Airtel — Incorrect charges for 3G services

Address:Solan, Himachal Pradesh

I am visiting Himachal Pradesh temporarily and reached here on 20 Sep 2012.

I recharged my existing Airtel Prepaid number [protected] the same day with the following recharges.
Rs 649/- Full Talktime
Rs 649/- Full Talktime
Rs 51/- SMS pack
Rs 23/- STD pack

I thereafter activated the Rs 950/- (6GB built-in data, post 6GB usage unlimited at 80kbps) 3G data plan on my phone using the 121 SMS service. I also got a confirmation SMS that the plan has been activated (around 8:20PM on 20 Sep 2012).

The prepaid balance in my account at that point of time with the 3G pack deduction of Rs 950/- stood at around Rs 348/- (Rs 649 +Rs 649 - Rs 950/-).

I thereafter started using my phone for data services. I did not make any phone calls.
I noticed after some time that my prepaid balance is much less. on further scrutiny I found that the data usage was being charged to my main balance. I made a phone call to the customer care number around 10:30 PM and was told that since the systems were undergoing some upgrade I would not be helped at that point and I was asked to call again the next morning.

By next morning (21 Sep 2012) the account balance had further decreased. I made a phone call to the customer care center and lodged a complaint. The same complaint was also lodged through another call from the Customer Relationship Center at Solan.

At this point I was told that the data pack was active and that the problem will be sorted out by 22 Sep 2012 12:30 PM.
I waited.

On 22 Sep 2012 I got a phone call from a representative of Airtel and she was explained the whole problem in detail. She called back after some time and advised that I should switch off the phone and switch it on and that problem has been sorted out by the technical team.
She also asked me the details about the amount of money that was wrongly debited and told me that it will be credited into my account.

Her advice did not solve the problem as even after switching off- on the phone the main balance kept getting deducted on data usage.
By the night of 22 Sep I had used up all my balance without making more than 5 calls.

I had to recharge the account with Rs 200/- full talk time on the night of 22 Sep 2012. The problem persisted and my balance was down to Rs 33/- balance by 23 Sep 2012

All the while I was repeatedly trying to remind Airtel of the problem by emails and also raising service requests on the My Aitel app on my phone.
I kept on getting automated replies and finally on 23 Sep I got a mail that said that "my account had been analyzed and there is no wrong charges made on my account towards the Mobile office browsing and the charges are deducted from my dedicated account not from your main account".

I immediately wrote back saying that this was not acceptable to me. The mail was also sent to the Nodal Officer as a CC.
Thereafter I haven't heard from Airtel at all. All my service requests and complaints have been closed without consulting me.

I have stopped using the said service and deactivated 3G services on that number.

I would request a full refund of Rs 950/- plus the wrong deduction towards internet usage.

Regrads

Dr Anuj Singhal
[protected]
Was this information helpful?
No (0)
Yes (0)
Complaint comments 

Post your Comment

    I want to submit Complaint Positive Review Neutral Comment
    code
    By clicking Submit you agree to our Terms of Use
    Submit
    Airtel
    customer care contact
    Customer satisfaction rating Customer satisfaction rating is a complex algorithm that helps our users determine how good a company is at responding and resolving complaints by granting from 1 to 5 stars for each complaint and then ultimately combining them all for an overall score.
    Read more
    42%
    Complaints
    54483
    Pending
    0
    Resolved
    21956
    Airtel Phone
    +91 96 6339 5551
    +91 11 4266 6500 [Head Office]
    +91 11 4666 6100 [Head Office]
    Airtel Address
    20, Sarakki Main Road, JP Nagar 1st Phase, Bangalore, Karnataka, India - 560078
    View all Airtel contact information