It’s a scam!. Review on Ringing Bells Freedom 251

Ever since its launch, the #MakeInIndia phone has been inviting controversies. Counting the major ones down:

• The prototype displayed at the launch was that of an Adcom Ikon 4 mobile, a Chinese smartphone, where a whitener was used to hide the brand. To clarify its stance, the Ringing Bells president Ashok Chaddha said in his statement that the review units were “not the final piece" and they "were to serve only as prototypes given FOC to a limited list of persons" However, Ringing Bells very conveniently changed the product image on its website.

  
  




• Given the spectacular specs that come packed in a Freedom 251, Indian Cellular Association wrote to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to probe into the issue, as the phone could not have been sold below Rs. 3500 considering even a subsidized sale. The equivalent model is available in the market for Rs.3000 to Rs.4000. Hence, the Telecom Ministry is monitoring the smartphone company and has promised to take action if they fail to deliver the promised phone.

  
  




• According to their claim, Ringing Bells received 6 crore registrations. The first 50 lakh units of the phone are to be delivered by 30 June 2016 which is not possible without a manufacturing setup. Hence, components will be imported from Taiwan with a 13.5% import duty for each unit and still carry a price tag of Rs.251. How is that possible? "The company is going to import components for 50 lakh units to assemble the Freedom 251 smartphone. This will be inclusive of import duty but at a much lower rate than the usual Rs.2500 per piece. This way, we’re able to fix a competitive pricing structure for the finished product which is then passed on to the buyers for Rs.251. We can even share the proof of materials with you to justify those claims, " company spokesperson said. And that the company plans to generate revenue from pre-loaded apps. About the manufacturing unit, spokesperson commented, “the company has shortlisted land to set up its modular plant, which will be finalised in the coming weeks and hopefully within 6 to 8 months, the plant will be able to produce locally.” Considering the setup process is lengthy, it can be estimated that the company will take at least a year to start production.

  
  




• Its customer service provider, Cyfuture, has accused Ringing Bells of cheating and fraud for non-payment of dues. “We were always sceptical of Ringing Bells and their business model. After several rounds of discussions with their management team and when they showed us names of senior politicians visiting their launch event, we decided to take up their project, " said Cyfuture Founder and CEO Anuj Bairathi. Further adding, "However, when we started asking for our payments, which were to be made to us on a weekly basis, they started making false allegations and abruptly decided to terminate our services citing unsatisfactory services. This is a clear case of cheating, fraud and breach of contract. As per the contract, Ringing Bells had specifically assured us of a minimum lock-in period of one year and no termination before a year, " Bairathi told PTI. On the other hand, the Ringing Bells has alleged that the BPO failed to handle huge traffic of customer calls.

  
  




• Speaking about the cheap smartphone, DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant tweeted, “This is not a Govt project. Make in India team has nothing 2 do with this, ” washing his hands of the controversial phone.