Tata Photon Plus — Made to buy the product with false promise

Address:

Bangalore, Karnataka

Tata photon –You cannot carry speed

I kept getting calls from executives regarding ‘Tata photon plus’. But since they were not giving any unlimited plan I did not want to take it. Then they would say they have Tata photon whiz which has unlimited plan but speed is low. Then on 12th August I got a call from one executive saying that they have come up with a new offer o[censored]nlimited plan and 3.1 Mbps, rent of Rs.950, after 1st 5GB the speed will reduce to 128kbps, and I will get a discount of Rs.200 for 1st one year for purchasing their modem.
Cost of photon +: Rs: 2399 + Activation charges Rs: 100/-
There is no roaming charges, can carry the device anywhere throughout India.
This was basically the deal. But since I had problems with Tikona earlier, I wanted to clear everything about the speed. So I asked her the fluctuation rate of the speed. How much low it will drop and the max I will get, coz I know I won’t be getting 3.1 Mbps and all. I shared my experience of Tikona with her. Then she told me that though 3.1Mbps is the maximum speed, I will get an average of 2Mbps and sometimes it will go down to 1Mbps. She guaranteed me that the lowest speed I would get would be 1Mbps in Bangalore. I told my location and all to ask about connectivity in that area. Only if I cross 5GB limit then only will my speed reduce to less than 1Mbps and will go to around 120 kbps, and will regain its original speed during the next billing cycle. She stated that with an example and all. I told her that right now I am using Airtel gprs connection which is giving me around 100 kbps speed and it is sort of constant. I am paying only Rs.98 for recharging that, So if the speed is going to be less than 1Mbps then I have no point in paying Rs.850 more for a low speed connection. I asked her to send the executive and he has to show me the speed, then only will I take it.
The executive Mr. B. Chandrashekar came from pagepoint services. In his plan list he didn’t have the unlimited plan. While filling out the form I had to ask him to mention the plan fully on the paper. He was a bit reluctant to write first, only after getting ok from his higher authority did he he write the full plan. Unlimited 950 and all. Then he told me Rs. 100 for activation for which he did not make a bill. He said it will come in the first bill. So totally I paid him Rs. 2600. Then after activation, we checked the speed, it was coming to around 900Kbps. He told its peak time and all. Since the lowest promised to me was 1Mbps and this was sort of in that range, I accepted.
But, later I found that the speed was fluctuating again. Sometimes it doesn’t connect also. I connected it on both laptop and desktop, same problem. Sometimes it shows as low as 50kbps to a max of 800kbps. Average of around 200-300 Kbps. 800kbps comes once in 3-4 days for 2 hrs max.
Then when the CC executive (Mr. Daniel) called me I raised my issue with him. He gave me a complaint No.[protected]st Sep) regarding the speed and No.[protected] regarding the extra Rs. 100 for activation charge. On 4th Sep Executive Sharan came and visited my place to check the speed and that time it was showing 800kbps, so he closed the complaint and went. Half an hour later the speed decreased to 100 kbps. Because of the speed issue I haven’t downloaded much, in fear of crossing my 5 GB limit.
Then I get a mail stating that:
“We would like to inform you that your complaint vide docket number[protected] has been closed on 02-SEP-10. Hope you are satisfied with the resolution provided”
On 3rd I made a complaint No.[protected] which was closed on 4th
On 29th Sep I called CC and gave a complaint regarding speed again No.[protected] to Avinash.
On 30th I got a call from Abhinav (CC) regarding this. The speed in the morning was around 530 kbps (10.45 am) and when he called was around 833 kbps (11.15am). I told him to keep the complaint open since the speed was fluctuating. At around 2:30 pm it stopped connecting and there was no net till evening.
I got a call next day asking me about the complaint. I said the speed is fluctuating now and also made a complaint about the Rs.100 not being deducted in the first bill. For which I was told that I was given a resolution that I would able to use that much extra while downloading. This wasn’t communicated to me while closing the bill, cos why would I agree to for extra usage when I have unlimited connection. Doesn’t make sense. No.[protected]. And No.[protected].
In between I had gone to their website and registered grievances with the MD and all regarding this issue. For which they responded:
“We understand that the concerned team has got in touch with you and you are experiencing an average speed of 800 kbps but you are not satisfied with this speed. We would like to inform that we have always advertised that Photon Plus connection provides speed up to 3.1 Mbps downlink. A subscriber under standard test conditions on EVDO REV A technology used by Photon Plus can get speed upto 3.1 Mbps and this has been validated and approved by TRAI. However, the actual connection & browsing speed depends on a variety of factors, including the number of simultaneous Photon Plus users in your area, time of the day, webpage accessed etc. Thus, in most real-world situations, you can expect average speeds of 300-600 Kbps “
This was not what was promised to while taking the connection. I had specifically asked the speed, after that only did I take the connection. So what is the point in saying this now?
On 3rd their executive Sharan came to check the problem. That time the speed was between 130kbps -400kbps. He also said if I am not satisfied, I can visit the main office in kormangla and apply for disconnection.
Complaint No.[protected]
I made a complaint again for disconnection because speed was slow and in between I had visited kerala for 10-15 days where I could not even connect to the internet, though it shows full range. So much for roaming!
On 9th October I went to the Kormangala office for disconnection. I spoke to the manager Mr. Sharavanan. He said he cannot do anything cos it’s the agencies mistake. They have to give the refund. He said “Now we are not promoting as 3.1 Mbps speed but mobile broadband speed.”
What is the use of changing the term once I have already bought it by getting cheated? That time these guys were promoting saying “You can carry speed. Upto 3.1 Mbps” also the ads were like fast and furious giving wrong impressions.
He said he will get in touch with the agency and get back to me by Monday. But no calls came.
Then Tuesday I got a call from an executive to check my satisfaction of their product. I blasted him about all the complaints and no response. He took a complaint again No.[protected].
On 12th I got a call from Soumya (CC) saying that Rs. 551 has been deducted from my bill and I can make the rest of the payment. I said I am looking for disconnection and refund, not a discount in the bill. I told her not to close the complaint. On 13th Morning Nagraj(CC) called to say the same thing and he just closed the complaint saying that I have to make a new complaint. I seriously don’t know what to do with these cheapskates. Today I got a mail o make the payment. Why should I make the payment and continue when they haven’t responded to me. Where should I appeal?
Don’t trust these guys. They are real cheats. I get irritated by their closing complaints mail and messages. Wish they had done some prompt service like this to give proper resolutions!