I have been an etisalat customer since I came to the UAE in 2007, and I am presently residing in Dubai. I must admit that I have never had any complaints about the service etisalat provides me. However, recently, I was appalled by the way they treated my complaint regarding the disconnection of my internet, eLife and landline on March 29.
I called the etisalat customer care centre on March 29 after I realised that my landline and internet was not working, but was shocked to hear from the customer service agent that my line had ceased, due to a customer request, which I never made. They then logged my complaint and issued me a complaint number with a high priority status. They told me it would be resolved within a maximum of seven calendar days.
Since there was no news from them, I called them up on April 4 and was told that the investigation was delayed because the concerned officer had gone on vacation, but that it has now been placed on the highest priority. Since then, I have been calling etisalat’s customer service number every day for a follow up, without any luck. I also visited etisalat’s offices on Shaikh Zayed Road and in Deira without any luck.
Today, when I called customer service to check on the status of my complaint, I was shocked when they told me that the case would only be investigated when the concerned person returns from vacation and I was told he would only return next week.
For me, this is just not acceptable, as my family, especially my three school-going children, are suffering as they cannot submit their projects and complete any studies online. It has now been 12 days since my original complaint and there is no solution in sight. Moreover, I have paid my telephone bills regularly every month, without any default. However, etisalat has put me and my family under undue stress for no fault of mine, showing absolutely no respect for customers, with my complaint being addressed without any priority.
I would appreciate if Gulf News could guide me on how to resolve the issue.
From Mr John Pereira
Dubai
The management of etisalat responds:
Thank you for bringing Mr Pereira’s concerns to our attention. The etisalat customer service team would like to apologise for all the inconvenience caused to him and his family due to the non-availability of eLife services. The services are now active at his residence and he was provided a compensation as well. The issue is now resolved and closed.
Mr Pereira responds:
The issue with etisalat has been resolved. Once again, I would like to thank Gulf News.
The core issue here is the fact that the etisalat customer service centre was totally disconnected from the etisalat technical department and they kept putting me off for two weeks. The problem was resolved only when I went to etisalat technical services on Sheikh Zayed Road. I had clearly asked their customer service centre if I should visit the technical service department, and they advised me that the problem would not be resolved until the investigation for disconnection was completed and that it would take at least another 10 days, as the person who disconnected my connection was on vacation. This explanation was unacceptable to me.
Now, they have connected me, but with a different package, and I will end up paying a higher amount after one year, as they have given me a Dh100 waiver for 12 months, since the new package is Dh160 more than what I was paying for earlier, before the disconnection. Once again, I sincerely appreciate Gulf News’ support.
(Process initiation: April 12. Response from organisation: April 21. Reader confirmation: April 24.)
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.
