RING OF HELL 1: ACQUISITION
Four months ago I moved to Bangalore, and I made the mistake of deciding on Tata Docomo for my new mobile connections. I’ve been an Airtel subscriber for 10 years, and am perfectly happy with their service, but since this was a new circle and i’d have to pay roaming, I wanted local numbers.
Docomo was heavily advertising a free roaming product, and I travel a lot so I thought id give them a try instead of Airtel.
I went to their Richmond road service centre, and after a 20 minute wait, explained that I needed two numbers. I was told that since my address was technically not in city limits, they’d be unable to provide me with their service. But instead of turning me away (which would have been better for me and the right thing to do for them), they suggested that I leave the pin code out of my application form.
I was told to pay a deposit on both numbers (Rs 850, of which 50 would not be acknowledged with a receipt). I told them that I did not want the same plan on both numbers, and after much argument, they only collected the deposit on one.
For a few days, both numbers worked. Then I got a message on my second number (the one I DID NOT pay a deposit on) saying that since they cannot verify my address, they cannot activate it. Maybe their purposely not recording a PIN code had something to do with it?
HOWEVER, mysteriously, my second number (the one I DID pay a deposit on) continued to work. HOW COULD THEY DO THAT! BOTH NUMBERS WERE PURCHASED ON THE SAME ADDRESS AND THERE WAS NO VERIFICATION ATTEMPT MADE AT ALL FOR EITHER NUMBER!
RING OF HELL 2: USAGE
Very soon I discovered that the FREE ROAMING PRODUCT WAS A SHAM. It only applied to local calls made in the roaming circle on their own network. AND THEY DONT EVEN HAVE A LICENSE IN MOST CIRCLES. Also, they started harassing (and I mean really harassing) me to pay off some 300 rupee bill on the number they didn’t activate. I got calls where someone abruptly said ’WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PAY YOUR BILL’ as soon as I picked up the phone (of course they first said it in Kannada which I don’t understand). And when I asked which number they were asking about (the active or inactivated one) they didn’t even know!
Then, the ’reminders’ started.
Every month, 15 days before the due date, they’d start harassing me with emails and messages. On ONE day, (two days before due date) I received 3 EMAILS, 9 SMS AND 2 PHONE CALLS FROM THEM ’REMINDING’ ME TO PAY UP!! This has happened every month! In the midst of all this, I also discovered that their network SUCKS. Call drops, poor signal, and even some very suspicious service drops, where I’d suddenly get a message from them saying ’YOU HAVE 7 MISSED CALLS’ and with a number to SMS so I could find out who called me, and also subscribe to their missed call alerts for more money per month. HOW THE HELL COULD I HAVE MISSED 7 CALLS WHEN I WAS AT WORK IN THE HEART OF THE CITY AND MY PHONE WAS SWITCHED ON ALL THE TIME???
RING OF HELL 3 (AND HOPEFULLY THE LAST): CANCELLATION
Today I decided enough was enough, and went to their Richmond Road service centre again. I was ’ushered’ in by an illiterate security guard who gave me a ’token’ that said NEW CONNECTION. I explained that I wasn’t there for a new connection, but he assured me that it was all the same. Of the six customer service counters, only 2 were manned. I clocked in at 1557hrs, and met the customer service executive at 1628hrs. I explained that I wanted to terminate my subscription.
She pushed a notepad at me. ’Fill it. Tick cancellation. Write your alternate contact number’. I did as I was ordered. Then I was told that they would disconnect my number after 3 days, and it would take 8 days to deactivate. In the meantime, someone from ’customer service’ (I’m sure they use the term euphemistically) would call me, and if I DIDNT ANSWER, they’d put me on a retention programme automatically, and continue to charge my rental.
I asked why. ’Because its our policy’ she said, while doing something else on her computer. So then I asked if I could know my usage till date so I could pay them off once and for all. ’I can’t get that information. Only after next billing cycle’ she says.
So I’m in line for disconnection now, a customer who paid around Rs. 1300 per month (which I know from my telecom experience, puts me in the mid to high ARPU category), and they don’t even want to know why I want out.
Now I can understand a company like Airtel behaving this way. They have a monopoly over the mobile service industry in this country, and people like me don’t really matter.
But I’m surprised that a small/medium player like Tata Teleservices can afford to behave like this.
I feel insulted, angry, and cheated. And more than that, I feel that my respect for the Tatas has been terribly misplaced. At least as far as their telecom play is concerned, they’re just a bunch of opportunistic snake oil salesmen, with no shame or self respect.
I strongly recommend that if you’re looking for a mobile service provider, JUST DON’T DOCOMO!