<head><title>Dishonest marketing, billing surprises</title></head>
At last Reliance, after sleeping on its billing for nearly 6 months, have shocked all its customers holding ’special’ ’’Khazana’’ club subscription & DPA with a surprise interpretation of ’free’ minutes they offer.
Under these schemes, Webworlds freely advertised that one could carry forward the ’free’ 400 minutes of a month to two additional months. Now it appears that, they conveniently forgot to tell you that this carry forward is limited to the quarter. Ie Jan 2004 unused free minutes can be carried forward till 31 March, Feb unused part till 31 March ie one month only; but hold your breath, be sure to use the March entitlement before 31 March itself along with the Jan, Feb carry forward, as it would expire without any extensions.
There was absolutely no transparency while marketing, a lie was told - ’you can carry forward for two months, sir’. To make matters worse, they slept on billing for nearly good part of 6 months, till Feb2004. So, for the special offer Khazana (RIL share holder) customers for whom they extended additional ’free’ minutes which was to be valid only for six months, had to lose the ’spl concession’ not knowing their usage pattern!
Hence Customer, after losing his previously paid for minutes as a part of rental/package, cleverly called ’free’, for a good two quarters have to wisen up for the future, after they have lost all their carry forward minutes, cleverly marketed.
The sagging rate of new customer connection was quickly ramped up by Reliance thru the ’special’ offer to their shareholders, a couple of quarters ago.
One wonders, if Reliance deliberately slept on their billing, for 6 months, so that they mop back all unused minutes, particularly of their Khazana customers and Share holders!
Guess what, before any of their ’valuable’ share holders could know what is their usage, courtesy Reliance’s undue 6 month’s delay to get their billing ready, this special offer period has expired! A typical nice Reliance way to treat their share holders.
Unlike Reliance, TATA’s billing is always reliable & honest; they donot follow such unscrupulous practice but market in clear unconcealed language, consistent with their billing policy.
It is a shame that the large corporate such as Reliance have short changed their customers. All their good work of stirring up the market, very fast roll-out of network, working network unlike AirTel, grabbing market share, forcing others to come out of their cushy closet and start thinking of affordable mobile service etc are lost when they indulge in plain cheating by dubious practice of Dishonest marketing, billing surprises
Even Dhirubai Ambani, who did not necessarily attach such high values as TATAs, for honesty in dealings, will be stirring in his grave, if he learns about his sibling’s innovative practices, particularly to their share holders!!
Clear message to the, now, millions of Reliance infocomm customers: Sorry we made you a sucker signed up for 36 months; You should have read the fine print!!