Not sure if this is dirty business tactics or it is a scam but it might be happening with all the vodafone prepaid users in India.
So here it goes…
I'm age
I was trying to call my wife and suddenly out of nowhere i listen a voice/caller tune (not sure what should i call) in voice of Nana Patekar (Famous Indian TV actor)
“Tera unlimited talktime aur internet ka recharge kal khatm ho jayega, jaldi se recharge karle. Heh heh heh”
(Your unlimited voice and data pack will expire tomorrow, recharge immediately…)
hearing this in the situation when you need that damn phone and the unlimited calling pack is serious issue.
My wife was travelling alone to her hometown for the first time from pune.
I tried calling her twice and the phone was not connecting. Every time i called i could hear “Nana Patekar” saying the same thing again and again!!!
Immediately i received a SMS from vodafone customer care with new plan details and I was happy to see some cheaper plans than my current one.
I recharged my sim card and activated new plan within seconds. Done!!! I was happy for a day !!!
After 2 days, I was having this discussion with my wife and she told me that we had taken 84 Days pack on March 2018 which will end on 1 June 2018 and showed me the details about last recharge in her phone.
I immediately called customer care and what excuse they gave me was seriously funny. The conversation goes like below
Me : Hello Mam, I activated 84 days unlimited call plan on 1st April but I hear caller tune that my plan will expire tomorrow.
She: Yes sir, I can see now you have activated a 398 rupees plan for 84 days from yesterday
Me : Yes, exactly correct!!!. I did it because I was confused and thought that my old active plan will expire tomorrow as per the called tune i heard when i called some people.
Also the call was not connecting few times.
She: Now, as new plan is activated you will have no issues.
Me : That is fine. What about the recharge i did on 1st March for 84 days ? How can it expire before the validity of 84 days ?
She: Let me check sir…
She: Sir, that pack was expiring on 1st June.
I lost when she said that, i asked her then how can i receive false message as well as hear the false caller tune saying the pack expiring details ?
She: Sir, it could be the fault of IVR system.
Me : Sorry madam. It is not my fault, I need my 398 rupees back.
She: Sorry, we can not refund. The new pack is already active.
Me : I will file a complaint wit TRAI (I just said this out of nowhere)
She: Sir, I have raised a request for refund. You will get message in 30 minutes and refund in 1 hr to your account.
Finally, i received 398 rupees in my account.
This happened to me because i was not having the basic idea that when last time i recharged or what is the expiry date of my plan or minute details which we generally not bother of remembering.
Also this happened in the situation when i needed this plan most so did not notice and quickly took new plan which was way cheaper than old (Old 495 new 398 with same details)
How many people are being looted daily with this dirty business tactics or by this scam ?
Hope your valuable money is saved by this answer!!!