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Changing plans behind the customer's back. Is it legal? Airtel does it again. I have been a customer now for almost 10 years with Airtel proving once more that they do not care about their customers AT ALL.
Last year in March 2010, I had called them with a complaint that the plan I was paying Rs. 2222 for was being given to new customers at Rs. 1699. They said plans do change and they cannot automatically change it for me until and unless I call them and ask them for an upgrade.
So I asked them why my Plan was no longer featured on their website and I was told that the Rs.2222 Plan was discontinued, but customers who were already on that Plan would continue on it unless and until they called Airtel and requested an upgrade.
Basically for six months or more I was paying almost Rs. 800 extra every month because I did not call them about an upgrade.
So I asked for my Plan to be upgraded. Since I was anyway upgrading, I also checked for a higher speed of 2Mbps which they said was not possible due to last mile problems after they did a feasibility study - so I could get only 1Mbps. So I settled for the Freedom 1699 Plan at 1Mbps with a cap of 100GB after which speeds would be reduced to 512 Kbps.
Knowing that Airtel cannot be trusted I requested a PDF of my Plan and also took screenshots of it as it was in April last year - I still have those documents.
Last week I get an email stating that I had consumed 80% of my download limit of 30GB and that if I cross it, my speed would be brought down to 256Kbps.
The usual calls to 121/198 began all over again and I was told that Airtel had discontinued my plan and the new 1699 Plan was a benefit for customers at double the speed of 2Mbps which they had automatically upgraded me to. However, this plan has a cap of just 30GB with a reduction to a measly 256Kbps in case I crossed 30GB.
Excellent! So, when they were getting extra money from me, they could not automatically upgrade my Plan to the new cheaper one without my request, but when it comes to a Plan which gives me more speed with more restrictions they are free to downgrade my Plan and disguise it as giving me the benefit of double the speed.
Also, suddenly, the feasibility and last mile problem seems to have been solved automatically to give me double the speed but with hidden restrictions that are completely unfair by any standards of corporate ethics or even simple customer service.
After several calls to customer care and the usual calls to nodal officers who NEVER pick up the phone, I was promised that my Plan would remain the same as the one I had taken.
However today I get an email saying I have crossed my limit and my speed has been brought down to 256Kbps!
As a 10 year old customer who has recommended Airtel to several of my friends in both Delhi and Bangalore, I can assure you that I have started actively looking for other ISP options and I will never recommend Airtel to anybody ever again... I
I have no idea who comes up with these brainwaves in Airtel but I can assure you that despite his MBA degree, he has no idea how to retain customers or keep them satisfied.
I was assured by some customer care senior exectuive today that they would revert me to my original Plan of 1Mbps with downgrading to 512kbps after the limit of 100GB. When? WHo knows? Who knows if anything will change until I actually change my ISP!
My download speeds have crashed to 256Kbps on Happy Holi.
Thank you Airtel for your complete arrogance and lack of concern for your customers.
I will also be publishing this in every possible forum and blog can find...
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