Dec 24, 2003 10:56 AM
3117 Views
(Updated Dec 28, 2003 07:04 PM)
Just to share my experience with Reliance .
I got a reliance connection 2 months back .I was very satisfied with the voice clarity and above all a mobile phone for just 501 initial payment.
But my satisfaction ended with the first bill which arrived .The bill had so many errors and I was billed for Rs 3500 for a single month.
The errors in the bill were
1) I carried my phone while travelling and just made a single call from warangal.
Their network switched my location to warrangal and though I returned the same day they are billing me STD for all incomming calls even till date.
This was a very common problem which a number of people I met at web world were facing.
2) I donot make any local calls but still they put a charge of 300 bucks for local calls .
On complaint they say that they cannot do anything about it as these are not kept track of in their system.
3) I was billed for Rconnect which I never subscribed to.
4) Reliance starts billing a call the moment it rings at the other end ,
this means a unanswered call too is billed .
It has been 14 days and I have been constantly calling their customer support , visiting web world and mailing them but it is of no use .The only answer I get is that the problem is in solving stage and u will get a callback in 24 hrs which never happens.
Presently they have disconnected my outgoing facility.
Finally I thought of getting rid of the service and enquired about the same .Their answer was
1) Pay the incorrect bill ie 2500
2) Pay Rs 3000 for the handset charge
3) Pay Rs 40 pm for the remaining 35 unused months ie total Rs 1400
4) Return the handset
means to even exit from the scheme I need to pay Rs 7400 (2500+3000+1400 + 501 initial deposit) and return the handset too
Moreover now with the govt order for not allowing reliance to offer different rates for calls terminating to different operators the cost benefit which was there earlier will not remain.
Also a number of my friends face a problem that their voice does not reach the other end till they make 2-3 calls to the same destination , reliance says that it is a problem with handsets but I feel that it is a method to make quick bucks.
Facts to know about reliance
1) The reliance ads are completely false and their rates for calls are nearly same as calls of other cellular players.
2) Though reliance says that the handset is free of charge but in effect a cheap monochrome handset of reliance costs you Rs 8000 over a span of 3 years . This is the charge they put as additional charges on your bill ( an amount of 200 pm )
3) Reliance charges Rs 150 as administration charges every month for even the 149 scheme , the admin charges for most of the cellular players have dropped to less than 100 Rs
4) Infact even if you donot use your phone for a complete month you have to pay a minimum of Rs 450 pm for the 149 scheme , Rs 550 for 249 scheme and Rs 650 for DAPO scheme. With a prepaid card of cellur GSM this cost will not be more than Rs 300 pm which includes Rs 200 + talktime also.
5) Their customer care is of no use.
My overall analysis of reliance is
Getting into the 501 trap is easy but getting out of it is difficult.
Their service is ok , if they are able to correct their billing system.
