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Airtel Sucks New Airtel Scam- No Toll Free No Jhol Free

Airtel was one of my best mobile service providers. But with the change in its logo, I have started noticing degradation in their services. It seems that the new logo has cost the company its entire deposit of capital and hence, Airtel is accumulating the money through its customers.

I am an Airtel customer but I have decided to switch to some other mobile network service providing company. It was when my friend explained me that Airtel has adopted a new way to harass its customers who are already pissed off due to some issue. After hearing to what he said I was eager to know whether the tale is a fact.

It is said that calling Airtel and trying to speak to their Customer Support executive is no more a toll free facility. I turned my Airtel prepaid account to zero and called the so called Toll Free Airtel Customer Care number. Initially, I reached the Customer Care but I had to spend time in listening to their unwanted and highly irritating advertisement speech. But when it is time to speak to the real life customer care representative, again a dead and drab voice machine speaks "Your account balance is too low to proceed with this call". WTF.

All this hassle just to hear this daunting sentence from a dead voice machine is definitely worth the value you pay for obtaining the services. In what sense it is a toll free number, when it requires the mobile network account balance to be stuffed with funds. I also discussed the matter with most of my friends who are using Airtel and most of them were frustrated. I came across numerous such goofs of Airtel which will be discussed in later posts. But for now be aware of this Airtel loots.

Vodafone or Vodaf*** Bad Service

Vodafone the known mobile phone service provider has gained another rotten egg from my side. The case is not interesting but enough to show the bunkum service of the brand. It is known that caller tone or hello tone is a well accepted factor in the mobile phone industry. But I am not at all interested in any such services as I am a normal man with practical interests. But I do not have any idea how the service got activated for my number. I was not aware of this factor unless one of my friends suggested me to change my caller tone some other tune than the monotonous and uninteresting Vodafone tone (Well the tone is quite okay).

I was also charged for the service which I never activated; moreover, it was not deactivated any sooner. I tried to call Vodafone customer care number but, I do not know why on earth I never reach a real and live individual. Every time I called, finally I reached a point where I was supposed to follow the instructions to deactivate caller tone. I was already frustrated enough so I decided to do as I was instructed by the drab dead Vodaf*** (Vodafone) voice machine. After successfully following the instructions Vodafone customer care service assured that the service will be deactivated within few hours. But again it was when my account was again charged or deducted for the same F Vodafone service I came to know that it was not deactivated. I tried my best to reach a real person but was annoyed every time.

But finally I got rid of the service by trying to deactivate it four times through same monotonous useless procedure and also once sending an SMS to some number. After this I decided to give away the Vodafone SIM card to any one of my family members and switch to a better mobile phone service provider than Vodafone.

HUTCH IS VODAFONE-Does the service remain the same...bad, pathetic?

Hutch is Vodafone..The service still sucks, pathetic and bad, I reckon.

I was introduced to the Hutch Group Talk family plan last year and I was happy with it. This is what the HUTCH family plan actually has:
Member to member call rate: Free
Member to any Hutch subcriber: 50 paise per minute
Member to any other service provider apart from Hutch:1.69 per minute.
The leader of the plan can call any network provider at 50 paise per minute


There is nothing wrong with the above plan...However two months ago, a female from Global Direct, Mumbai came to my office. She told me they have a scheme in which every member in the plan will be able to pay only 50 paise per minute. She said that the benefits that the 'leader' gets would be transferred to one and all.I subscribed to the plan, they told me that they would also give a complimentary sim card free of charge. However I had to shell out 600 odd bucks for the benefit of 50 paise per minute to every member in my group.

One month transpired and when I called Hutch, it refused to acknowledge the plan. I got the bill (a good lofty 2000 bucks) but there was no discount of 50 paise per minute as promised. It was the same plan. It was then that I realized that I had just paid 600 bucks to buy another sim-card. The slashing of tarriff at 50 paise per minute to all network providers was all ball-talk..

Now you will see that it is all Global Direct's doing..why blame Hutch! Well both are affiliates of each other. Hutch uses Global Direct to cheat customers. Okay this is just one part of the story...

Next, being pissed, I called up customer care to remove the promo pack put by Global Direct. I told the customer service provider there to take off the promo pack of 50 paise per minute to every network provider. This female told me that they are not in a position to remove the promo pack. I called up again, this time a man picked up. He said, "we can remove the promo pack but you can do so only if you call up 4 days before the bill cycle date." Pathetic service from Hutch(sorry vodafone) at its best!

I called up Hutch 4 days before the bill cycle date and told them to remove the promo pack whch was levied on the date July 28th 2007. She went ahead and remove the privilege of the leader, ie, 5o paise per minute to every network provider. As a result my tariff was being charged at Rs.1.69 per minute. I went to the Hutch gallery in Churchgate and said that I should get some compensation for this but he said that it is not possible. He did change it back to the 50 paise per minute. Why? I don't understand why should customers have to pay for the mistake(read ignorance and arrogance) of the customer service reps at Hutch. The Hutch executives closely guard their computers and do not show or tell what changes they are doing to your account even after giving verifiable details. It is really scary!

Hutch simply said, is a crook company and Global Direct is its accomplice. The benefits which they talk about do not reflect on the bill. The big talk about discounts are written in a complicated manner on the bill, so you cannot really figure out which is which. I could not really understand which the multinational brand could stoop so low to sell a simcard.

ICICI sucks-These guys dont even know to talk properly

I was preapproved for ICICI credit card thanks to my outstanding performance in maintaining the balance (whatever that means!). I dint receive the card for a month since the last time the executive took down all the personal details and proof of identity. In the span of that period, my work place shifted as a result of which I had to inform them about the new place to deliver the credit card.

When I called them to inform them about the change of the address, I was transferred right, left and center for 20 mts. I got an executive finally who sounded bored and disinterested. She then finally asked me to tell me the address of my company. I gave her the address and waited to find out if she was attentive enough to note down the name of my company. She didn't and when I told her the name of my company, the customer executive began to place the blame squarely on my shoulders as if she was doing me a favor. I told her that she should know to talk properly and I was not the one who applied for the card, but they who are hell-bent on giving me one. There was no courtesy in the call. Someone tell these guys to behave properly. If ICICI guys can be this rude in changing the address, you can imagine how they will be when they call for debt collection.