The Telecom sector mischief-mongers - don't wait for Anna

The ad by Docomo about "no fine prints" in their tariff plans is sarcastic about the competition. But if biggies like Airtel resort to the "tricks of the trade" I guess they are justified. Hope the ads and articles like these on the net would bring about some awareness and perk up the telco bosses.

Living in a housing-society which has a Airtel hub and being offered a Combo plan giving both broadband (@2.1mbps) and a phone line with Rs 200 worth free calls to any phone made the choice obvious - I had opted for this bill plan way back in 2008. Having had billing issues in the past, it was very comfortable when neither the speed nor the bills were upsetting. Alas ! peace was to last only 3 years !!

One fine evening in Aug 2011 the bill came in and the TV channels were boring. So I found time to scrutinize the bill - an act I am sure nobody finds time for these days. How much on STDs, how much on Internet, and lo ... the discount on phone calls was not there? How come, take out an older bill - yes, it's there, why not in this bill, call customer care, register a complaint - again many customers wouldn't go this far - after all it's only hundred and something rupees - kiske paas time hai?

And that's exactly what these companies bank upon ! Kiske paas time hai - noone will notice! even if they do nobody would complain ! We need a lokpal to rid our society of all evil. Us ? we don't have time !

What followed was emails and counter-emails. What will probably shock you is the number - I diligently kept on reminding - 24 times in 4 months to Nodal officers, Appellate authority and the Ombudsman!! What kept me going were two email acceptances of error in Sept and Oct 2011 and 4 reversals till Nov. So it was working, right?

Wrong ! Come 2012, they stopped responding and the reversals stopped too. Then the phone went dead. But the erroneous billing continued (over a dead phone ;), funny na?).
No internet, and worse... one day when we needed to call the Hospital (and another day the Electric office) the mobiles would not connect the Toll-free numbers. We missed the landline badly.

A Consumer forum complaint and the officials became tight -lipped. "Our legal team is working on it, I am not authorized to respond anymore". Again nothing for a month in spite of reminders. Then the case was closed based upon an Airtel response - "All is well !" - what a farce if the authorities only listen to the mischief-mongers and not the complainant.

Somebody mentioned a DoT complaint.

And Yessss!! After 10 months, Airtel accepted that they changed the FCV calculation to a "new process" (A2A). Rather stealthily, no notification on the bills or mail - noone noticed - kiske paas time time hai? And those who complained were "educated" (read 'bribed' with reversals). Rather clandestine for a market leader, don't you think?

They say "TRAI guideline gives them the right to change tariff plans at their will after 6M" ! Should I feel elated that they took 3 yrs to change? Attitude !!
When asked whether the TRAI guideline talks of PRIOR notification to customers - lips sealed again ! Cat-and-mouse !! Then came the "Apologies for the inconvenience...blah...blah ". Offer for alternate plan. Sending the official home for reactivation. etc..etc

So now I must migrate to another plan with no free call option to all phone, policies changed .... some offer for discounted STDs.

OK, but only if you are a little wary can these surreptitious acts be brought to light. And only if you spare a little of your time to spread the word (even if its Internet activism like the threats from Airtel incident) will these betrayals stop !! Alone Anna cannot help !!!

Victory for Mamata comes with a thorn ...

Soon after coming to power in the state, the Mamata Bannerjee government passed the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011. On June 22 this year, the government took over possession of the land on which Tata Motors had started construction before moving to Sanand in Gujarat. On the next day, Tata Motors moved the high court, challenging the legality of the Act.

Tata motors not to get back the Singur land ...

Calcutta high court on Wednesday ruled that the state government was well within its rights to repossess the land in Singur, Hooghly that was handed over toTata Motors for a small car factory. Tata Motors can't get back possession of the land but can apply for compensation to the district judge of Hooghly who will determine the same under sections 23 and 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

Floodgates have opened on the net with comments for and against ...  in a vote conducted by Times 78% respondents feel Singur would not have benefitted by Tata opening the factory there. I re-post some of the comments here for a good read of both perspectives...


Sougata Pramanick Giving fertile land to TATA was an error which the Left committed. If Mamata opposed that  - it was not her fault. She became the scapegoat for Left's folly. Tata could have easily taken barren land few hundred km away. The land near Kharagpur is a arid plateau near to Jamshedpur - what about the multi-crop yielding greenery of Singur besotted Tata / CPM govt's imagination, is beyond comprehension.

WB no doubt needs industrialization, but not by grabbing land like in Lavasa, Noida or Gujarat. These poor farmers elsewhere in the country have splurged the extra cash on Skodas and Mercs and reverted back to alcohol/poverty in no time.

Mamata now needs to attract industrialists by reforming work culture in the state, again spoilt by the decades of Leftism.
 
Krishna Sharma what TATA has given to India none of any other industrialist or any charitable organization has ever given or in future they will give .. and this treatment with the India the most respectable firm is really very sad.. We youngster are the great sufferers of all this ...........

Vivek (Sydney)
29 Sep, 2011 07:29 AM

TATAs were, a couple of decades back, synonymous with "nation building". This perception, in recent times, has eroded drastically because participation in Nation Building programmes by TATAs is minimal. Nano or most of their ventures are part of personal wealth building. Yes, had it been linked to 'road space' increase - we would have continued to accept their role in NB. Negotiating with a government to usurp arable land from farmers without negotiating an acceptable "package", (by farmers ; not govt) is certainly unbecoming of a business house of the repute of TATAs. When the push came to shove during Mamata's movement, at no stage did any senior representative of Tatas meet the farmers or landowners to negotiate a fair deal. The contact was mostly through the government machinery, which invariably had vested interests. On one hand we laud Team Anna and in the same breath how can we tolerate "Corporate Zamindari" being practiced from the shadows of the government. Well done Mamata!!! The farmers will bless you, not only if they get their land back but also if they get a better deal from any future venture in Singur.

Rama (Hydrabad)
29 Sep, 2011 02:36 AM

Calcutta High Coart has given a judgement, it is expected in all the state same rule should be followed. There are huge land grabbed by Railways,Government agencies,Corporate body and army,those lands should be returned to land owners.. Equal Rule should be followed for all the states .Can any government change the act and take back the land as they desire? What will be the fate of future development?

Abhijit Kulkarni (Singapore)

28 Sep, 2011 10:45 PM

who says India is a capitalist country? here comes the bold statement from Indian judiciary stating development at the cost of non creamy section would certainly dismissed and dismissed strongly. well who knows what the actual repercussion of this judgement on longer term would be, since this doesn't send a very good signal to India INC which has already had quite a few dent because of bad governance. I certainly feel bad for Tata's, one of those few names in Indian corporate which are perceived to holds some strong real moral, to loose on this front specially after going through their defense since they were never quite wrong in this case, its a bit mis-handling the deal by government with some injustice to localities best exploited by political moves .. I am sure Mamta would never have got that for Tata's since this is case, that has brought her into the power. In the end, we can only hope that the common people who lost their land should be benefited. The irony is this is one of the biggest industrial deal signed by communist government only to get ruled out by so called Socialist (or capitalist) Congress.

Sutanuka Banerjee There are a large number of closed and sick industries in West Bengal. The West Bengal Government does not have any policy related to the land locked-up in such closed and sick industrial units. This land had been given to various industria...lists to set up factories in the past. This land cannot be used for any other purpose, but residential complexes and shopping malls are coming up on such land and they are also being used for other non-manufacturing activities......http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article52.html...... Citizens’ Chargesheet On West Bengal Government’s Development Policies.....

Anwar Husain Left destroyed the wb

Sutanuka Banerjee more than 4,000 heavily armed police stormed the Nandigram area with the aim of stamping out protests against the West Bengal government’s plans to expropriate 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) . The police sho...