I had an Elite Plan with du for more than two years. I’ve been using it without any problem, and I was satisfied with the service. I’ve been using my Elite plan mostly for international calls to USA and Ethiopia. But, in May 2013, my bill amount started to rise even though I wasn’t calling any different numbers, and I still had the free minutes remaining.
I kept on asking the customer service on 155 and every single customer service agent told me that they would be able to know after the bill is generated. On May 29 I went to the du branch in Mirdif City Center and filed a complaint and the customer service agent at the branch also said she would only be able to tell why the cost has risen once the next bill is generated. So, I waited.
I always pay my bills on the day I receive my salary, so I was waiting for my pay day. I saw the bill on selfcare du, but I did not make any extra calls and all calls are within the limited minutes.
But on June 24 my line got disconnected and I received a text message that said I have to make a payment to reconnect my line. I went to the branch and I asked them why? They said I had used my credit limit and I told them I did not use it but that I am over-charged and that day they told me that Ethiopia was removed from the 190 destinations in the Elite plan since May 18.
I was not informed about this — no email, phone call or text message was sent to me, despite me complaining several times.
I paid the Elite plan cost and declined to pay the wrong bill. They reconnected my line again and I hardly used it.
I kept complaining again and again because I wanted the issue to be sorted out before the last day of payment, which was July 17. I wrote an email to customercare@du.ae. They sent me a text saying my complaint is validated and the problem is solved. I was calm and happy until they disconnected my line again. I called 155 immediately and the customer service agent told me that the only choice I have was to pay the total amount, and it will be credited to my future bills.
How can an organisation cheat an individual like this? My line has been diconnected since then and it is affecting my life. I need this matter to be sorted out.
From Ms Makida Arshi
Dubai
I am a du customer for the past five years. I raised an issue with them and have been waiting for a long time for a response. And whenever I visited their office, they assured me that it would be fixed within 48 hours. I kept receiving text messages saying the issue has been resolved and when I called the customer care at 155 they kept saying they are still working on it.
This issue is with the Elite Super Plans free international minutes. In the bill for the month of May, I was charged for every single minute. I called my home country, Ethiopia, and the calls are not being counted in the Elite Plan free minutes. This change happened without prior notice to the customers that Ethiopia is no longer within the Elite super promotion!
I would like to ask du if I’m not using my international minutes package to call my home country then where will I use it?
Also, why should I have this promotion? The reason I got this package is to call my home country and they told me earlier that the system was not working, but now the system is fixed. Is that really my problem?
They keep on closing the logged complaint without any action! Is this how they treat their customers? Every time you call them they give you the same answer but do not take any action. I am still waiting for a response from the billing department and this month also we will be asked to pay the same, even though I didn’t use my free international minutes yet.
I visited their office in Dubai Media City as well and I thought that this is their head office so I will get a response. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet the higher management.
Any changes that they are doing with their system, the customer should be informed first, unless they want to cheat! Since I wasn’t informed, I am not willing to pay any extra money. My friends have the same problem.
I visited their office in Abu Dhabi and informed the manager. I was told that the issue has been resolved. But, the manager at the Mall of the Emirates branch informed me that Abu Dhabi and Dubai are different. He discounted Dh42.50 for each month, which he said he is going to pay from his own pocket, as that was the actual rate to call Ethiopia and the remaining amount I had to pay and was charged Dh4.20 per minute. Total calculation in their system is now Dh479.
I was quite angry with the du customer care centre. I would appreciate if Gulf News can help raise this with someone who has the authority to make decisions.
From Ms Mekdes Alemayehu
Dubai
I am facing a serious problem with my du postpaid connection, I subscribed to the Elite Super Plan for Dh250. Majority of my calls are to Morocco. I have been using this postpaid connection for more than eight months. As per the plan whenever I call any international country, du used to deduct from the available free international minutes. When my free minutes got over, only then did they start charging. But, for the current billing cycle, I noticed that from the date of May 28 they were not deducting from the free minutes whenever I called Morocco.
Initially I logged a complaint to the du customer care department regarding this issue. The customer care executive informed me that there is a problem on their servers and it will be resolved within a week, but till now the problem has not been solved. Meanwhile I logged two more complaints, but when I called the customer service they informed me that the problem has not been resolved and they are not sure when this will be rectified. They advised me to pay the bill.
My unpaid amount reached nearly Dh1,000.
My question is how I can be responsible for their issues? If I don’t pay the bill, my connection will be transferred to prepaid, it is totally unfair and unjustifiable.
From Mr Mohammad Sagar
Al Ain
The management of du responds:
We would like to inform our customers that the number of countries for which Elite Super Plans free international minutes are eligible for, remains 190 countries since the beginning of the service. These are listed on our website: http://www.du.ae/en/mobile/plans/elite-super-plans/plans and http://www.du.ae/en/mobile/plans/elite-super-plans/Top-190-destinations. Due to a technical error, 11 additional international destinations were added to the above-mentioned 190. The error was rectified immediately. As a gesture of goodwill for any inconvenience this may have caused, we have added these additional 11 international destinations to those eligible for the Elite Super Plans free international minutes, for a limited period. In the future, customers will be notified 30 days before any further changes to the international destinations or any price changes within the plan.
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