Idea, BSNL have the highest call drop complaints

Despite massive campaigns promising respite from call drops and superior network, telecom service provider Idea Cellular is one among the few operators who are facing the problem of frequent call drops.

According to the parameters laid down the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), a telecom network is considered as "worst affected cells" if more than 3 per cent of phone calls are not complete.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Etisalat are other two companies which fall in this category. From my personal experience I can say that calling from BSNL is a nightmare, as there are frequent dropped calls. Mobile number portability can rescue many people from these cell phone operators who don't want to change their number.

Gujarat unhappy with telecom service providers

It seems mobile phone users in Gujarat are not happy with their service providers. At least the data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) suggests that.

A release by the regulator says that as huge as 3,64,849 subscribers changed their service providers in just 40 days.

The TRAI release says the number of requests received from Gujarat is the highest among all 22 telecom circles in India.

The ‘Mobile Number Portability’ (MNP) service was made available in the country from January 20, 2011. And of more than 4.35 crore mobile connections in the state, 3,64,849 wanted portability.

Till late 2009, there were only six operators in Gujarat, but now the choice is wide, making people switch to operators that give comparatively better services.

Idea Cellular had the highest ‘port in’ requests at 28,803 during the period. As per industry sources, Reliance and BSNL have lost the maximum number of connections in the state during the period. While Reliance (both GSM and CDMA) lost 40,000 customers, BSNL lost 25,132 customers.

Britsh woman files complain after being duped

A British national has moved the Bombay High Court alleging fraud by a Colaba family. Pamela Bromley, 66, has alleged that the family of Anju Thakur duped her of Rs. 2 crore under the pretext of helping her buy property in Mumbai. Bromley has moved court against six members of the family.

Bromley met Colaba-resident Anju Thakur in 1995 during a Yoga camp in Gujarat. As per Bromley’s petition, she would often stay at the Thakur house during her visits to India.

Bromley’s petition states that between 2000 and 2004 she transferred money for the purchase of a flat in the same building, and other items such as paintings, crystal Buddha and crystal artifacts. The funds from England banks were transferred to the accounts of Anju, her brother Arvind and sister Manu.

IDBI bank fined for issuing a unwanted card

The Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on Tuesday held IDBI Bank Ltd. guilty of deficiency in service for issuing an 'ATM-cum-debit card' instead of an exclusive ATM card to its customer and charging him for it.

The forum directed the bank to pay Rs 25,000 to the complainant, Juhu resident Krishna Pandey, as compensation and costs of proceedings.

This is surely a good news for customers who are charged for unwanted services by various companies and multinationals. The most notorious in this regard are the mobile operators. Next time you are charged for a service you haven't subscribed for, cancel and ask for refund. Read the complete story on Times of India

SMS alerts on electricity bill

In a move to keep electricity consumers posted about their monthly bills and due date of payment, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) will start sending SMS alerts soon.

A spokesperson of the government owned DHBVN said that contract for this has already been given to a private firm.

The spokesperson said that each SMS will include the information about bill amount and due date of payment. This will be in addition to delivering a hard copy of the bill to consumers.

Consumers would get three SMSs; first to intimate them about the bill amount, second to remind them 48 hours before the due date for payment and the third SMS will be sent after receiving the payment.

In addition to this, DHBVN will provide email bills to those consumers who have registered themselves for the online facility. DHBVN has already provided a facility to its all consumers to lodge billing and metering related complaints on its website www.dhbvn.com.

This surely is a good move and will benefit the consumer, and it should be implemented all across the country as soon as possible.

Fiat dealer to make a refund for defective car

The Mohali District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered the refund of total price of a Fiat Palio car, which was found to be defective. Besides over Rs 4.31 lakh, which included insurance premium as well, a Chandigarh-based Army man will also get Rs 5,000 as litigation cost.

Allowing the complaint filed under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the Forum full bench, headed by its president BS Mehandiratta and comprising two members Dr SS Dhaliwal and HK Ghuman, Wednesday directed the Director, Hind Motors (India) Limited, Mohali, and Director, Fiat India Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, to refund to the complainant Rs 4,26,299 sale price of the car besides refunding Rs 4,817 on account of insurance premium and other charges collected from the complainant at the time of selling the car, with 9 per cent interest per annum interest.

The court asked to comply with the order within one month, failing which the opposite parties shall be liable to pay interest on the sale price at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of the order till the date of actual payment, ordered the Forum. To read the full report visit IndianExpress.