Sir,
I had sent a mail to
Vodafone Karnataka, asking for the protocol to disconnect my
Vodafone mobile account, on August 27. I had even mentioned in the mail that I wanted to disconnect my account LATEST by 11
th Sept. I never got a proper reply, but I was called by numerous representatives from
Vodafone asking me what the problem was. They would not take just the fact that 'I wanted to switch to
Airtel' for an answer.
Realising that in this way, my account will not be cancelled any time soon, I went to Whitefield
Vodafone store to cancel my
vodafone account. The representative first asked me to change to a zero rental plan or something instead of disconnecting, but I insisted on disconnecting it completely, stating the reason that I did not want to be responsible for an active
sim card falling into the wrong hands. (I should not need to remind you of what people have been able to achieve using
sim cards and mobile phones in recent history.)
Then I was asked to fill a form, and sign it, and I was asked to clear my dues, which the store representative kindly calculated for me and told me to pay at the cash counter. I came out of the store believing that for all purposes, my
Vodafone account was history now.
Few days later, I got a call from one of the representatives who had called me before to ask me why I wanted to leave
Vodafone. She obviously didn't know yet that I had already disconnected my account. I told her so, and told her that I am happy to be an
Airtel customer now, since my company also has an
Airtel CUG plan. Anyway, I made her understand my point that I was feeling better off not being a
Vodafone customer any more.
Further, on 12
th September (my usual bill date), I received a bill from
Vodafone in my e-mail, to which I replied stating that I had already disconnected my account, and settled all my outstanding, and will make no further payments.
My mom started getting calls on the alternate contact number since this week, asking if I could be contacted, and that I had to pay a bill, for a service I was not using any more.
When I called
Vodafone care, every time, I was handled by a different person. I have been handled by Mr.
Praveen and Mr.
Manoj (both from the cancellation dept I presume).
I was afforded different explanations at different points in the conversation:
1) Mr.
Praveen told me while talking that since I had mentioned in the e-mail that I want to cancel my account by 11
th of
September, I have to pay the bill till that date. My argument: Does not the fact that I actually went and got my connection disconnected have any importance in this matter? Once I get a disconnection, why should I pay for the other
half of the month, during which I did not use your services?
2) After some time arguing about this, Mr.
Praveen interrupted me and told me that he can see in the records that I had given a request for re-activation of my account on Sept 2. I was dumbfounded by this allegation. I asked him to provide me details of where I had gone to reactivate my account. He said that the
vodafone store's name is some "Feet-on-street" or something like that.
I have asked Mr.
Praveen for documentary proof of me having given such a request, to which he said that for reactivation, I don't even need to sign anywhere, or even visit a
Vodafone store. All I have to do is just place a call and ask for reactivation. He was not even ready to believe me when I said that I had no knowledge of this reactivation request. All he kept saying was that there was a reactivation request ( about which there are no more details!!), and that proves I sent a request!!
My guess is that the representative who called me after cancellation would have changed the status, without consulting me. To strengthen my case, if you check my records since 29
th August, you will see that I have not used the connection at all, active or not.
3) I tried reaching
Praveen for two more days, and kept getting routed to other people in the
Vodafone call centre. My mom still gets calls daily. I finally manage to reach a Mr.
Manoj today, who again started discussing the matter with me, and
told me that a Mr.
Shankar had come to my house and visited me at my house on the 25
th of September. don't know what Mr.
Shankar achieved in the records after his alleged interaction with me, but I know only a small fact that on 25
th of September, I was on a tour of Israel, not in India!
4) Yesterday evening I had even called
Vodafone care and told them that if the
sim card concerned with my account, which is still active apparently, and which is not with me anymore ( must be in some trash bin somewhere) is used in a terrorist plot anywhere, I
should not be held responsible.
So, to help you summarize
my complaints from the long mail:
1) Your representatives actively encourage people to keep the
sim cards active ( even when they know we are not going to use them), which could be harmful not only to the concerned person, but also to the society in general. Is it to quote a higher number of users at the cost of national security?
2) What is the point of I having to go to a
Vodafone store to cancel my account, If the cancellation request is not going to be entertained at all.
3) You have records, but you don't have accountability for those records. Case in point, my alleged call/visit to "Feet-on-street" to reactivate my account, Mr.
Shankar's visit to my place, etc. Another example I would like to give: The representatives require me to visit a
Vodafone store and sign documents to open an account, to close an account, hell even to change my alternate number. But you re-activate the account without even gathering any
documentary proof? Why? Helps make more money?
4) What came up in the discussion, that apparently I am enabled to activate a new connection in the middle of the month, but I cannot disconnect my account in the middle of the month. Seems that I have to pay the bill on the next billing date IRRESPECTIVE of the fact that I had already settled all accounts at the
Vodafone store? It is a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
5) Again, I had asked Mr.
Praveen to contact me and tell me where was it that the re-activation request was filed from. He told me he would get back to me. I haven't got a reply yet. I had even told him that I will help him resolve the problem, and had given him my new number for his advantage, but the calls to my mom should temporarily stop. The calls keep coming, and Mr.
Praveen doesn't seem interested in solving the problem.
6) Heights! When I was trying to obtain the request number above, the representative said that he can take my cancellation request on phone! If only they had told me before!
I would suggest
Vodafone try to rise above the money making mentality. Quality service to customers is important, whether it is a new customer, or someone discontinuing you services. I will wait for an appropriate amount of time for your reply regarding the same, after which I will contact the appellate authority. Kindly take heed of this mail, not just as a personal
complaint, but also to improve as a company. To be more transparent, and professional.
Regards,
Atul Deshpande
