Mar 25, 2006 11:41 AM
2191 Views
(Updated Mar 25, 2006 11:41 AM)
I had subscribed to Idea's 2 year advance rental scheme some 6 months back. I just wanted to share my experience with Idea, more so since it is a Tata group company (partly) and I am also part of Tata group.
Initial Subscription:
I got to know about the scheme through a phone call from some sales agent. I was looking for such a scheme as my prepaid Airtel card was expiring. I talked to an executive of Idea and subscribed. Though everything was fine, one point left a bad taste in the mouth. I repeatedly asked about hidden charges I would have to pay (apart from Rs 900 advance rental and monthly call charges). I was assured that Rs 900 was all I had to pay. Then in the first month's bill were Rs 90+ for service tax! But this I consider my oversight, since I should have specifically asked about taxes.
Service and features:
Call charges are higher compared to Airtel, but I took these on since I need my cell mostly for incoming calls. But emergency calls from mobile with such a plan can really be expensive. Especially, any usage with 4 digit numbers (8888 etc) attract really high charge (> Rs 7). Also, Idea charges Rs 50 for CLIP (Caller Line Identification).
Also, there are no discounts, special schemes etc for Tata group employees. However, Airtel has always provided such special schemes or our company. I find it amazing, since Idea is a Tata group company and Airtel is not!
But the worst aspect of Idea was the coverage. I stay in Gurgaon and had no coverage problem ever with my Airtel connection. But with Idea, my phone was forever in 'network search' mode. Calls got disconnected regularly. Repeated complaints to Idea only elicited assurances that somebody will come and check. Of course, nobody came.
Current Situation:
Finally, I took a similar plan from Airtel (I wasn't aware of such a service from Airtel earlier). The call charges are less, coverage is superb, services like CLIP, STD, ISD, roaming are free.
My Idea SIM is lying unused. Every month I get a negative bill (I paid more for a month). I am not planning to use this SIM again at all.
