Thane: Vodafone asked to pay Rs 7,000 to man for deficient service

The Thane District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked Vodafone Idea to pay Rs 7,000 to a consumer for deficiency in service by not converting his postpaid SIM card to a prepaid facility.

The complainant, Javed Yusuf Shaikh, from Thane city, told the commission that he wanted his postpaid SIM card to be converted to prepaid for which he followed all procedures, paid the charges for the same at a Thane gallery and got a new SIM card also on March 9, 2014.

He was promised that the SIM card would be converted to prepaid within two to three days which did not not happen.

In between, the telecom company (then Vodafone Essar Limited) issued bills to him for the postpaid service and the complainant paid it for uninterrupted service.

Despite the payments, the company in July 2014 disconnected the service on the said mobile number, he said.

As the company failed to pay heed to his request for conversion of the SIM card from postpaid to prepaid, he approached the consumer forum seeking Rs 9 lakh as compensation and Rs 20,000 towards the litigation cost from the telecom company and the gallery in Thane.

The opponentscontended that despite several correspondences and calls made to the complainant for submission of payment receipt in PDF format, he failed to comply. Therefore, the complainant's application for converting his above mentioned mobile number from post-paid to pre-paid could not be processed.

After hearing the two sides, the commission's presiding member S Z Pawar and member Poonam V Maharshi in the order issued earlier this month said the opponents failed to provide the necessary service to the complainant and also compelledhim to run from pillar-to-post for the redressal of such a small issue.

"We have no hesitation to hold that the opponents rendered deficient service and also indulged in unfair trade practice towards the complainant," the commission said.

Hence, the opponents are jointly and severally liable to pay the complainant a compensation of Rs 5,000 towards mental agony and harassment, and Rs 2,000 for the litigation cost within 60 days from receipt of the order, failing which they shall be liable to pay six per cent interest on the compensation amount of Rs 5,000.

The commission also ordered the opponents to covert the complainant's SIM card to a prepaid facility.