Unethical Pratices by Service provider(Vodafone)

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Gaurish

Galvanizer
Hi,

I am very pissed off with Vodafone. They are charge just anything in name of Value added services.

Case 1:

Got a Promotional SMS few weeks back That participate in contest by answering a simple Question. Charges Rs.6 per SMS. i did.

a sms Came in reply "Service is Down at the monent, Please try again later. still i got chraged for Rs.6/- for sending a sms :@ :@ :@ Still i ignored considering a isolated case

Case 2:

watched a TV Commercial of Vodafone regarding Alert Service. The scroll on screen read "Dial *123*143# and get Love guru alerts on your phone. Charges @30pm". In curiosity of what exactly this Love guru alerts were I dialed that number(I never wanted to activate this service rather wanted to know what actually it is). to my horror service got activated WITHOUT confirmation. and balance gone:no:

Still after 5 days didn't receive a single alert or got my balance back:@ :@

Now, I Decided to file a Compliant to Vodafone via E-mail.

Here is the mail which i have sent and waiting for response

To Nodal officer @Rajasthan

cc: Customer Care

Subject:Unethical & Restrictive Trade practices followed by vodafone regarding Value Added services

Hi support,

I am prepaid customer of Vodafone and have some complaints.

I am Not Happy with the way you guys handle VAS services.

~~(Sorry for Long e-mail, this is very long story, please read it with patience)

The INCIDENT:

On a lazy afternoon of 15 May 2008 a Guy just watched a TV Commercial of Vodafone regarding Alert Service. The scroll on screen read "Dial *123*143# and get Love guru alerts on your phone. Charges @30pm". In curiosity of what exactly this Love guru alerts were he dialed that number(He never wanted to activate rather wanted to know what actually it is). to his horror service got activated WITHOUT confirmation. in a Instant his balance reaches negative

As,his mobile number was his ONLY communication channel(even there in no alternate contact in case of emergency) is disconnected. Tries to call Hepline & is very Hopeful that Vodafone customer care is means it when it says "Happy To Help" .Disappointingly response is negative from helpline. The executive says it not possible to reverse the balance. the call agent just tells the procedure to deactivate the service, saying you have to Do it yourself by *123*144# .I am surprised how possessional your agents are they don't even care to give a Case-id/Docket no for tracking of issue.

When trying to deactivate the service. The screen reads "Hello, you gave not subscribed to Vodafone Alerts - Love Guru service."

~WHAT THE HELL!!

Then what did i pay for??

Previously got a Promotional SMS few weeks back(don't remember details) That participate in contest by answering a simple Question. Charges Rs.6 per SMS. i did.

a sms Came in reply "Service is Down at the monent, Please try again later. still i got charged for Rs.6/- for sending a sms .I ignored considering a isolated case. by you guys just repeating mistakes again & again. many of my friends have also faced this.
Some questions i would like to ask

* Activation doesn't require any confirmation whereas deactivation requires explicit confirmation from users. WHY can't this be termed as a Unethical pratice?

* Why Call agent Failed to Give me unique case-id, so that i could further track the case. is this how professionals behave

* if i haven't received any alerts then why & by whose permission my hard earned money is wasted.

Don't you care about your subscribers money?

What i want:

* Please give a Case id/Complaint Number as Confirmation of Receiving my complaint

* Change the Process of Activation of VAS for Prepaid subscribers, make it more subscriber friendly.

* As a token of acceptance, of the above said condition. Please refund the fee which charged for absolutely nothing back into my account.

* Public Announcement about change of Process of Activation of VAS for Prepaid subscribers

Lastly, I hope Vodafone will understand me and do the needful

Over & out

Regards,

Gaurish Sharma

Mobile: 9xxxxxxx

Just wanted to know how many of you have been charged like this?

and Please tell i am right or wrong by filing a complaint just for mere Rs.30:S
 
rofl , buddy that is the case with all the service providers , forget vodafone alone ... airtel sends me caller tune charged in bill so many times simply , and they activate it when they call me ( automated call of called tune) i simply cut it and it gets activated coz i picked it . then trashing and lots of trashing and again after 2 months same thing
 
200mph said:
rofl , buddy that is the case with all the service providers , forget vodafone alone ... airtel sends me caller tune charged in bill so many times simply , and they activate it when they call me ( automated call of called tune) i simply cut it and it gets activated coz i picked it . then trashing and lots of trashing and again after 2 months same thing
Click to expand...

so your are trying to say that, We should just ignore this this & keep tolerating Unethical Practices?
 
All these companies have Do not call registration which makes sure you dont receive these stupid promo calls / smses.

If you are interested, keep looking at their site every now and then. All these offers are there anyway. So better register for do not call and be happy.

Thats what I have done.

I only allow banking alerts to be delivered to my phone.

Keep in mind, all these promo offers are just marketing gimmicks to take your money. Sometimes it pays to curb the curiosity :P

My father got charged for caller tunes a while back. We complained, sent fax to the no given and in the bill didnt pay that amount. And it got resolved.
 
see all am trying to say vodafone alone cant be blamed all are the same , call shout yell they correct it . all my bills get corrected as its a fat corporate account ... i hope operator portability comes in soon then these people will get a little lesson when the lose big corporate accounts
 
vodafone is the worst company i have ever seen.....

i switched to vodafone after using airtel for 2 years....

had so much problems that i switched back again to airtel...

vodafone sucks..

-their website doesn't work in firefox (i mean form filling and checking account an all)...can u believe this.....tell me name of one company that doesn't has firefox support.....

-their customer care simply promise you to callback, and guess what, they never ever call....

- their customer care is never reachable....

- and the voice of their computer system is simply irritating.... when the female voice says in such a loud tone " I am sorry.....the vodafone number you are trying is not available at this moment", i feel like throwing my phone at the wall.....couldn't these vodafone as**s choose a soothing voice...
read on further my torturous experience with Vodafone:

here is my email sent and recieved to vodafone :
Shame on vodafone for providing such a bad service, finally terminating my postapaid account (mobile no. 9899314394)
2 messages
deepak gupta <cyneuron@gmail.com> Fri, Dec 21, 2007 at 8:13 AM
To: gurpreet.nodal@vodafone.com, sanjays.delhi@vodafone.com, care@vodafone.com
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: deepak gupta <cyneuron@gmail.com>
Date: Dec 21, 2007 8:10 AM
Subject: Please terminate my vodafone postpaid account no. 9899314394
To: "CARE (DEL)" <CARE@vodafone.com>
After having a horrible experience with you people at Vodafone, i have decided to terminate this vodafone account.

As was the problem previously, i am still not able to talk to customer care at 111 (this has been happening now for last 15 days. its a shame for you people that you couldn't get it corrected it even after my email).

I have also been trying your nodal officer phone no. 9811699317 But this no is always busy or the person doesn't answer from there, or not reachable.

So i am mailing you to request for the termination of my account.

My bill cycle starts at 24th of month. So i am mailing you this in 3 days advanced. if you guys don't deactivate my account this month, then don't expect me to pay rent for next month if you fail to deactivate this account (you all being lazy people with completely screwed up computer systems.)
Having said all that, I must say this again....
" Vodafone sucks big time....."
On Dec 15, 2007 10:05 AM, deepak gupta < cyneuron@gmail.com> wrote:

well despite all what u write here, i am still unable to talk to customer care on 111 or 9811098110 as i write this to you. every time press i 9 when computer on 111 asks me to get further assistance, computer reverts me back to the main menu. thats really shows how well is the state of your computer systems.

you know what its really frustrating when you can not talk to the customer care for consecutive 12 days despite like 10 calls daily. if you don't believe me just check out my call records....

this is too pity for me as well as for you people at THE SO CALLED INDIA'S SECOND LARGES TELECOM COMPANY.....
On Dec 13, 2007 2:09 AM, CARE (DEL) <CARE@vodafone.com> wrote:






Dear Mr. Gupta,
Thank you for your email dated 10/12/07 regarding the bill for your Vodafone mobile number 9899314394.

We sincerely regret the delay in reverting to your e-mail and for all the inconvenience caused to you.

Please find below the details as per your e-mail:

1. We have forwarded your feedback regarding our website to our Specialised Vodafone Care team. We assure you that an
appropriate action will be taken to avoid reccurence of any such experience.

Our records indicate that your password for accessing My Vodafone facility from our website was blocked, hence you
were unable to login. We have reset the password, you will receive the password within the next 24 hours through SMS
on your handset. You are requested to kindly follow the instructions mentioned below to log in to My Vodafone:

Visit our Website www. vodafone.in
Select My Vodafone Select Delhi Region
Enter the password and mobile number
Click on My Bill.
Click on Pay/ View Bill .
Submit

Incase you are still unable to log in, you are requested to kindly provide us with the screen shot of the error message so
that we can get your concern checked and revert to you.

2. We would like to inform you that we have put in a process to encourage our customers to use IVR and other self-help
services. Your number seems to have inadvertently been picked up for the same due to which the access to our
Customer Care executive got deactivated.



We have noted your request to allow your access to our Customer Care. We request you to kindly provide us 48

working hours to get the same done. Your service request number is 799080764.



3. We would further like to confirm to you that, as per our records payment reminders are not active on your number.



4. We are also enclosing your bill as requested by you.



We assure you with the best of our services at all times.



In case you need further assistance, please do call or email us. We'll do our best to assist you.
Warm regards,

Ritu Kaushal
Vodafone Care
Contact numbers*
Vodafone Care : 111 or +91-9811098110
(Toll free from Vodafone mobile phones within the home network)
Fax number : +91-9811098114/9811000009
E-mail : care@vodafone.com
Website : Vodafone





From: deepak gupta [mailto:cyneuron@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 8:00 PM
To: CARE (DEL); GURPREET NODAL (DEL)
Subject: I am Frustrated with Vodafone Service

Hello



i am a one month old vodafone postpaid customer. My cell no is 9899314394 .



I am really frustrated with Vodafone service i have received in last one month and really consider me unfortunate to subscribe to Vodafone a month back, after leaving Airtel (which i enjoyed big time for 2 years). No doubt, i am going to switch back to Airtel in a day or two after such a torturous experience with you people, but i thought i must tell you people how bad your service is.



This bad experience started as soon as my SIM was activated. It took your customer care two days to give my M-PIN number to me.



Then was your website Vodafone . To my great surprise, account registration on your website didn't work on Firefox web browser. I mean, can you tell me the name of a single company in today's world whose website doesn't support Firefox. I had to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. Then was another surprise. My account registration didn't proceed normally. I tried to register so many times, every time, it would revert back to the same page where it asks for password and security question. I called up customer care. He said this problem was specific to my account and he would get it corrected within 48 hrs and call me back. Can you believe , his call never came for even 10 days.



I tried to logon again 15 days later. This time website said, my account was disabled. I called up customer care. Now to my expectation, customer care again promises me to get this thing corrected within 48 hrs and call me back. As i was expecting, the call never came.



Then one day i receive an sms stating that my monthly bill has been delivered at my home and someone by the name of Sunil signed on it. I was amazed. No bill was ever delieverd at my home and there is no one by the name of Sunil at my home.



I called up 111. I wanted to talk to customer care. I kept on pressing 9 after various options to get my call transferred to customer care, but every time computer says " Sorry this is not a valid option". You will not believe, but this thing has been happening for last 6 days.



What more, now even 111 gives me busy 4 out of 5 times.



Now i get a pre-recorded call telling me that the date of my bill payment was close and i should pay the bill as soon as possible to avoid problems later.



I was so much irritated that i can't descibe in words.



I don't have bill. I can't talk to customer care. How do i pay the bill ?



I went to Vodafone store near my house. This person over there tells me that i have to get a duplicate bill by going to Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, which is like 10 kms from my house.



Now what do i do.....





Believe me, i am not going anywhere.....i am not taking any pain for something wrong done by you people....





I can't believe that India's 2nd largest telecom provider sucks such a big time...Even Idea people are better than you.....



People used to say to me that Hutch has really bad service....but i thought that after Vodafone took over it, service must had become great......but i was wrong.....



Today i can't stop blaming myself for leaving Airtel after using it for 2 years....



Regrads





Deepak Kumar Gupta



9899314394

felt like home when switched back to airtel again.
 
You're absolutely correct in complaining abt it..
And please guys dont discourage people who instead of lazing around, actually decide to take thing in their hands and do something abt it..
Instead of just changing the operator if we all would fight these inappropriate practices, it would make our country a better place to live..
Sorry for the lecture, but thought things need to be put in the right perspective..
 
Well Spice(Punjab) had an unlimited app/game/theme download offer for 24 hours. It was like very tiny banner on their wap site, around 10px in height i guess. It didn't mention the price or whatever.. When i opened it, they charged me rs. 50.. just wanted info etc about it, the charges, not the activation. such services need to be straightened. is the govt. watching?
 
hmm, for me , I've never had any, and i mean ANY issues with airtel. i can pay bills without showing the bill- i have postpaid, and if you get a corporate plan, they will suddenly become very helpful - they have a special enterprise services wing which is a lot more helpful and has better service. Havent felt the need for it since I'm satisfied with my current plan, and the number is in my dad's name and i love it :D
 
For dealing with telecom service providers, always put the nodal officer in the CC for any mail.

I got an issue with tata indicom solved within 3 days after putting the nodal officer in CC.

Without nodal officer in CC, the previous issue took 6 months to solve.
 
Me too using Vodafone from 3yrs and not many problems.

And hey gaurish,i think you need to forget what has happened.i know 30 bucks is something that counts but we cant do anything about that.

Just leave it.Why spoil your mood for 30 bucks?
 
[update]

Got a Call from Vodafone office. The lady tried to argue that its my fault saying the advertisement shown in TV was not a place of inquiry its only for activation . Agreed but as per Trai "Service Provider Requires Explicit Confirmation from subscriber before activating any VAS". she looked dumbstruck:P

The lady look tensed(guess some inquiry is on), just kept saying its not the way. you should have called helpline and said. why you went to Nodal Officer. I kept Firm. lastly she banged the phone down:D

please give suggestions, what should i do further?

should i Leave as most members say or proceed further ?
 
This is the reason why always opt for a post-paid connection! That way YOU are in control and YOU are the master! Its very common for Airtel (based on my personal experience) to charge for something that you have never used or for something you have not done (late payment for example)! I simply minus the amount the amount and pay the correct amount and tell them on the face I am not paying a rupee more! Guess what ? They cant do anything about it! I recently got so pissed off with them that I ordered them to disconnect my connection and dint pay that months bill at all!
 
strange..
like a member already mentioned,these value-added services are just marketing gimmicks to make money!

always stick with the 'basic facilities' provided by your network operator..

i've been using Vodafone(formerly hutch) for 3years now..
not many problems whatsoever..
i recharge my account every month without any problems & charged rs.30
regularly for my caller tune..
even my gprs is free now(as opposed to the earlier ,rs.49 rental) & i'm only charged for the amount of data downloaded..

Once,they just charged me for some feature i didn't use.So i called them up & had them fix the issue by re-filling my account with the exact amount.

Never had any problems in gettin thro to the CCEs nor in getting my problem solved by them..

Last but not the least,you just can't expect a completely sincere telecom company in india,atleast not yet!

P.S: CCE-customer care executive
 
[update]
Didn't receive any reply from Vodafone but got Rs.30INR credited to my account :D

I guess you have to be aware so Provider can't take you for a ride
 
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