From pre-paid to post-paid

From pre-paid to post-paid

I had taken a du number a few years ago, when there was a scheme to obtain the same number as one’s etisalat counterpart. This was taken as a pre-paid connection. I opted for the same number as I had under etisalat.

Last year, du came up with an offer that the pre-paid connection could be treated as post-paid, and a rent of Dh100 would be charged per month, with a promotional offer of 100 minutes free, along with free messages and so on. I opted for this and continued with the scheme for some time. After a few months, they came up with another offer of Dh150 per month, with 300 minutes free for overseas calls, free messages, and so on. I then opted for this on a trial basis and after two months, realised that I may not be utilising the facilities completely.

At this point, I wanted to revert to the old pre-paid scheme, but du told me that I would need to pay a migration fee of Dh100 if I reverted before the minimum six-month usage period. Therefore, I decided to continue with the scheme, and after six to seven months, went to the du counter at Ajman City Centre. They told me that the system was down and they could not do anything.

I started communicating with du by email regarding the transfer to pre-paid, and they told me that I would have to pay a migration fee still, of Dh100. I told them that I was told I would not need to pay anything if I use the scheme for six months, but it seems that they have changed the scheme. This is not my problem, because I told them to check the recordings of their salespersons to confirm what I have stated is true.

I did not want to make a payment of Dh100 as migration fee, and so, did not pay the bill for July. The outgoing calls were suspended in August, and in order to reconcile the matter, I paid the July bill, and the line came back on subsequently. I have informed du in writing that I will not pay the bill for the period I was not having the service (of outgoing calls), and since they invoiced me again for Dh150, I told them that I will not make the payment, since the service was not available. There was a call from the Billings section and I told them that I had taken a du line only for making outgoing calls, and if the service is not available, then I will not pay the rent, since du is not providing me any service.

My du line is not working — no incoming and no outgoing calls — but I refuse to budge and pay the bills for services not provided by du. I had told them that if they reduced the monthly fee, I would reconsider activating the number and if not, I don’t care, because I use the etisalat number anyway, for all my calls.

I wanted to bring this matter to their attention.

From Mr Kaippilly Venugopalan

Dubai

A spokesperson from du responds:

We would like to clarify that the migration from a post-paid to pre-paid plan incurs a surcharge of Dh100. Our billing system automatically suspends any line following failure to settle the bill for two months. If the bill is not settled after the third month, the number will be deactivated. As a result, we have found that the charges incurred by Mr Venugopalan are valid and his number has been deactivated; however, he is still liable for the charges incurred and can request reactivation. As a goodwill gesture, we have offered Mr Venugopalan a free Sim card.

Mr Venugopalan responds:

Thank you Gulf News, for the response. This is not the response I personally received from du. I was informed that a credit note would be issued for the wrongly billed charges; from the billing team and from their senior manager. I had a discussion with a du representative, who confirmed that the credit was approved, and I should pay only the balance amount, which I agreed to.

A spokesperson from du responds:

In response to Mr Venugopalan’s query, our billing team sent him an email confirming the waiver of fees as a goodwill gesture following a miscommunication that occurred between Mr Venugopalan and one of our representatives. Mr Venugopalan did not receive our email so our billing team is in touch with him once again to resend and confirm the receipt of the email, in parallel we have agreed upon settling the remaining outstanding amount. The case is now closed.

Mr Venugopalan responds:

Surprise! I received messages from du on November 24, 2015, confirming that the amount of Dh420.97 has been waived, and then I received a message today asking me to pay the same amount to them! My line remains in “No service” mode, though I paid the requested amount on November 27.

A spokesperson from du responds:

With reference to Mr Venugopalan’s query, the issue has been resolved already and the goodwill waiver amount has been adjusted against his bill. The email received by the customer was system generated and can be ignored by the customer. Our billing team tried to contact the customer to inform the same but despite several attempts we have been unable to get through to him.

Mr Venugopalan responds:

Many thanks for the action. Yes, the issue has finally been resolved. Gulf News’ intervention has been really helpful.

(Process initiation: September 22. Response from organisation: November 20. Process completion: December 27.)

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