Incorrect billing

I have been facing severe issues with du with regards to wrong billing.

In October, I was charged Dh900 for a single message. After several calls to du, I was told that I had made a donation to Dubai Cares. This is very odd as I would be aware if I had made a donation. The du billing team insisted that it was technically verified and that they would not reverse the charges.

On November 21, 2013, while the dispute was still on, I lost the phone. I asked for the line to be blocked till I could get a new Sim card. The following weekend, I went to collect the Sim card from du in Deira City Centre.

My total credit limit is about Dh1,100. I said that I would pay Dh200 and leave the Dh900, which is in dispute, unpaid. The customer service agent refused to accept my payment and furnish me with a Sim card. I think this is very unfair as du continued to bill me. I was being refused a service for which I was being charged. A total bill of approximately Dh1,160 accumulated.

On July 8, 2014, du sent me a legal notice. I spoke to the lawyers and they raised a complaint once again. Someone from the du billing team called me and said that they would not waive off the Dh900, but the remaining money for which I had not used the service would be waived off. I would be provided a new Sim and could finish the one-year contract for the months that I had not used the service, beginning November 21. He asked me to go to Deira City Centre branch and said that he had informed them and it would be a smooth process. I asked for his direct contact details, which he refused to provide me.

The following weekend, I went to Deira City Centre and asked for the new Sim. I went through the whole story. The customer service agent said that they had no authority to waive off the charges or give me the new Sim until the charges were not waived off. He said it was the responsibility of the billing team. However, I was asked to come back after a week with a promise that my issue would be resolved.

A week later, I went back to du. Again no response. Only a promise that they will sort it out with the regional billing team and get back to me. It has been over three weeks now and I have not received a response. I was really upset and did create a ruckus – but they have left me with no choice.

I am so fed up with this entire situation — I cannot express. I request Gulf News to take this up on my behalf.

From Ms Amal Merchant

Dubai

A spokesperson from du responds:

With regard to the query of Ms Merchant, our team investigated the issue and found the early termination charges to be valid. We have spoken to the customer and explained the charges.

Ms Merchant responds:

I received a call from du and the representative conveyed this message to me. His reason was that my line was not deactivated and I could have used it if I wanted. Surely, I could have used it without a Sim - I have extra powers. All along, du insisted that my line had become deactivated and therefore they did not furnish me a Sim - so I wonder why the change in statement.

Anyway, I thank Gulf News for trying to help me out and other readers who are stuck with such matters.

(Process initiation: September 8. Response from organisation: September 23. Reader confirmation: October 9.)

Editor’s note: Do you have similar issues that you would like to raise with us? You can write to us at readers@gulfnews.com.