the next day. Products ordered from the assortment in the customer's showrooms are delivered free of charge. If you need to transport goods from other regions, you will need to place an order over a certain amount to receive free delivery.

Goods located in the warehouse of the showrooms in the city where the client is located are delivered on the day the order is placed. In other cases, the courier delivery time may be extended. Pickup from MTS communication stores is also available.

Return Policy

At the time of courier delivery and when receiving the goods at self-pickup, the client must carefully inspect the quality and completeness of the goods. After signing the shipping documents, claims on this issue will not be accepted.

If the product does not suit the buyer for any reason, he can return it within 7 calendar days, provided that the product remains in its presentation, original packaging and consumer properties. It is also necessary to save shipping documents in electronic or paper form.

Apple devices can be returned within the period indicated above, provided that the gadget’s operating system has not been activated. Devices supplied with a SIM card (modems, routers) cannot be returned or exchanged.

To return an unsuitable product, you need to contact the nearest store and fill out a return application. After inspecting the goods for compliance with the return conditions and agreeing on the refusal request, the funds will be returned in cash. If payment was made by card, the money is transferred back to the card account within 10 days after acceptance of the goods.

How to connect minutes, internet or ringtones to MTS for points?

1. Log in to the system.
2. Go to the “MTS Bonus” tab.
3. Expand the “Spend points” category - offers are automatically sorted here and only available rewards are shown. If you want to view all the options, you should open the “Rewards Catalog”.
4. We find the desired option, you can use the sorting on the website.
5. Click on the title to expand detailed information.
6. Click “Get”. If you don't have enough points to activate the prize, the button will not be clickable.
7. We are waiting for notification of receipt of the application and a message with successful activation of minutes, Internet, SMS or discount.

You can also clarify the information via message:

To do this, send an SMS with the code of the desired reward (you can find all codes on the website) to number 4555. This request will automatically activate the selected prize.

Why can't I activate my points?

There are also situations when a subscriber cannot receive a reward. Activation is not available if the reward period has expired. This usually refers to offers from partners or ringtones. Standard packages of messages, minutes and Internet do not disappear over time.

Also, you cannot receive a prize if you have exceeded the number of rewards. Each user is given a certain number of prizes that can be received within the current month. If the limit is exceeded, you will have to refuse one of the rewards or wait 30 days.

And the most common reason for refusal is insufficient points. If you lack even 1 bonus, the service will not be available.

How to accumulate bonuses

Bonus accruals under the terms of the program are made for the use of communication services, consumption of mobile Internet traffic, home Internet and television. For every 5 rubles spent, receive 1 point. When shopping in the operator’s stores, points are also awarded - 1 point for every 3 rubles spent. In addition, you can accumulate points using the MTS Money card. Every purchase or payment made using this card is rewarded - 1 point for every 30 rubles spent. But this is not the limit - after accumulating more than 3,000 rubles spent on the card, the subscriber will be able to receive 1,000 additional points.

Attention! For each friend referred to the program, the consumer will receive an additional 50 points.

MTS also does not forget about the birthdays of its subscribers - on this day the user will receive additional bonus accruals. The length of participation in MTS Bonus is also important - the longer it is, the more accruals.

What is "MTS Cashback"

As is the case with other similar services, the cashback system from MTS does not have significant changes - it is a program through which participants receive a refund when purchasing goods and services from program partners.

Thus, participants who register in the system have the opportunity to make purchases in their favorite stores, whose customers they have already been for a long time, on more favorable terms, receiving additional cash back. It is noteworthy that the list of program partners is quite impressive and is available in the “Partner Directory” section at the following link. The available partner companies are grouped here into separate categories, in which you can find:

How to set up “Automatic payment by threshold”

I’ll tell you using the example of the “My MTS” application, through which I connected the option myself:

• Open the application and go to the “Invoices and Payment” menu.
• Select “Autopayments” - activate “Autopayment”.
• Choose a balance at which automatic replenishment of the account will be carried out (personally, I set it to 50 ₽).
• Indicate the payment amount by which the balance will be replenished (I put 500 ₽).
• “Link” the card with which you will top up your MTS account.
• All. A little joy is guaranteed at the time of monthly subscription fee collection from savings on communications throughout the whole year.

Detailed description from MTS

“MTS bonus” - how to participate

The MTS Bonus program will bring only continuous benefits to consumers. The more actively a subscriber uses the operator’s services, the more points he receives. Accumulated bonuses can be exchanged for pleasant rewards, the list of which will be discussed below. Now let's talk about how to register in the program. All MTS communication consumers can activate “MTS Bonus”. It does not matter which tariff plan is used - postpaid or prepaid. So, how to become a participant in the program?

You can connect to the program using the following convenient methods:

1. Register on the website bonus.ssl.mts.ru - this method is the simplest and most profitable for the subscriber. It is necessary to go to the above address and fill out a short user questionnaire, for which the consumer will immediately be awarded 100 bonus points. After filling out the form, you need to check the “Participate” box. It is not necessary to indicate your email address, but it is better to register it and confirm it, because 10 additional bonuses will be awarded for this. A user’s application to participate in the program is reviewed by the operator within 2 days, but, as a rule, this is completed much faster – 2-4 hours.
2. Using the USSD command - for this, the user needs to send the combination *111*455*1# from his mobile phone. The consumer will be notified of successful registration in the program via SMS.
3. Via SMS message - to participate in the MTS Bonus program, registration for which does not require payment, the subscriber only needs to send a “blank” SMS to the short number 4555. The application will be accepted within 5 seconds. The operator will notify the user about the completion of registration using a response message.

Note! It is recommended to register on the MTS Bonus program website. Thus, the subscriber is guaranteed to receive 100 bonus points (and another +10 for confirming the email).

Why retain subscribers at all?

Operators are fighting for customers because there are few new subscribers. People already have numbers that they have been using for many years. According to an employee of one of the large mobile operators, most of the new subscribers are one-day numbers. They do not benefit the company in the long run.

The situation with the lack of new clients became especially severe in 2020. The number of subscribers decreased by 1.3%. In absolute terms, this is 3.5 million people. The coronavirus is again to blame: people have become less likely to visit communication shops, and due to the closure of borders, the flow of migrant workers and tourists has catastrophically decreased. Against this backdrop, old users who constantly pay have become an even more valuable asset.

The decline has slowed in recent years, but operators predict it will continue.

Subscribers had the right to switch to another operator while keeping their number back in 2013. It is unlikely that many would have imagined that this would become the basis for the development of consumer terrorism. But conditions have changed, and for several years now operators have been spending energy on retaining customers. The main question is, are they really suffering from it? And what are the real costs of providing communications if subscribers are given free unlimited Internet without any problems or discounted up to 70% of the original cost of the tariff?

To get 250 + 15 rubles for your mobile phone under the MTS cashback program

1. You can register for MTS cashback with the number of any operator. However, you can only top up your MTS balance with accumulated cashback.
2. Follow the link to the MTS cashback program website and log in to your personal account.
3. A form will appear where you need to enter the promotional code kcDB4ZK4 or uw3uvJbM for which they will give 250 rubles. and an email for which they will give 15 rubles. Total 265 rubles.

4. Since their website is buggy, the form may not appear immediately (or “Request not completed” may appear), so either follow the link again , or click on the “My MTS Cashback” section and enter the promotional code and email there. Try several times, I succeeded on the 7th try.
5. To get 250 rubles cashback you need to make a purchase using the service for the amount from 500 rubles. Payment for some services through MTS Money is suitable, for example, for housing and communal services, replenishing the balance of Tele2, Beeline, Yota. You can also make a purchase in one of the MTS cashback partner stores, for example, on Aliexpress.

6. Cashback is accumulated in your personal account. You can spend it on communications or buy a certificate for purchasing goods in MTS stores.

Activation recommendations

How to activate bonuses on MTS from your phone or computer correctly? To do this, you need to first familiarize yourself with the list of services provided:

1. For calls within the network (50-300 min.).
2. For minutes to other operators in Russia (25-100 min.).
3. For SMS messages (25-100 pcs.).
4. For MMS messages (10-50 pcs.).
5. For Internet traffic (500 MB).

Please note that the bonus program is constantly being adjusted. That is why, to obtain up-to-date information, you should first contact the operator or visit the corresponding section of the company’s official website.

Can I exchange points for money? The cellular network does not provide this opportunity to subscribers. This is necessary to eliminate the possibility of converting points into real money for withdrawal from the account.

How to quickly make a purchase for a minimum amount to receive cashback from MTS

The easiest and fastest way is to register with the same number in MTS Money and make payment for services from there in the amount of 500 rubles or more.

For payments in MTS Money you will receive 1% MTS cashback. With the exception of replenishing Megafon, MTS, the “Banks” section, replenishing wallets and bank cards. Maximum 2000 rubles per month.

To activate the bonus 250 rubles, the easiest way is to pay for utilities without commission or top up your Tele2, Beeline or Yota balance.

You can pay from a linked card or from your MTS phone balance. The MSS code for utilities is 4900, so if you pay with a linked card, you will receive 1% MTS cashback and another cashback from your bank (see also how to pay for housing and communal services with cashback).

How to spend MTS cashback

After MTS cashback is credited, it can be spent in two ways.

Cashback in your MTS personal account:

1. Assign the goal “recharge your phone account” by indicating your or any other MTS number. The money will be transferred to a special phone account. From this account they will primarily be spent on communications, options, tariffs and services. They cannot be withdrawn by electronic payments.
2. Buy an MTS certificate for 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1500 or more rubles. You can use this certificate to buy goods in MTS stores or in the MTS online store.

Certificates have specific application features:

1. The certificate can only be spent on one item in the receipt.
2. You cannot combine two certificates of the same denomination.

Life hack: To buy one product and apply several certificates, you need to tell the store that you have several certificates of different denominations.
Employees can apply these certificates one by one. The validity period of the certificate is the end of the quarter following the quarter in which the certificate was issued.