Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ankur on March 2, 2012 at 10:37am

Hi Sachin,

It is indeed true that when these companies call for the 1st time, it is normally their own employees posing as lawyers. Don't panic. But in the long run if you dont take any action, they can go to court for bill settlement. Obviously they cant get you arrested, but yes they can create lot many problems and frustrations. Our IT act is strong in dealing with these kind of problems but the problem is that we dont know how to approach. For all telecom companies, there are different levels of grievance mechanism. 

1st level - Talk to customer care executive and register a complain from your side that the bill is high and you have not used it. Ask them to tell you the details of calls / data usage, etc, etc. Do remember to take a complaint number, and jot down the name of CC executive and date & time of call.

2nd level - If they dont listen then go to nodal office. Its number, email id and everything is mentioned in all service providers website. Again take ultimate care in taking a complaint number. 

3rd level - If still the problem remains unresolved, then you can approach Appellate authority. Again you will find his details in website of RCOM itself. 

It is mandatory from TRAI to mention this complete procedure of grievance handling on each and every service provider's website. I have personally faced problems from many service providers in past. Normally when the CC exec is unable to resolve your complaint, ask him to connect to his senior. At this point nearly all the complaints get resolved. Maximum I have gone to nodal office of Airtel, and I got the resolution whitin 2-3 days. 

Hope you get your resolution soon. 

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Permalink Reply by Sachin Kamaladharan on March 3, 2012 at 1:30pm

Awesome replies Rodinhooders... love this place for this reason. I can't think all of you'll enough and above all Alok for building this forum. Kudos!!

I think its time we need to have something in place that can prevent more people from getting scammed the way I got. Lets get creative to understand ways in which we could circulate this information outside to the world and f**k these telecom companies who are trying to swindle us for their losses.

Its now become my priority to ensure no one else goes thru this trouble. Any ideas?

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Permalink Reply by Nishant Agrawal on March 18, 2012 at 1:29pm

I've heard exactly the same twice before. Only the amount was bigger.

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Permalink Reply by Aditya Gupta on March 21, 2012 at 4:40pm

I faced a similar issue with Vodafone. Problem is most of us get 'phat' at the sound of legal notice and think we do not have the resources to fight it out in the court and submit. Idea is not to show you are weak and going to get bullied around easily. When I received a legal notice (though the amount was really less I refused to give in on moral grounds), following is the mail I shot back to them. Post that we had a constant exchange of mails but they knew I wouldn't let them bully me around. Finally I got the matter settled on my terms.

My only advice to user would be the following:
>> In case of dispute,simply switching your service provider is not the solution. It is postponing a problem. Call the customer care, bring your problem to their notice and record the details like date, time and complaint number.  

>> If the amount is very small, be rest assured even the service provider would not be keen on dragging you to court. End of the day they have bigger 'bakras' to hunt on. So even they are looking for a settlement but this is just a tactic.

>> Be very clear in your communication and as far as possible have your communication over mails as it serves as a permanent record. In case you have had a phone conversation, take the concerned person's email id and shoot a mail across summarizing your conversation. This would help you furnish records of your conversation for future reference.

>> DO NOT PANIC WHEN YOU RECEIVE A NOTICE. IF YOU HAVE ANY LAWYER FRIENDS CONSULT THEM ELSE YOU HAVE A GREAT FORUM LIKE THIS WHERE YOU CAN ADDRESS YOUR PROBLEM AND ENOUGH PPL ARE THERE TO GUIDE YOU AROUND (provided you are on the right side of the court). Cheers
  
>> Very important. Unless it is a settlement in real settlement sense, insist on taking a letter stating that the outstanding dues have been cleared. Make sure they do not write "towards settlement" or something similar as this might effect your CIBIL (credit) score.
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MAIL 1:
Dear Thakur B Singh,

For the reasons mentioned below,  I'd like to believe the client you represent is extremely incompetent and am extremely dismayed to receive such a notice.

1) Since June, Vodafone has been unnecessarily charging me a monthly fees of Rs 150 against some download charges that I have not subscribed for. When I noticed the extra charge, I very promptly called the customer care and bought the issue to their notice and after a constantly following up with them for over a month, they agreed there was an error on their end and decided to waive off Rs 550/- (Rs 150 per month for download charges for the month of June, July and August and Rs 100 for late payment for the month of August since there was a delay on their end to clear my dispute). On September 26, 2011, I was given  an assurance from the customer care that Rs 550/- was waived off and requested me to make the payment of balance amount which I did (receipt number 1312975, dated 27/9/2011 for amount Rs 2448/-).

However in my next bill, I noticed that an amount of Rs 550/- stood outstanding against arrears. When I bought the issue to the notice of the customer care, the concerned representative expressed ignorance and was extremely rude. When I asked him to check the complaint logs against my number, he refused to do so. In spite of the uncooperative behavior, I still took my chance and called the customer care again the next day. This time representative was cooperating and told me she had registered my complaint and promised a call from the concerned department within 24 hours. However I did not receive any such call and within a few days my phone was disconnected. Angered by the insensitivity expressed and incapability of the customer care, I decided to not pay my bill till the disputed amount was cleared. However there was no follow-up from Vodafone's end.

2) On December 13, 2011, my father, Mr Rakesh Gupta sent  a mail to the nodal officer of Vodafone, Mr. Anirudh Joshi, explaining him the entire matter. He assigned Mr. Venkatesh to look into the matter and after understanding our problem, he said he would revert back within 2 days with details from the company's end. However the same has not been done yet from his end.

So if you see, in the entire matter there has been absolute callous behavior on the end of your client, Vodafone Hyderabad and its incompetent customer care and not the customer. I had been subscribing to the number 998****** since the last 5 years and over the years considering my usage and and payment, my credit limit has been increased to Rs 8300 from Rs 1000 that was allowed when I first subscribed to the number.

I have been facing a lot of problem due to the switch of numbers as many people who are not aware of the change in number and have not been able to get through me. I have cooperated enough with your client but if the matter is not resolved by your client within next 3 days along with an apology letter for all the trouble caused to me, I would be moving to consumer tribunal and filing for damages of Rs 1,00,000 at the same time to can resort to a suitable measure to resolve to take.

Thanks,

Aditya Gupta

MAIL 2 (sent 4 days later):
Dear Thakur B Singh,

As you would notice, in spite of having replied to your mail in time, there has been no follow-up from Vodafone's end. Hence the customer cannot be blamed for the callous attitude.

I request you to ask your client to follow up more promptly.

Thanks

Aditya Gupta

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Permalink Reply by RComCare on March 22, 2012 at 12:49pm

Hi Sachin,

This is to inform you that your concern has been noted. Please share your contact number with us so that we are able reach you. Our team is eager to help you.

Cheers,

RCOMcare

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Permalink Reply by Satish Vijaykumar on March 22, 2012 at 12:51pm

Haha... Why don't you guys share your numbers as well as the fraud lawyer??

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Permalink Reply by Suresh Mansharamani on March 22, 2012 at 12:52pm

Jai Ho Rodinhood

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Permalink Reply by Sachin Kamaladharan on March 25, 2012 at 1:36pm

Very true Satish. RCom want us to share our numbers but you can't share yours as well as the "fake" lawyer who called up threatening arrest. I wonder is this the eagerness you'll are extending to help. Anyways, my contact details are: 91 98807 20640.

Sachin

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Permalink Reply by Satish Vijaykumar on March 25, 2012 at 7:21pm

I think you missed the context.

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