There are few things as indispensable as a mobile phone in today’s times and the telecom companies know this. So like a well-trained warrior taking advantage of his opponent’s weaknesses, they hit us where it hurts — either in the weak network coverage or in the exorbitant billing process.
Most mobile phone users have, at some time or the other, been shocked by the figures on their mobile bills. Most of the times you can’t figure out why the bill is so high, at other times you can spot discrepancies in your SMS charges or phone calls. Sometimes you are also charged for things like caller tunes without having even asked for them. Well, if its any consolation, you are simply one of the thousands of users suffering this torture.
Says Sindhu Ashok, “I had a fixed plan of Rs 349. Everything was fine for a couple of months when I suddenly get a bill for around Rs 1,850. I had the shock of my life. I called up the customer care and they told me that I had dialled a special number and availed their astrologer services for 90 minutes. I had to make about 30 odd calls and shoot of a million mails before the issue got rectified and they reversed the bill charges — after three months. The advantage network operators have in these cases is that they can claim that their call monitoring system traced a call or something and the customer has no resources to contradict them.”
Reshmi Aneesh, a banker, agrees and recounts a similar tale of being unfairly treated by a leading service provider. “I was getting a new sim card. So I went to a customer care centre, paid my outstanding dues and asked them to discontinue the services on that card as I was not going to be using it any longer. They took down my request and all but after a month, I was sent a bill for Rs 400. For a sim card which was not even in use. I was furious and made many phone calls but to no avail. The outstanding amount on the bill kept increasing and finally, the company even sent me a legal notice. I refused to budge. Finally, I was able to get through to a senior manager and within two weeks, I got a mail saying that all outstanding dues have been cleared.”
These are just a few among the many experiences that customers have faced. Contrary to the popular maxim of ‘customer is king’, the telecom companies seem to be running their own fiefdom. There have been people who have been charged exorbitant rates for SMS services, caller tunes and other value added services. “I was wrongly billed for a caller tune service which I had not even activated. The thing is, it is so easy to request for a service or an added benefit but to discontinue it is a nightmare,” says Vipin V, a professional.
“Also, there are some companies that don’t inform the customer when the data pack gets over and instead, continue charging from the main account. This is a very common grouse that I have seen.”
It is not as if customers have no options for grievance redressal but if you consider the running around and time involved, you would rather just let the companies keep your money — and they are more than happy to oblige.
Published 15 August 2016, 18:19 IST