[Resolved]  Airtel — Airtel charging for Internet usage even after mobile internet was switched off

I am writing this here after highest level of escalation i.e. the Airtel appellate team, multiple conversations with the supervisors and customer care as Ive not been getting an explanation for excessive charges on the bill of the number [protected] for the billing duration of 5th May 2016 to 4th June 2016.This number has been with us for more than 10 years now.

We noticed excessive billing on the 'my airtel' application (image 1 is a screenshot taken on 9th of May) and had been following up with the customer care to understand why the charges are so high despite following all instructions given by the customer care.

The following will give you a chronological order of events that unfolded:

23rd and 24th April - I have a conversation with customer care to activate necessary things for international roaming.

26th April 2016 - lands in the United States and switches off mobile internet.

6th May 2016 - I notice that the Amount on the myairtel app for [protected] was abnormally high. I notice something is wrong and remove the SIM card while i attempt to connect with your customer care through my son in India.

9th May 2016 - We realize that its going way overboard, the app says I have a unbilled usage of Rs 4457 for usage in a duration of 2 days! That too when mobile internet was switched off! I took a screenshot of this and is attached in the email.

10th May 2016 - I call customer care from the number [protected] to figure out what exactly were the charges levied for. The person in customer care says he cannot check as he doesnt have access to do so and also mentions that the billing is abnormally high. Asks me to check once the billing cycle is done.

14th May 2016 - I check the 'my airtel' app again and the unbilled amount gets stuck at Rs 5535.

6th June 2016 - when i checked the app again, the bill got generated and says Rs 5244. I call customer care to be informed that the bill will take 4 days to generate and details of transaction will be available only after these 4 days. At the same time I get the Rs 599 plan activated for international roaming.

8th June 2016 - unbilled usage says Rs 5535 for the duration of 5th June to 7th June 2016 when SIM card isnt in the phone! I was appalled! have taken a screenshot - attached as image 2.

10th June 2016 - Call customer care again trying to understand whether the bill had been generated. Get an answer that it has not been generated yet. Ask to connect call to supervisor.


13th June 2016 - after the bill has been generated, I realize we had been charged for Internet by AT&T. All the while when mobile internet was switched off!

Ever since then, we had been trying to connect with the customer care and supervisors, but the call to the supervisor never connects despite being on hold for over ten minutes. We made multiple calls from both two numbers to connect to the supervisor but to no avail. I resort to asking the customer care to arrange for a call back but the calls never come to the number requested to call to!

We called again on 20th July and waited until we could connect to a supervisor. He says he cannot help me beyond a point and asked me to connect with the appellate group, which is supposed to be the highest level of escalation.

Appellate team is no more helpful than the lower level in giving an explanation. They keep repeating that the bill charges are correct and their billing system is never wrong! Ask about the inconsistencies in billing for the month of June (Attached in the screenshot) they explain that the unbilled amount is charged without applying offers! I mean, we get unbilled usage when the SIM card was not even in the mobile phone! No proof given as to what ive used mobile internet for despite it being switched off or where has the traffic gone to.

The other issue is - Threat to disable service incase we dont pay the bill within a stipulated time frame despite having delay on their end to resolve the issue and not heeding to requests to extend the date of deactivation to ensure the issue is resolved before bill payment.

Previous to this issue, I have invested a lot of time and energy in getting bills sorted for the number since we always got Rs 750 levied extra for a whole year! Imagine spending 1 hour over phone with their customer care every month and getting a promise that the problem will not occur again and doing that again next month because the problem was not solved - for an entire year!

The abnormal levying of mobile internet charges even after the mobile internet has been turned off is a huge let down and had forced us to remove the Sim card when in the United States. Connections from work and other members of family were severed, including when father met with a major accident and broke 15 ribs. What would have happened had i ignored the high billing charges in the beginning of May in the 'myairtel' app and we get a bill of Rs 30, 000 for usage we never did? The lack of explanation is even more appalling and is subject to questioning the reliability and integrity of airtel service.

I demand that the charges levied on mobile internet be removed from the bill and refunded.