Airtel — toll free number is charged

1800 numbers are absolutely free but 1860 and other numbers have been charged Re 1 or Rs 2 per/minute. This is basically a strategy to keep the inbound call flow in control not for the Airtel but for the financial institutions, banks and other services who have a huge database of the existing as well as the new customers.

As a result, most of the banks and other institutions nowadays have switched to the 1860 helpline numbers instead of the traditional toll-free 1800 or other numbers.

Most of the people these days have been equipped with the unlimited plan and I mustn’t say, people keep ringing these institutions for no valid reason and due to the long call queue, people in need actually couldn’t get in touch with the support staff. The strategy certainly help these institutions to keep the call flow in control but it can be a pain in the neck for the genuine callers as well. Sometime the IVR takes time like 5 minutes or more than that, in such cases genuine callers may end up paying a huge amount, if they frequently call on 1860 numbers.

I have called 1800. but airtel is charging Rs. 1 per minute.