‘I was charged Dh1,000 for data in one day’

Unfairly billed

I have been chasing etisalat by phone and e-mail for the past five weeks and have not got a clue as to why I was charged an extra amount ofDh1010.76 in one day. When I contacted etisalat, the representative said that I had used excess data, which was the reason for the additional charge.

I already have a data package of 10GB and had only used around five per cent of the data. Another representative said I had made excess calls, such as international direct dialing (IDD) and so on. However, I have not made any such calls. If they claim that I did so, I need details.

On another occasion, another customer care representative said that I had used eWap service. When I have 10GB data, why is eWap applicable?

Additionally, I am supposed to get free minutes and SMS every month under my current data package. But nothing has been given to me. I often get an SMS stating that some credit is there and within seconds another message that my credit is zero.

My data service was disconnected - without my approval and for no fault of mine - on January 9. I am not using my data package till date, for fear of further unknown charges like this. Yet, I am getting bills as per the package and now they are saying I can use the data. What do they mean?

Furthermore, etisalat personnel are replying only by phone, which means they cannot keep a record of our calls. They simply say, ‘go to the business centre to resolve the issue’. When we do go to the business centre, we take a token, wait for hours and finally they say they don’t have any details and advise us to complain over the phone.

In my last correspondence with them, a representative called and said the case is closed. Closed with what conclusion? What investigation have they done? What were their findings?

There is no change in the amount. I have already spent over 20 hours running around without getting any clear reply.

Gulf News, please check with those concerned and get a valid response to my questions. I want them to withdraw the excess amount as I was wrongly charged.

From Mr Subramaniam Atheenam
Dubai

The management of etisalat responds:

Kindly note that the customer’s issue was solved.

Mr Atheenam responds:

Thanks to Gulf News, I received credit for a major amount that etisalat had incorrectly charged. The newspaper’s intervention has helped me in a big way.

No response

I am a regular reader of Gulf News and have read similar issues to the one I am currently facing with Air India Express. My situation has to do with a delay in the processing of my refund.

I cancelled my ticket with the airline in July 2013. But despite following up with Air India Express for the past eight months, I have not received a response. I made several follow-up e-mails and phone calls for my refund but without any success.

I would appreciate Gulf News’ support in taking this matter to the right people and help me get my money back.

From Mr Ganesan Anandan
Abu Dhabi

The management of Air India Express responds:

This is to inform you that the finance department has refunded the amount to Mr Anandan’s credit card on February 17, 2014. The amount will reflect to the credit card account within four to five working days. Kindly accept our sincere apology for the delay in processing the refund and the inconvenience caused to Mr Anandan.

Mr Anandan responds:

The refund was credited to my bank account, as promised by Air India Express. I have been following up with them for the past nine months without any success. But one e-mail to Gulf News got the money refunded immediately. Thank you for the excellent support and service.

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