Frustrating Experience with Airtel!

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vb86

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Dear All,

I am enclosing the mail i sent to Airtel today. It sums up everything. Before this, I have called them several times and spent close to a few hours explaining the problem to a new executive everytime. Please have a look:

Dear Sir,

Please refer to our account numbers AAA and BBB registered under the name of Mr. ABC. If you can pull out the details, you will note that:

1. Both these connections are used in the same premises.

2. Both are DSL 1 mbps connections where are regular billing amount is Rs. 1699 + tax = Rs. 1874.

3. Both these connections have the same billing cycle.

Everything was going smooth until we received the following bills:

1. Bill no. AAA-1 for account AAA – 17/01/2010-16/02/2010.

2. Bill no. BBB-1 for account BBB – 17/01/2010-16/02/2010.

We were shocked to note that we were incorrectly charged Rs. 500 extra as PC Secure charges on both bills. The amount reflected as:

PC Secure Charges: Rs. 600.

PC Secure Discount: Rs. 100.

So effectively, we were charged Rs. 500 excess in both bills. We immediately got in touch with the Airtel customer care via telephone and pointed out the same to them. They refused to acknowledge the fact that we were billed incorrectly and did not issue us a waiver. However, they offered and removed the PC Secure Service. We on the other hand made it clear that we would not pay for any service that we have not approved or opted for. We however made the regular payment for Rs. 1874. I had made numerous calls to the Customer Care Department and spent a few hours explaining the issue to a new executive everytime, however, there was no action taken on the issue apart from the assurance that the service had been disconnected.

Please note the details for the next bills:

1. Bill no. AAA-2 for account AAA – 17/02/2010-16/03/2010.

2. Bill no. BBB-2 for account BBB – 17/02/2010-16/03/2010.

When we received the following, we noted that the difference amount from the previous bill had been carried forward to the current bill along with late payment charges. Please note that we have never faced any late payment charges in any of these accounts until now. However, what was more shocking was that we were again charged Rs. 500 extra apart from the charges carried over from the previous bill, as follows:

PC Secure Charges: Rs. 600.

PC Secure Discount: Rs. 100.

Since then, every month, this amount is being carried over to the next bill and a late payment charges are being added to every bill. We however continue to make the regular payment of Rs. 1874 each for both accounts, in time, every month.

Now, recently, we have started receiving calls, SMSes and even recorded messages from Airtel that our services will be terminated if we do not clear the dues. I have again tried calling the Customer Care and tried explaining the situation to them but they refuse to offer any waiver.

After all this, yesterday, I Googled PC Secure and from what I understand, it is a rebranded F-Secure Security solution which Airtel offers. What I also understand is that Rs. 600 is an annual charge. What I don’t understand is:

1. Why were we charged for the same when we haven’t opted or activated these services at our end or asked you to do so.

2. Why were we charged twice on both bills for an annual charge? We shouldn’t have been charged for PC Secure even once!

We have also assured Airtel that there is no question of any misuse at our end since our connections are not on WiFi and are used by me and my uncle personally. However, they insist that the service can only be activated at our end.

We would like you to look into this matter immediately. At our end, we will continue to pay Rs. 1874 each every month as we have been doing every month. However, we maintain that we will not pay for any service that we have not approved. We sincerely hope that you can take action on this matter immediately before the DSL services are blocked from your end. We are tired of explaining the situation to a new executive everytime and do not have the patience to do so anymore. We can also assure you that if the services are terminated on account of due charges, we will immediately stop paying for all future bills. This is our last effort to explain the situation to Airtel.

Warm Regards,

vb86.

This mail was sent to them a few minutes ago. I have edited all the personal data from the mail. The rest is the same. I don't think I can do anything more from my end. They keep insisting that the services can only be activated from my end. I use Avast and have also installed the same on my uncle's computer. We are the only people who use these connections and have been using avast for more than 15 months. I don't know what else I can do from my side. But I will certainly not pay for anything that I haven't opted for.

Thanks for reading.

I forgot to mention that both are unlimited data plans in the mail.
 
You're being too nice mate. Its high time you contacted the Nodal Officer and registered a complaint!
 
^^

Call up the customer service. And stress that you want to make a 'complaint'. They give you a complaint#. Things should move quicker.

Tell the agent/handler on the line that "please type as I speak slowly". Then make the typist input exactly what you say, and repeat it back to you. Cause usually they dilute the importance of the complaint, via listening and interpreting as per their SoPs.
 
I've made several complaints and received several call backs to close the case. But, the standard reply is, "Sorry Sir, since PC Secure can only be activated at you end, we can not offer you any waiver".

How am I supposed to prove that I did not activate the service twice on 2 separate connections? If I really wanted to buy a paid antivirus, I would have bought the Kaspersky 3 license pack for Rs. 500 approx. Somehow the Airtel CC feels that customers are generally tech-handicapped. They usually say that "You may have activated the service by mistake. It was not done at our end".
 
Just discontinue their service and don't pay the bill. Their customer service is a hit and miss. But escalation has always been an issue. This is a billing issue that needs a rollback and they are very very hard to come by.
 
The same problem for me from Airtel. From Jan they billed me Rs.85 as PC Secure Calls which is nothing but online Anti virus which i never requested from them and they say i had requested them to install. And i shouted at them W The **** how the hell you can bill without asking my permission.

i called them to Waive the amount for 4 months past. I also replaced standard modem to wifi modem worth Rs.1500 through cheque and in the next bill these Stupid idiot people at Airtel again billed this same amount, and again one more is i paid the last bill correctly on date again these airitel scoundrels bullshits billed me Rs.50 as late payment.

These clearly shows how these Money looters loot people in silence. @ vb86 please call airtel idots to waive off these bill or pour hot coffee at their head.

IF one more time they do wrong billing i would decapitate their head and hang it in the electric pole like Mexican drug lords or Al qaeda in iraq do.

What the ****KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK AIRTEL. YOUR LOOTING PEOPLE MONEY> U SUCKERS> HELL IS THE PLACE FOR YOU>
 
Actually, sometimes, when you apply for a connection, the executive who comes to activate the connection downloads PC Secure, sometimes without your knowledge. In such cases, PC Secure starts reflecting from the first bill. In my case, this problem occurred much later and Airtel's reasoning is that it cannot be activated at their end, hence no waiver.
 
For me the same happens. I call up CC, they register a complaint or correct the amount instantly & give me the final amount to pay.
 
vb86 said:
Actually, sometimes, when you apply for a connection, the executive who comes to activate the connection downloads PC Secure, sometimes without your knowledge. In such cases, PC Secure starts reflecting from the first bill. In my case, this problem occurred much later and Airtel's reasoning is that it cannot be activated at their end, hence no waiver.

Do you currently have any antivirus installed on your PC?
 
There is something called as appellate authority for mobiles services( vodafone), I am sure there is something similar to this is in Airtel ,call them and blast.
 
The Airtel PC Secure is a piece of waste it doesn't provide any secure against any threats or virus for the user. It doesn't work like retail Anti virus, It was just introduced to add some bill amount to each user.
 
Metalspree said:
There is something called as appellate authority for mobiles services( vodafone), I am sure there is something similar to this is in Airtel ,call them and blast.

Yes, but for that, I need to get a response from the Nodal Officer first. Once I have those details, I can contact the Appellate Authority.
 
No saar not needed.Just call him and blast left and right .I had some issues with activating international roaming on my friends airtel no and my vodafone no,We both called the appellate authority and blasted them they did it in 2 mins.

Let me search the details for you.

Here are his(Nodal officer) numbers
080-41115338. 080-41112348

Read this manual of practices for airtel .You can get all the info about airtel nodal officers and appellate authorities for all cities in India

Airtel Manual of Practices
 
vb86 said:
Yes, but for that, I need to get a response from the Nodal Officer first. Once I have those details, I can contact the Appellate Authority.

They usually take a few days...but you will get a response from them, followed by a call to make sure the issue was addressed.

Rest assured, Airtel will fix this. :)
 
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