Victim of Airtel 3G launch fiasco

i think a lot of people would agree that the 3g system implemented by airtel is still buggy. we have people here on the forum confirming that they are able to use 3G on the 98 rupee 2G plan. now how do you explain that?

airtel talked a lot about how they would keep a control on the user's bill. but it was largely about their 650 rupee postpaid plan that does not go beyond 2000 bucks. they should have placed a similar limit on the pay as you use plan too.

well i was talking of bill limiter on postpaid on a larger scale where the customer can choose the limit themselves. People are really scared of postpaid bcoz they think they will get mammoth bills.

I am personally on prepaid but really hate going to the outlets now and then to top up. If postpaid would have given something like 50 rs. fixed rental,bill limiter and better payment options people would have adopted it at least in the cities on a much greater scale.

i think a lot of people would agree that the 3g system implemented by airtel is still buggy. we have people here on the forum confirming that they are able to use 3G on the 98 rupee 2G plan. now how do you explain that?

By all means I agree that Airtel 3G billing is rat shit.
People who are getting 3G speeds while on 2G plan should know, that they are enjoying such service because of system errors, and there is a fair chance that this error could backfire and bang your pocket too. As simple as that, when you know there is some trouble in the system, you should avoid using it, if you still want to do it, do it by all means, but, just don't shit out that oh! Airtel sucks, because I lost my balance, I would have said Airtel rocks if the same system provided me with the services that am not paying for. Crow shit.

Hello,

I have received a bill for 4k+ this month of which around Rs. 3500 is for 3G usage for 4days. My problem is that the tariff plan they chose to bill me for is "pay as you go" - 30p/10kb. I never received an option to chose a tariff plan. The way it goes is - first you send 3G to 121 and the service gets activated, then again you send 3G to select the tariff plan. I sent about 4 SMS after the first one to get this option, but I never received any info on selecting a tariff plan. Then I tried calling their service # 121 to chose a tariff plan the very day, as I had some work to be done using this 3G service. However, 9 attempts could not get me through to a person.

I cannot describe the amount of trauma this has costed me and the time taken over calls to explain the customer service what my problem is. The airtel customer service informed me on the 10th that the charges will be revoked in the next bill and that I will not have any disruption of service. But a few days later the opposite happens and now the Airtel agent says that he hasnt even said that. I am deeply frustrated and hope that someone can help me get the best of unfair trade by Airtel. :madness:

Also, if I chose not to pay this bill, I will lose my number (which I am fine with), however, I do not want any hassles with the "collection agents". Anyone has any experience with this? And what is the better way to go? Docomo or BSNL?
I have experienced with broadband connection of bsnl. You got 4k that is enough. I mean it is less. I got 50k. BSNL connecting india but this time disconnecting me from india.
And about 3g, I used bsnl 3g. It was pretty good but I have faced frequent disconnection and others like selling gold items. 1 gb/ month means my one hour usage and what about whole month. should I pay extra? it is better to access dial up. 3g was our dream to access but government is really a big thief. How can companies offer us unlimited tariff? They had paid huge amounts for spectrum. Let one/two years go. airtel or any other company may come up with new idea like recent airtel's fup which makes us to get 3g access at affordable price or government should do any provision for the company.

The airtel customer service informed me on the 10th that the charges will be revoked in the next bill and that I will not have any disruption of service. But a few days later the opposite happens and now the Airtel agent says that he hasnt even said that.

This is a standard method used by Airtel to cheat the postpaid customers. I think they give special training to their employees on how to cheat customers by telling them that "the charges will be revoked in the next bill" and charges are NEVER revoked.

I suggest calling the nodal officer before the last date. Emailing the customer support and all email IDs on the bill as well as on their website.

Once this problem is resolved, move to prepaid of any operator other than Airtel.

Thanks for your responses. However, I dont understand how it is my fault if their system doesnt work and why I should pay for it? Vodafone has a better strategy of not hurrying up the launch and screwing up their image like Airtel, If the system doesnt work, admit it and try to reason. Instead they are blindly saying that I have to pay, their loss. I am willing to pay a nominal fee such as the rent of the package which I would've chose and get over with this. However, what pisses me off is that they do not keep up their word and my main concern is that why should I pay for something that I did not chose, and yeah for those who say that its mentioned as the default plan, they also mention that you can chose a tariff plan which you like. I was not given this option and hence I am "moaning". I called the Nodal officer, their higher escalation point etc, but in vain. So, they dont leave much of a choice, as the incoming also got disconnected today. Adios Airtel!

This is a standard method used by Airtel to cheat the postpaid customers. I think they give special training to their employees on how to cheat customers by telling them that "the charges will be revoked in the next bill" and charges are NEVER revoked.

I suggest calling the nodal officer before the last date. Emailing the customer support and all email IDs on the bill as well as on their website.

Once this problem is resolved, move to prepaid of any operator other than Airtel.

I have a few friends who were/are in the Customer Service(domestic & international) & I have come across a few stories wherein they or their colleagues often resort to such methods if they want end up a call - i.e false promises/reversal of charges - their excuse - pressure to maintain low resolution times... Unfortunately its the company that takes the hit. All calls are recorded, but only a few are actually monitored for quality & training purposes - so even if a random call is caught - they are left off with a reprimand - and by the time they get caught 2-3 times - they have already planned & jumped to a new company 😛 - Attrition is high in call centres...

However, what pisses me off is that they do not keep up their word and my main concern is that why should I pay for something that I did not chose

You didn't choose it, but, you did use it sir!

Hello,

I have received a bill for 4k+ this month of which around Rs. 3500 is for 3G usage for 4days. My problem is that the tariff plan they chose to bill me for is "pay as you go" - 30p/10kb. I never received an option to chose a tariff plan. The way it goes is - first you send 3G to 121 and the service gets activated, then again you send 3G to select the tariff plan. I sent about 4 SMS after the first one to get this option, but I never received any info on selecting a tariff plan. Then I tried calling their service # 121 to chose a tariff plan the very day, as I had some work to be done using this 3G service. However, 9 attempts could not get me through to a person.

I cannot describe the amount of trauma this has costed me and the time taken over calls to explain the customer service what my problem is. The airtel customer service informed me on the 10th that the charges will be revoked in the next bill and that I will not have any disruption of service. But a few days later the opposite happens and now the Airtel agent says that he hasnt even said that. I am deeply frustrated and hope that someone can help me get the best of unfair trade by Airtel. :madness:

Also, if I chose not to pay this bill, I will lose my number (which I am fine with), however, I do not want any hassles with the "collection agents". Anyone has any experience with this? And what is the better way to go? Docomo or BSNL?


if its above ur credit limit you can ask them why did they let to cross the credit limit and why didnt they inform you once credit limit is crossed!!!

i have seen issues like this especially after launching airtel 3G where few of the customers got airtel 3g activated automatically

oh yeah. postpaid customers have a credit limit. but if he has this number for a while now, the limit would be pretty liberal. my tata indicom has a credit limit of 10,000 bucks even though my monthly bill has rarely crossed 500 bucks.

😡😛leasehelp::notallowed::hysterical::rofl:4k is somewhat acceptable but what abt 50+k!!!

vodafone airtel both are same I used vodafone mobile tv a while back they told me I wont be charged for data seprately.....later after using it for 12 min or so .....just to see how crappy the the video quality is and it kept on saying loading loading .......I closed it off.....and later on realized around 400 something Buks got deducted from my account in matter of 12 min......100 buks for activating the service rest went in data....called up cc told them this they told me all crap wrote to nodal officer weeks went no reply...tried calling them they said u gtg wait for the reply threw email.....then finally gt a call frm them nd guess what instead of telling me sorry to what I had gon threw she tells me its your fault that you did not presume this.....when I told her to listen to the recoding that they do with the CC dept. telling I am nt suppose to get charged for data on mobile tv......she said we cant do that.....nd kept on blaming me for it.....any how it was pretty heated argument......I offc......won in the end....they refunded back the amt telling me it was ur fault however we will refund u back this one time....and guess what the repy from email was complete opposite to what she told me on phone.....the email was we are very sorry that you have been treated like this...all that nice stuff ........I am guessing email was nice becz copy if it might be sent to TRAI.....

Missing Some Vowels - Email to Airtel about Incorrect Bill for April 2011

here is another user who was charged for 3G during the free period.

I wanna shout it out to the whole world and save the rest of the humanity from the insult called Airtel 3G.Airtel 3G is buggy. It is full of bugs. DO NOT TRY Airtel 3G. The customer care is aware of all the problems that are arising, still they refuse to help you.I am on a prepaid no. and took a monthly 2GB data plan for 750 bucks. Hardly used it for 3 days and the speed was down to 5 KBps. I complaint... but to no avail. A week gone by, suddenly airtel charged me another 103 bucks and put me on a 100 MB plan. A day later, i am charged another 98 bucks.... and am told that this is for the 2G monthly you got activated. I complaint to CC and as usual they did not understand what nonsense was going on. They simply refused to help.Airtel Sucks! Airtel 3G sucks even more! Airtel Customer care is a pain in the a$$!GUYS believe me! Try airtel 3G at your own risk and be prepared to lose your hard earned money... and possibly your number.

Airtell is the worst in VAS servicesUsed it for 3 months and got charged to the amount of 500 for services which i didnt activateBest option is to leave airtel(MNP)