Facing problems
I have two post-paid connections with du and I would like to complain about the extra amounts charged by du as additional charges for both my accounts.
I have had both connections since January 2013. As per du’s statements, they gave me a discount every month and in my March 2014 statement, they charged an additional amount of Dh816.92 each on both accounts (total of Dh1,633.84), demanding the amount they had given me as discount in past months.
When I called du, they informed me that it was a technical error, and I would need to pay back the entire amount.
Because of the additional charges, my total monthly bill became Dh2,200 for the month of March 2014, which I can’t afford and the bill is going up every month with arrears. du has disconnected both my connections due to non-payment.
Now, my total bill amount is more than Dh4,000, which I can’t pay at all. If du can waive off the additional charges, I am ready to clear the remaining balance on both my bills.
Additionally, for the post-paid plan, whenever I check the remaining minutes and data, it always shows the available data/minutes that can be used within my package, but whenever I receive the bill, I can see that the calls are being charged! I am quite aware that the data is updated only two hours after we make calls.
I have lodged several complaints with du, which were never resolved. du continues to simply send reminder text messages and e-mails for the payment. When I called them most recently, the representative told me that du couldn’t do anything about it, and he denied my request to escalate the matter to senior management.
Apart from that, in July 2013, I complained to du that the network connection in my area in Ajman is very poor and I am paying without getting proper service. They confirmed that they were going to upgrade the network service by October 2013 in my area and that I would need to cooperate for another three months until they upgraded it.
Yet, even after December 2013, the situation has been the same. I made a complaint in January 2014 and after repeated calls, du sent their representative to my home in March 2014 to check the connection status.
The du representative confirmed after his inspection, that the network strength was poor and that he would inform the concerned department. No one came back to me after that.
After a month, when I called du to get an update on the status, I was informed that the representative who visited my home had confirmed that the network in my area was very good!
I am very disappointed with the service provided by du and hope for a favourable response.
From Mr Jeevan George
Ajman
The management of du responds:
In response to Mr George’s query, we can confirm that we have investigated the matter and apologise for any inconvenience he faced. Due to an error in our systems in November 2013, Mr George was not billed for mobile services for three months. Our customer care team has explained this to him and the amount has been debited to his bill. In parallel, our network team is looking into his query in terms of mobile coverage in his area.
Mr George responds:
First of all, thanks a lot for Gulf News’ efforts in addressing the issue with du.
As they have mentioned, I do agree that I have settled the dues, but it was only because they were calling and texting me every day. I made the payment in order to avoid any legal issues. As they are agreeing that it is a system-related issue, why didn’t they charge over consecutive months, instead of charging me Dh1,700 in a single month?
Now, as I have made the necessary payments, du hasn’t discussed anything about it with me and they are instead, asking to resolve the network issue. It is, of course, a major issue, but I was not as concerned about it.
Thanks a lot for the help - du is finally listening to me because of my complaint through Gulf News.
(Process initiation: June 2. Response from organisation: June 6. Reader response: June 14.)
Missing baggage
I travelled from Dubai to Mumbai on February 27, 2014 by Emirates (EK) airlines. Upon arrival at the airport, I was informed by Emirates staff that due to a technical glitch in EK Dubai, one of my bags had not arrived, however it will be delivered to my Mumbai residence in the next one or two days. I was also given a local number to call and check on the status of my bag.
It took me three days to get through that number, finally I was told that bag is still in Dubai, and I should follow up with Dubai EK. They also told me that I can come to the airport and collect USD150 (Dh550) as a compensation for delay. When I called EK enquiry in Dubai, I was told I should talk to Mumbai. When I went to the Mumbai Airport to collect the compensation, I was told there is nothing like that, and I need to talk to Dubai for any claims. I kept getting either none or such responses throughout my stay of 9 days in Mumbai.
Before coming to Dubai on March 8, I contacted EK staff at the Mumbai Airport and informed them that I am leaving for Dubai. They informed me that my file will be transferred to Dubai as I am a resident there, and I will be contacted by EK.
In Dubai, I have contacted EK several times, and was told that my bag is in “Tracing”. I even visited the Terminal 3 on March 19 and contacted the staff of the Left Baggage and they told me that my file was never transferred from Mumbai and still showing my Mumbai contact numbers. Once again I was told that the baggage is in tracing. I was also told by the supervisor there that they will send me a form, which I have to complete and return to them, however I am still waiting for such a form. When I told the supervisor that I will take this to the media, I was told that I should go ahead and do it. When I asked about claim and compensation, EK is being very hesitant and not willing to take responsibility. I would appreciate it if Gulf News could help me in this matter.
From Ms Hetal Parekh
Dubai
A representative from Emirates airlines responds: I have just checked with our Customer Affairs division, and I understand this has been resolved.
Miss Parekh responds: Yes this has been resolved now finally thanks to Gulf News’ intervention in this matter. I received a cheque of Dh1,500 from Emirates airlines.
This was the total amount claimed by me. Once again I thank Gulf News for this as it would have not been possible without Gulf News.
(Process initiation: March 24. Response from organisation: May 8. Reader confirmation: June 22.)
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
