Unwanted upgrade

Unwanted upgrade

I need Gulf News’ help to resolve and escalate a compliant that I logged with etisalat on February 4. I received a call on February 4 from a sales staff member, to upgrade my eLife service to a higher package for Dh10 a month. Although I was busy and told the staff member that I could not discuss the offer, he insisted it was simple and would not take time; he was really pushy, hence eventually, I agreed.

Around an hour later, I called after recognising that the service would not suit me because of a mandatory two year contract and high exit fees, and the fact that I do not plan to stay in the country for two years.

So I called 101, and the agent, in a relaxed way, said there is nothing she can do, except raise a compliant. I then went to their branch in Mirdif City Centre to raise an official complaint and the staff and manager there assured me that the complaint has been escalated.

On February 6, I received a call from a technical support staff member to come and install the service. I declined the visit and explained the above, so he assured me again that the service would be cancelled.

On February 8, I received an SMS that confirmed the service had been completed. So again, I called 101 and the representative now said the application had been completed and they could not do anything to help. I asked to speak to a supervisor, who advised that I could only write to care@etisalat.ae to escalate the issue, which I did.

I received the first response on February 10: “Downgrading to the old package will not be possible as per business guidelines”, which I disputed on the basis that I did not even receive the service.

The second response was on February 10: “In reference to your complaint, we would like to inform you that the request has been cancelled”. So I called 101 to confirm, but with no surprise, found that nothing had changed and my package was still the new (forced) package, so I escalated the matter again.

The third response on February 11, stated: “Please note that downgrading your service to the old package is no longer possible as the old plan is no longer available”.

So I decided that I needed to go somewhere else to get some attention.

My request to etisalat is to revert my package back to the previous plan or a similar plan without a contract and without any charges.

From Mr Waseem Abdul Haq

Dubai

The management of etisalat responds:

Thank you for bringing Mr Abdul Haq’s concerns to our attention. Etisalat’s customer service team would want to apologise for all the inconvenience caused and has taken immediate action on the same. Mr Abdul Haq was provided a save offer for 12 months as a compensation and equal to the amount, which would have been charged for exit from the plan and devices. Additionally, as agreed with Mr Abdul Haq, a wireless phone and set top box will be installed as well, in his apartment.

Mr Abdul Haq responds:

Thanks a lot Gulf News and etisalat, for the update and assistance. I can confirm that the issue is resolved.

(Process initiation: February 17. Response from organisation: March 30. Reader response: April 4.)

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.