Not so special
I have been a du customer for the past ten years and have been paying all my bills and dues on time. My family and I are loyal du customers and end up paying about Dh700 every month to du.
The incident that has recently upset me happened when I went to a du store (in Sahara Centre, Sharjah) to buy a postpaid Sim for myself in December 2011. The customer service representative gave me a list of numbers which was activated after my purchase. The next month’s bill for Dh200 per month was being generated, although I was on a Dh100 package. When I inquired with the customer service centre, they told me that although I can change my plan to Dh100, I will still receive a bill for Dh200, since this was a special number. I had been given a special number without being informed of the terms and conditions or the payment rules or the contractual binding process. I am an average person and do not require a special number to talk to my wife.
I rushed to the du store again with a request to settle the dues and close the phone number, but I was informed that I will be charged for six months, since this contract cannot be voided. I registered a complaint against du and was approached by members of the customer service department without any resolution to the dispute. Everyone kept telling me, “we will get back to you”.
I have now received a legal notice from du, which claims that they are taking legal action against me for delaying the payment of Dh2,904.04, which I thought was being handled by the du customer service.
I feel really helpless and would request du’s customer service/billing department head to take notice, since I do not deny du of any payments that me and my family incur. But in my case, I feel this is totally unjustified and can be resolved if looked into.
From Mr Shafiq Ur Rehman
Sharjah
The management of du responds:
In response to Mr Rehman’s query, we have investigated this matter and can confirm that the charges are valid as per the contract signed when purchasing his subscription. We regret any miscommunication throughout this process, and would like to apologise for any inconvenience he may have faced.
Mr Rehman responds:
Thank you for the kind consideration. It is through Gulf News that this issue has been considered by du for the first time, despite repeated complaints. I would further like to comment that in this ‘contract’ that is being referred to, I was never made aware of the fact that these charges will be billed to me. I strongly believe that if there is any miscommunication from the customer service representative, du telecom should take the responsibility for the same and waive off these charges.
Moreover, du sent me a legal notice while my complaint was in process with them, which I had raised through their help line.
I would be more than grateful if du would revoke these charges, putting an end to the case. I would like to add, I am a loyal du customer and have five other du numbers in my use. However, such customer service and behaviour will deter me from using du anymore.
The management of du responds:
In response to Mr Rehman’s further request, we would like to reiterate that he signed a legal contract upon subscribing to the mobile line in question. We regret that we are unable to consider his claim.
Mr Rehman responds:
I thank the newspaper for at least raising this issue with the du management. I would further like to iterate that I have decided to unsubscribe to five other du numbers that I have and will be using another service provider.
(Process initiation: October 2, 2014. Response from organisation: October 15. Reader response: December 18.)
Glitch in billing
In July 2012, I downgraded from triple play e-life to double play e-life, which is just internet and landline. I returned the television box to the etisalat main office in Al Ain and paid a Dh100 fee for downgrading. However, I am still receiving extra charges in my monthly bill related to triple play, such as Dh20 for the television box and Dh30 for Arabic programs, among other charges as well. This is unacceptable since I have returned the television box and I don’t even have a TV set at home anymore!
I complained to etisalat several times over the last two months, since mid-December. However, in my first complaint, they even denied that there was a problem! After I made another complaint on January 9, 2015 in which the July 2012 bill was attached, it showed clearly the downgrading process and how no action was taken so far. Every time I called through the phone or internet chat, I was told that the case was still in progress and that the case had been escalated to the concerned department. I received a call from them on February 4 that the issue will be solved within two days. They said they would update me the following day. The following day, nobody called. I checked through the online chat and, again, the usual response was given.
I am quite unhappy with the customer service of etisalat and I feel it is a shame that its customers need to go to newspapers to get their cases dealt with. I believe that major reforms need to be conducted in the management of this company in order to be truly world-class, as it claims.
I thank in advance Gulf News for taking action on my case.
From Mr Al Hadi Esmail Sadki
Dubai
The management of etisalat responds:
The case is resolved.
The complaint in brief: The customer requested to migrate back to his double play (2P) account from 3P and returned back his satellite television box (STB). However, the customer was being charged Dh30 of Arabic package and Dh20 for STB.
In conclusion: Due to an Information Techonology (IT) issue, the system didn’t complete the migration and it kept charging the customer.
The final outcomes:
1. The account has been migrated back to 2P.
2. Dh1080.81 has been refunded.
3. The customer has been updated.
Mr Al Hadi Esmail Sadki responds:
I confirm that our case has been resolved. I very much appreciate the help of Gulf News with this matter.
(Process initiation: February 18. Response from organisation: February 25. Process completion: February 25.)
Skyrocketing bill
I need Gulf News’ assistance regarding the unacceptable service that etisalat has provided me. Etisalat sent me a bill of Dh14,258, out of which they charged me Dh13,600 for only international mobile data roaming charges. I had already subscribed for a daily mobile data plan (Dh25 for 100MB) from etisalat.
I was out of the country for five days. When I returned to the UAE, they sent me an SMS saying that my bill has reached up to a maximum limit and that I should make the payment at the earliest.
I was shocked! Without informing me, how can etisalat charge me so much? They didn’t even care to send an SMS that the amount had exceeded the limit. I checked my online statement and found I was being charged dirhams per kilobyte. They should at least have let me know through SMS that I would be charged on my bill for every kilobyte that I would use if my daily package got over. If I knew that I was being charged this much, I would have taken steps accordingly or would have switched off my mobile data.
I have just bought this postpaid number from etisalat because I bought a Samsung S5 on an instalment plan. I have been paying my bills on time every month, even before the due date. Sometimes, I even pay in excess. My payment history has always been good.
Apart from that, Dh13,600 is a huge amount. Before charging the customer, etisalat should at least inform the customer through SMS that this is what is being charged to them. If I had received an SMS that the bill is crossing into the thousands, then I would not have used my etisalat number further, internationally, in order to avoid the charges.
I have registered a billing complaint through the etisalat call centre, but I didnft get a good response. So Ifm writing to Gulf News to escalate this to etisalat to reverse the charges as soon as possible, as Dh13,600 for just four days is a huge amount to pay. My mobile number has been deactivated by etisalat, too.
From Mr Nikhil Philip
Dubai
The management of etisalat responds:
The case is closed.
The complaint in brief:
The customer claimed against the usage charges, approximately Dh13,267, for roaming charges.
The final outcome:
The customer’s complaint is invalid and the customer is not eligible for refund. Our justification for rejecting the complaint is as follows:
As per the system, the customer consumed both roaming packages, daily 100MB data roaming pack and daily 25MB data roaming pack, and he had the VIP cap, hence there is no block when usage reaches Dh1,000.
The message was delivered when the subscriber requested to move to the VIP cap and it was completed. In this mode, capping is removed, with no limit in PAYG data usage. Because of this request, the customer doesn’t received any SMS for usage. The customer has been updated.
Mr Philip responds:
Thank you for your reply. Etisalat should have informed me that if I remove the hard cap and keep the VIP cap, I would not receive any SMS for usage. I contacted the customer care of etisalat on December 24, 2014, to remove the cap, but the customer service didn’t inform me that I won’t be notified about data usage or the bill. If I was informed, then I would have used my data accordingly.
Being a customer of etisalat, isn’t it my right to know that I won’t receive any SMS or notification for my bill and usage? This should have been communicated to me. Why didn’t the customer service agent inform me of this? The customer service agent just told me that I would be charged per megabyte, but she didn’t inform me that I won’t get any notification at all from etisalat for my usage. This is unfair!
This bill amount, which etisalat has charged me, is very big. Even with my 12-month salary, I cannot repay this amount. I’m just a student. Regarding the complaint that I logged from the etisalat call centre, they closed my case without informing me. My number is already disconnected. How can they say they informed me about it? I cannot receive or make calls.
Through etisalat’s online help centre, I registered the first complaint to them on December 4, 2014 and till now I’m suffering. Each time they say they will call me, but I never received any call, although I have given my alternative number to them.
I would like Gulf News to forward this letter to etisalat to let them know that I’m very disappointed and find this to be unfair. I would like etisalat to reverse or minimise the charges.
The management of etisalat responds:
Mr Nikhil Philip is not eligible for a refund and needs to pay the amount of the roaming usage, which is Dh 13,630.00. Mr Philip and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) have been updated with the following outcomes:
1. The roaming data consumption is valid.
2. The customer requested to move his package from limited to a VIP cap on November 24, 2014. Capping is removed and there is no limit in data usage.
3. The message was delivered to the customer after he requested to move to VIP cap.
4. The notification messages of the data consumption were submitted and delivered to the customer.
(Process initiation: December 23. Response from organisation: December 29. Process completion: March 26)
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.
