Sorry, we can't allocate that number, du tells customers

Dubai: Many customers who booked mobile phone numbers with du were surprised to learn that the telecom service provider cannot offer them the numbers they have chosen.

The customers said they are unable to get the numbers because some others have already booked them.

du is sending out SMSs to customers who had reserved mobile phone numbers, apologising for not providing the numbers they had chosen. The telecom service provider informed customers that they can only get the number which is already registered against their name with etisalat.

According to du customer service, customers who first reserved a special number will be given preference.

The customer service official said the number will be given to the person who reserved first, provided he or she pays the fees before the set deadline.

"We thought that we can get our current number [one registered with etisalat] and any other numbers of our choice. du were not very clear in that when they started their campaign," said a customer.

Another customer said he chose a special number for his fiance, but was disappointed to know that he could not get it because it was allocated to someone else.