I have been having trouble with Airtelfor a long time, since I got suddenly overbilled out of the blue and from a normal bill of about Rs.350/- I got a bill of more than Rs.9,000/- There had been no change in my usage.
I raised the alarm when I got an SMS warning that the bill had gone over Rs.6,000/- and it still kept rising.
To compound that, complaints I made got terminated arbitrarily saying that I didn’t answer my phone. Strangely, all their calls asking me to pay get answered just fine. Why would I do that?
Then, Airtel conned me out of Rs.2,500/- in the name of a settlement, which they recorded as a part payment. They had refused to give a settlement letter at that time, saying it was normal policy.
I discovered this, when the day my number was supposed to start working again came and went and I called to find out.
Then the menacing phone calls from Airtel’s legal department started. Relentless serial calls asking for money. To the extent where I filed a complaint, and the girl called me to taunt me and threaten me further because I filed a complaint.
I followed up with the police station, and the calls stopped.
They have started again. Again it is the legal department. I explained the paroblem, and they sent me a “settlement email” from theglobalconsultants@gmail.com which legal process will accept this as official Airtel communication?
They want me to pay on the basis of this. This time, they claim it will really be settlement.
Dear Madam,
This is with reference to your A/C no 109-100362836 for mobile no 9892469127.
We would like to inform you that your above mention account b has an Outstanding of Rs. 6738.85/- will have NIL balance if you pay a sum of Rs. 4700/- (Four Thousand Seven Hundred Only/-) after adjusting Deposit of Rs. 0/- in one monthly installment (s) vide Cheque/Cash/pay order payable in favor of BhartiAirtel Ltd.
In process of settlement if your banker returns any of your cheque (s), the above settlement stands null & void and you would be liable to pay the entire outstanding as on date.
Please acknowledge this letter as a token of acceptance on or before 27th Sep 2011 failing with this will be treated as null & void.
Thanking You
Rima Shetty (Advocate)
So we have here an advocate who claims to be consultant, or goons who are faking both the “advocate” and “consultant”. Seeing as how there is no official website, phone number or anything at all indicating this is a legal entity.
Which, essentially is no different from when they conned me out of the earlier payment – this is not communication from Airtel. Last time, they had refused, and said that it was not procedure to give settlements officially, then took money and gave a receipt that said it is not valid for settlements.
This time, they are offering a letter, but not from Airtel.
And the accompanying calls are threatening too. Last time, they threatened to access my call records and call all the people I had called to demand my payment. This time, they are speaking of my relatives paying.
The woman asked me if I was a beggar, and then told me I was a beggar, and described some dargah somewhere where people like me can get money and to go there and earn money and pay them, etc.
I live tweeted some of this shit.
| “ | You know the dargah,. go there, beg money, pay your bill. Or your relatives will have to pay. ~ Airtel “legal” department. Sneha Patil | |||
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| “ | You will get calls, that you will wish you had paid. You haven’t seen how we recover money. ~ Airtel “legal” department. Sneha Patil | |||
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| “ | Make all the police complaints you want, you can’t do anything to us. Pay up. I am sending my man ~ Airtel “legal” department. | |||
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| “ | If you don’t pay, all your relatives will have to pay. Have you left them all? Are you a beggar? Go to beg and pay. ~ Airtel “legal” dept | |||
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| “ | “The Global Consultants” – theglobalconsultants@gmail.com THIS is Airtel’s legal dept? “Advocate Reema Shetty” sent email. | |||
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| “ | @ShivAroor Kidding you not. Live tweeting while on phone @airtel_in | |||
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| “ | 43473913 is the number from where I am getting the calls. – Airtel’s “legal” department. | |||
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| “ | The only sorrow is that I didn’t record that phone call, because I couldn’t figure out how. Tweets can’t convey that taunting tone. | |||
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| “ | Now that my personal problems seem to have paused a bit, I suppose I should take time out and do the consumer court thing. | |||
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| “ | But really, it isn’t only about me and one bill or settlement, but the “system” of threatening people and selling their personal information | |||
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| “ | Who gives airtel the right to sell my outstanding to some third party goon for extortion? Is not a violation of my information? | |||
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As usual, @airtel_presence has replied that they are looking into the matter. I doubt if the goons care about them.
On the other hand, now that I am back home for however long, I can do the consumer courts thing.
The way I see it, the original bill being inflated, and complaints disregarded was one part of it. Then, my information being sold to a third party – this is not my agreement with Airtel. And then, the criminal harassment and threats to people around me.
Sure, they may not act on them, but how do I know? How do I know that they will not harm me or my family? Who is responsible if elderly relatives get health problems if faced with such threats?