Airtel, country’s largest GSM mobile service operator has issued a notice to all subscribers in Kolkata and West Bengal telecom circle that calling to customer care and talk to customer care excutives is not free at all from now.
While calling to 198 and register your complain will be treated as toll free. Even you can dial *121# and get onscreen menu for Offer of the Day, Balance & Validity and VAS activation free of cost. But calling 121 and talking to Airtel customer care excutive will be charges at 50 paisa/3minutes.
Here are the Details for charges for Airtel Customer Care-:
| Service Type | Mode | Charges |
| Complain Helpline | Dial 198 | Toll free |
| Ask a Question | Dial 121 | Toll free |
| SMS <airtel> to 121 | Toll free | |
| Log on to www.airtel.in | ||
| Dial 121 (Customer care Agent) | 50 paisa /3 minute | |
| VAS activation | SMS ‘START’ to 121 | Toll free |
| VAS deactivation | Dial 155223 | Toll free |
| SMS ‘STOP’ to 121 or 155223 | Toll free |
All private GSM operators(COAI & AUSPI) got the consent from TRAI to charge such calling a month before. Idea in Maharastra and Mumbai has already started this.
From the customers’ point of view it is not a rational system as when call center is busy or hold the customer’s call for a time the subscriber has to pay due to call center’s fault. At the same time operators are giving the reason as majority of calls that mobile users make to customer care are for inquiry purposes, and not related to grievances or complains. Since running these call centres and offering customer care involves a huge cost, they want consumers to pay for this service.
J Rajendra Prasad January 30, 2013 at 7:12 pm
I am unable to type more than 70 characters in one text message, BEYOND WHICH it goes to the next page and is charged as the second message. Kindly help
Chitrita Biswas December 3, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Why Rs3/ Day will be deducted from my pre-paid mobile no.9903247372 ? I received such message 2 hrs ago ( 8-30 pm today (03.12.12). I strongly protest for such unfair means deed. Please stop it immediately and confirm me by return mail and arrange to return the amount already deducted without my consent from my prepaid amount.I tried to connect through but failed to inform that .
sanat kumar bhaumik September 13, 2012 at 6:45 pm
I lost my prepaid airlel SINM 97485 71610 on 29.08.2012 and and stopped service by calling 98310 98310 on the same day. Then on last Saturday I paid Rs.25 with all documents (Police Diary, Identity and Address proofs) to airtel franchisee, J F R Teleservices at Madan Steet and called airtel customer care (98310 98310) requestiing to restarting this SIM which has note been done yet.
Would be grateful if you could start the services of this SIM 97485 71610 immediately. Best regards. Sanat Bhaumik
Tanvir September 2, 2012 at 2:13 pm
i m from bangladesh last 3days ago i was in kolkata that time i use airtel sim..
now i m in bangladesh today morning i saw my airtel sim was activate i can call from this number..so i want to know can i recharge my number from here ?
ANIRUDDHA August 15, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Bharti has become tooooo big for general customer….
Information of 160 full talk time is wrong… 139.40 only I got…please don’t cheat people like this…
ANIRUDDHA August 15, 2012 at 10:24 pm
My security guards prepaid airtel incoming got blocked … Called all possible airtel numbers which is taking to ivr but not able to reach customer care person. Bogus service …
Saptarshi Roy June 13, 2012 at 7:50 am
Contact the police, lodge an fir with them with the imei/esn, approach carrier and block sim/ruim.
sangita June 12, 2012 at 8:09 pm
lost my mobile please help me out to find out the location or stop
sumi May 21, 2012 at 5:49 pm
gud for nothing…
Francis May 21, 2012 at 9:51 am
AIR TEL IS CHEATING THE CUSTOMER, THEY ARE ROBING THE CUSTOMER BY FRUAD CHARGES AND EARNING MONEY.
THEY HAVE CHEATED ME IN CHARGING 2 TIMES FOR NET CONNECTION CHARGES, WHEN I HAVE NOT APPLIED FOR IT.
I AM TRYING TO GET TO THE CUSTOMER CARE 121 BUT COULD NOT BE CONNECTED
MY NUMBER 9987301664
Kunal Champader May 16, 2012 at 11:56 am
hi,
3G service till not launch in my area why too late to launch.
Suman Bhattacharya March 10, 2012 at 4:43 pm
I have one sim (WB) no. 9932117060 which is now giving Sim registration fail. Since I have transferred from Kolkata to Paradeep orissa I again purchase one Airtel sim at orissa no. 9938443080. When ever I used to go to Kharagpur I use this sim , I am having single sim mobile phone . Several time I had gone to your customer care deptt. at Kharagpur near LIC, Inda Branch, Kharagpur but that lady did not listen to me . Don’t know how to talk to a customer (Being in a customer Service centre) .
Plz. activate my Sim with balance. Plz. note that I have given all the person my this number.
Regards,
Suman Bhattacharya
IOCL, Paradeep
e-mail id : sumanb70@yahoo.co.in
Sujoy February 23, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Hi,
I am one of the prepaid customer of AIRTEL since 2004.But sorry to say that here pulse rate is much higher(Rs.1 FOR EVERY 1 MIN).
aircel charging 0.20 paise for 1 min
Thnaks,
Gautam Roy February 15, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Sir,
I’m one of the customer in your circle, my Mobile no. is 9748479848 (Kolkata). As per my complain to you against Stop all SMS – your Customer care executive give me a complain no.on 08.02.2012 and confirm me to stop all sms on 14.02.2012, but till now sms is coming. please look the matter .
Gautam Roy
subhasish September 7, 2011 at 9:50 pm
one of the worst customer care have ever experienced. its better to stop that complain/normal helpdesk..its simply RUBBISH!!!!!!!!!!!!
PANKAJ TAILOR May 26, 2011 at 8:02 am
I M PANKAJ ,CELL NUMBER IS 9679562011
INS JARAWA PORT BLAIR
744102
I HAVE TAKEN AITREL CONNECTION LAST FIVE MONTH BACK THREE TIMES MY SIM IS BARRED INCOMING OUTGOING IS SEEZED NOW LAST THREE DAYS MY CELL ALSO INCOMING OUTGOING IS SEEZED REGISTRATION IS FAILED I HAVE VISITED TO AIRTEL WEB THREE TIMES AND TWO TIMES I HAVE SUBMITTED NEW FRESH RESIDENTIAL PROOF WITHIN 72 HOURS I DONOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH NEW PAPER
VERY POOR SERVICE NETWORK AND POOR PERFORM WITH CUSTOMER TO HANDLE THE CASE AND A LOT OF SILLY EXCUSES PASSES BY WEB STAFF .
SAME THING HAPPEN LAST ONE AND HALF MONTH BACK AGAIN PAPAR SUBMITTED CONNECTION IS ACTIVATED AFTER ALL THE ISSUE I HAVE TAKEN THE DECISION FOR PORTABILITY THEN AIRTEL PORTABILITY STAFF IS CALLING ME AND PROMISE ME BETTER SUPPORT AND SERVICE I THINK PROMISES ARE COMPLETELY FALSE AND SAME THING I HAVE VISITED TO WEB AND ANALYSIS MY CASE THEN I HAVE GOT SAME REPLY CONNECTION TODAY IS ACTIVATED BIT NOT DONE IT NOW CALLING UP TO CUSTOMER CARE SAME REPLY I HAVE GOTTEN UP GIVE US TWO HOURS BUT 72 HOURS SPEND OUT .
I WANT TO ASK A QUESTION WHAT ARE THEY DOING THAT TAKING PAPER AND I THINK THEY ARE USING ALL PAPERS TO FILL UP DUSTBIN EITHER SOME COMMISSION TAKEN FROM PHOTOSTUDIO EVERY TIME GO TO STUDIO TAKE TWO PHOTA AND SUBMITTED TO AIRTEL WEB
SORRY I AM VERY SAD AND DISAPPOINTED WITH YOUR CUSTOMERCARE AND MANAGING STAFF THOSE ARE SITTED IN CHAIR MAKING SILLY BAKWAS
I AM REQUESTING IF YOU AND YOUR SERVICE NOT MAINTAING THE CUSTOMERS WHY THEY DISTRIBUTE NEW CONNECTION I THNK YOUR SERVICE IS POOR IN HOSPILITY AND SEVICE BUSINESS
PLEASE CONSUME MY CASE EARLIER AND GIVE A GR8 DECISION WHY YOUR NETWORK IS NIT PASSES TO ANY MESSAGE TO CUSTOMER REGARDING ANY ISSUE
I HAVE GIVEN OTHER ALTERNATE NUMBER TO WEB STAFF BUT NO REPLY I HAVE GOTTEN WITHIN 72 HOURS I HAVE VISITED WEB THREE TIMES AND COMUNICATE REGARDING MY ISSUE
subrata maiti April 21, 2011 at 10:18 am
Dear Sir,
Please request my special offer has been deactivate kindly active my offer… i have call customer care executive and told me recharge Rs.32/- and able the offer.and activate 24hours. sir i have recharge on dtd.19-04-2011, 5.51pm. my offer on airtel to airtel 10pcs per mtn. and others 30pcs per mtn. std 50pcs per mtn.but sir this offer is not active at the moment so request sir please active my offer and uses problem airtel connection my mobile number is 9932834570.
thanks regards
Subrata Maiti
anugya raghav January 23, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Stop making easy money and start doing something productive.This is the direct robbery they do to their customers.
anugya raghav January 23, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Airtel is a cheat, they cheat their customers and earn free money out of common people.Airtel is the worst service provider…they keep deducting the balance more than 20 times a day even if there isn’t a single call made.and on complaints their executive have no words to say other than “we will refund you all what is been deducted”.and other day they beggars deduct it again.
Pulkit January 6, 2011 at 12:54 pm
@Swapnil
I agree,with Fahad and Swapnil, the worst ever Service Provider is Airtel, just waiting for the number portability to start so that we can change it immidiately. Thumbs down to Airtel. Keep spending money on Changing LOGOS and keep fooling us with different Charges.!!
fahad I hateAirTel July 26, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Airtel play like that, and cheat there customers, I witnesed many many times, SO I hate Airtel. even if we pay for calling customer care they don’t give proper reply.. most of the time they tell server is down currently unable to retrieve our data,, I am wonder when will there server up all the days… cheating service provider…. they don’t care about the customer concerns….
Swapnil July 22, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Airtel is the worst service provider I have ever come across. It sends SMS saying your Missed Call Alert Service has been activated and you have been charged Rs.15/month. Today I received one SMS saying Internet has been activated on your mobile and you will be charged Rs.5/day. All this is happening without me asking for any value added service. This is really sorry state of affair from Airtel. Stop doing this foul game with customers.
anindita das April 17, 2010 at 12:17 am
I am a airtel prepaid customer. my mobile no is 9831168679 which was having a life time validity. since last one month the sim was not used. today i have done a easy recharge of rs.50/- but the said sim is not working. i approached to customer care on 121 but of no use. as per their advice i again recharge of rs 48/- to get it for life time validity. but still the sim is not working . Again i approached to cc mr dibenduchanda, complain id is 41604341000 dt15/04/10. kindly advice me so as i can reactivate the said sim.
Col S N Aggarwal April 11, 2010 at 11:39 am
Dear Friends,
1 Thefts & Murder take place when POLICE SLEEPS.
2 As the REGULATOR sleeps, telephone users are EXPLOITED
3 EXPLOITATION of AAM ADMI [ 55 crores prepaid subscribers, 90% of total telephone users ] runs into Rs 60,000 crores to 120,000 crores annually. Unique SCAM , NOT AUCTION or LICENSE but from COMMON MAN’s PCKET.
TRAI is the silent spectator to LOOT for WHAT CONSIDERATIONS ??
4 Every one [ citizen, political parties ,,government, investigators like CVC, consumer groups and the MEDIA ] who CARE for AAM ADMI must write to the TRAI [ cp@trai.gov.in] to
A] WAKE UP and BE IN THE SADDLE
B] Act and BE ACCOUNTABLE
C] STOP packages
D] Simple PREPAID RECHARGE . [ Majority are not literate, UNLIKE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES] & Statement of Usage
E] Follow — INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE—PAY AS YOU GO
F] Stop Premium Rates for HELPLINE 139&
G] Other ILLEGAL charges
H] ORDER refund to users or
I] PAYMENT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION FUND
rigor April 2, 2010 at 7:38 pm
airtel charging for customer care call. we r not calling out lover. we just need clarifications for our plans.as a customer we have right to information. we are paying 4 rs service charge for 10rs card. where is all that money going? is airtel so poor not to afford to customer call centres?? airtel should immediately look into this and scrap the plan of customer care charges.
Irshi March 30, 2010 at 1:26 pm
@Anand Kumar Gupta
This is going to be a big hit for major telecom players who thinks Customers are fool enough to Stick on to single Mobile Service Providers. Soon Airtel the leading GSM Operater in India will come to the bottom end service provider in India.In Kerala
If Airtel customers calls customer care for registering a complaint it’s chargeable. Truly unfair.This is been implemented all over India by making fool of customers by the help of TRAI. Since every one knows the MNP (Mobile Number Portability) is not yet started implementing as the discussions goes no where about last 2 years. But the telecom players and the TRAI began acting against the basic customer rights?? Just think Do you pay any show room guys or representative to try demonstrating about the any of the Products???
This is as simple as saying for registering our own service complaint is chargeable for you….. The Airtel says 198 is Toll free. That is not true. They are fooling up the customers and making money in unethical way. Till now Tata Docomo and reliance not charging for the customer care calls. They straightly says like We are not ready to punish the customers.. Hurry up guys we need to De promote this Airtel Idiots who thinks the customers are fool.
Methods to do achieve our customer goals are
1) Dont allow them to promote their offers by sms or any means by sending an SMS START DND to 1909
2)Please don’t activate any of their Services like Missed Call Alert (This is free in Docomo & some Networks)
3)Please deactivate the Caller tune service they offer
4)Please not that after sending START DND any calls or promo comes from the provider we can claim RS.120 for every SMS or Promo Calls
5)Use the other Network Operators SIM for going Domestic&International Roaming by forwarding your calls to the other Mobile operator. (please check the rates of roaming charges (I believe the Docomo and Relaince is much cheaper compared to Airtel)
6) De motivate all the options where they can make money by fooling customers
Anil Asundi March 30, 2010 at 11:50 am
This has started in Karnataka too! I tried speaking to CustomerCare yesterday and and automated vaoice told me that it would be charged @ 50ps for 3 mins. This is absolute cheating. Is TRAI sleeping? Why did it give permission to do so? I buy their(Airtel) service and if they goof up, I need to pay them, just to speak with their representatives and inform them that they have goofed it up??? This is ridiculous….when the whole world is taking a step forward, we are taking two, BACKWARDS!
RANDHIR VERMA March 10, 2010 at 8:01 pm
This is with reference to the captioned matter. We have never seen such a regulator which even after taking congnisance of the matter and after seeing lot many stories of paid customer care is not reacting. The operators, Govt. and regulator as this all tells are indulging into cartelisation keeping the customer away. The customers are being cheated while calling 139 and no notice was given to anybody regarding Railway Enquiry starting as a paid service. This was done during foggy days of winter. Judge yourself whom we should blame.
Anand Kumar Gupta March 6, 2010 at 5:15 pm
@motta
I am not agree with your comment. As per try guide line they have to answer the complain call within 9 sec. To do that they have to get more resource.
proximus March 3, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Soon Airtel the leading GSM Operater in India will come to the bottom end service provider in India,and may be some other Big companies will take over Airtel.In Kerala If customers calls customer care for 3 times in a month ,they will block the customer,so the blocked customer wont get access to regester a complaint also.its totally unfair.TRAI wants to take this matter very seriously.Another thing they are giving offers to customers like re-charge with Rs 30 and get 50 Rs Talk time,Dear customers dont recharge bcause they will get only 20.20Rs,ie Fake offers from Airtel in Kerala.even the customers in kerala have no access to the Nodal Officers also.So Thinks abt this before taking a new Airtel connection,expecially in Kerala.
Sayantan March 3, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Airtel has been fleecing its customers for ages now . New Operators are coming with aggresive rate plans . So Airtel Beware !!
siddhant March 1, 2010 at 4:33 am
if u want to complain email that is free of cost 121@airtel.in
DUANE February 28, 2010 at 9:42 pm
CALL CENTRE CHARGING is being done, as only 37% unique customers of AIRTEL call them … this means that the same people are actually generating negative revenue for AIRTEL … the average caller (to 121) has a balance of Rs 10.50-12.75 which means he/she is a LOW REVENUE EARNING CUSTOMER (REC) yeta high cost – Airtel pays Rs 3.25 PER MIN to its call centre partners (IBM, HTMT, MPHASIS, TELETECH, PAGEPOINT etc).
So if a low REC calls you and you pay Rs 6.50 (Per call of 2 mins) I guess the removal of Free calls (Query only) makes sense!
Needless to mention, those who LIVE on free calls to 121 will oppose me !
Sayantan February 28, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I think,it’s solely my view,it is a correct step.I have seen many people calling customer care many times to ask silly matters like confirming same offer from 5 different executives.Also we don’t call cc so many times,that will affect us too much. e.g. generally we call cc around 6times/month.
siddhant February 28, 2010 at 12:01 pm
thik kaha
siddhant February 28, 2010 at 11:56 am
voda fone to copy karne me mahir hai……@vineet
siddhant February 28, 2010 at 11:49 am
airtel finds a new way for rvenue. they dont want listin the complain, ind if so with fine.
kisiko itna fursat hai ki jo ccare ko ph karke chate,
kisika problem hua hoga isi liye to call kar raha hoga usme bhi charges….
bahut na insafi hai
bahut na insafi hai
bahut na insafi hai
bahut na insafi hai
bahut na insafi hai
rajiev February 28, 2010 at 9:15 am
@Anirban Bhattacharjee all networks also follow this,within a week
vijay February 28, 2010 at 4:38 am
same in rajasthan
Anirban Bhattacharjee February 28, 2010 at 12:17 am
One of my friend is now in Delhi. He is Airtel user (unfortunately). Today he is asking me how to reduce call charge or any roaming STV available in his connection instead calling CC!!!
He said Airtel CC 121 is always busy (try 12 times) & other option call to Kolkata CC 9831098310 is charge Rs.1.50/min !!!
He got answer in 1min otherwise minimum he paid for 3min or more to solve his query.
Please airtel stop looting customer. U will lost 1st position once MNP come.
Rifaz February 27, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Stupidity of airtel makes other operators to gain customers only thing people take airtel is that it has full pledged network good for people who are travelling like me i think bsnl far better than airtel these days
Fahad February 27, 2010 at 3:16 pm
@emad
it means Vodafone wil soon follow airtel…
kaushik February 27, 2010 at 3:02 pm
another penalty will be Rs 100/number for using other operator SIM except Airtel
Rs 50/number when carrying this SIMS not using
emad February 27, 2010 at 2:52 pm
huh !! now operators should give option to customer to choose girl representative with a very melody voice as this service gone premium customer can talk as much as he want ask her for friendship and any other love related discussions on 50 paisa per 3 minute charge and customer can force her to talk more and can say “paise de raha hun koi free mein thoda hi kiya hai”
so no problem
anyway complaint call is free
any way on vodafone ivr when i spoken to C.C. it was toll free but ivr said to your call will be chaged at 50 paisa per 3 kb (minute)
Abhishek R February 27, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Aircel & Idea are already charging for calls to customer care inquiries. But thanks god, Airtel & Idea has different number to register complaints (198) & its a toll free.
Suchisuvra Sen February 27, 2010 at 12:30 pm
This is not a good step by Airtel.
Anshal February 27, 2010 at 1:27 am
@Prasath J
Too good man..
specially these,
4) Penalty for NOT attending a call @ 10p/call..
5) Penalty for disconnecting a call @ 10p/call..
6) NO MORE PER MONTH CLIP charges… You pay CLIP charges for each incoming call @ 20p/call (and Airtel executives will call you 10 times a day)
Anshal February 27, 2010 at 1:22 am
I am waiting for MNP since long, just keep on waiting buddy… it may never come!! It seems operators have made some agreement with government to just fool people with a new deadline after every 3-4 months. I read in a newspaper, citing some new problem this time, that even the May deadline for MNP may not be met.
Anywys, Airtel is once again going to prove that it indeed is the costliest operator.
Abhijit February 27, 2010 at 12:17 am
198 is the new TOLL FREE number where you can lodge a complaint. Charging for CC is implemented by mostly all GSM providers except TATA n RGSM. 198 is TOLL FREE for IDEA n AIRTEL both as per i know.
Alternate way is to send a email.. you can get email id from the airtel site. i have done it many times and got a call from CC themselves.
Udayan February 26, 2010 at 11:30 pm
@Prasath J
Great Compilation….
Now they may even charge you for abusing them in TelecomTalk…If you are wondering how it would be possible..get a glimpse of tomorrow’s newspaper and find out that AIRTEL has tied up with UltaSeedha Software Solutions for remote off-net charge deductions..
vinay February 26, 2010 at 11:18 pm
@Prasath J
really nice. its a regressive trend of charging for cc.
kaushik February 26, 2010 at 11:09 pm
great
Sayantan Saha February 26, 2010 at 9:26 pm
VERY FUNNY.Ha..Ha….Ha
Prasath J February 26, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Many more nice IDEAS for Airtel to milk its customers…
1) Rental for activating DNC (DoNotCall) tele-marketing calls, say Rs250/month
2) Charging for Incoming calls in Home circles @ 10p/min for calls from Airtel numbers and 20p/min for receiving calls from offnet numbers…
3) Charging for giving missed calls @ 75% of the original call charge.. (Even if the receiver didn’t attend or disconnect that call)
4) Penalty for NOT attending a call @ 10p/call..
5) Penalty for disconnecting a call @ 10p/call..
6) NO MORE PER MONTH CLIP charges… You pay CLIP charges for each incoming call @ 20p/call (and Airtel executives will call you 10 times a day)
7) Call wait charges @ Rs50/month
8) Penalty Rs10 for NOT sending SMS on BLACK OUT DAYS..
9) Penalty Rs10 for NOT sending ISD SMS…
10) Pay just 10p for checking balance…
11) Penalty Rs50/month for NOT using ROAMING facility in a month..
12) Penalty Rs10/month for NOT sending MMS..
13) Penalty Rs100/month for NOT using Airtel’s new App Store..
14) Penalty Rs50/month for paying Bills by cash..
15) Penalty Rs50/month for NOT using CUG facility..
Hope it will help Airtel…
Max February 26, 2010 at 7:42 pm
@Merc
but in my state (karnataka) airtel covers more tan BSNL.. ter r some villages where except Airtel no network is present… BSNL clarity is worst so it came down frm no 1 position to 5th position
RV February 26, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Its really a bad initiative from the customer point of view.why sud customer paid for the fault of company???TRAI sud stop this.
Jimmy February 26, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Are we moving forward or backwards? I mean calling other phones is much cheaper! WTF, how can they start charging for customer care? The very reason that a person calls customer care is because they have a grievance. Actually they should come up with a scheme which refunds the money in case the customer has a genuine query that needs to be addressed. Besides telecom operators operate at a huge margin so they can afford to have the customer contact centre. Its hardly a small percentage of their cost.
What TRAI doesnt realize is that now the operators will reduce the workforce, increase the turn around time for the complaint and make money off that too! Too bad!
Jonny February 26, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Its time to fight back. Let’s get together and send email to customercare and TRAI to stop charging for calling to customercare
aravind February 26, 2010 at 10:54 am
Airtel has become useless these days…I am facing problems with the network even…Customer care failed to solve my 2 issues from 3months…
IG February 26, 2010 at 10:39 am
it would be even more better if they hike the call rate.. is 2 rs /min….it will not have no congestion……
IG February 26, 2010 at 10:34 am
yes…. it may be its next step….
Tarun February 26, 2010 at 9:58 am
This is really bad guys…..
You know what will happen now….
The call centre teams will be pressurized and given target to generate revenues from calls so ultimately its going to be worse for them and ultimately the burden will be shifted on consumers…. Think a scenario
You called a Cust. care agent for some help and even the solution is simple,
1. they will ask you to hold for a min. so that they can charge more
2. if your call was about to end at 2:30 seconds, they will talk u unnecessary things to make it 3:01 secs so that you will be charged 1 Rs. instead of 50 paisa
3. Providers will impose unnecessary things on you so that you have to talk to Cust. care agent like subscribe you for ‘Caller Tunes’ without your acknowledge or make some mistakes in your bills etc etc.
and so on………..
I don’t know how TRAI can give permission for such a nonsense thing…
damn… The providers are not providing us free services, they charge for everything. So, it is their responsibility to give help to customers without any charge.
I tell you this will going to be very bad
rajiev February 26, 2010 at 9:16 am
this is good for telecom operator now they can handle more caller.no conjestion
Merc February 26, 2010 at 9:06 am
not sure how much you travel, be it otty , kodai kanal or munnar ghat roads or AP , karnataka border areas, BSNL is the only one there providing good coverage. If you ever check what Tour/Travel guides use, its BSNL. Airtel has good coverage on only national highways. not all state highways are covered by Airtel
MAX February 26, 2010 at 7:02 am
ppl use Airtel services only for one reason. best netwoek clarity & coverage( highways,villages, cities both indoor & outdoors
Arjun Aggarwal February 26, 2010 at 3:15 am
Of course this is a bad move on every operator’s part. But you can still call 198 to register complaints and that is absolutely free
rahul raj February 26, 2010 at 2:14 am
seems telcos are trying to make up their falling ARPU by using these fucking tricks
vinay February 26, 2010 at 12:42 am
rubbish idea. no need to make call as chargeable.
zaheerkhan February 26, 2010 at 12:16 am
ab aage kya nikaloge ????????
epynic February 26, 2010 at 12:01 am
BEST TO GO TO RELATIONSHIP CENTRES AND CALL FROM HOTLINES…
we get line in 1 min
btw in maha goa it has been month we are being charged for these
doc_dip February 25, 2010 at 11:53 pm
the customer relationship centres will be flooded like hell now onwards
AMIT KUMAR SHARMA February 25, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Itna lootata hai fir bhi sabse jyada subscribers all over India. I think that India has now become rich. Ha Ha Ha.
anandh February 25, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Guys u can’t call to cust. care more than 10 times in airtel,if u tried ivrs will say sms ‘my airtel’ to 121,cust. care will call u in 24 hours. what non-sense is this airtel?
Udayan February 25, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Now the customers will be harassed by a double-sided sword
Firstly..the caller tune,jokes pack,news pack,abracadabra packs will get activated automatically..deductions will follow…30Rs/month..15Rs for song change/topic change and now comes the second..
You will have to call 121 at 50p/3 min..after latest offers/VAS notifications/Horoscope..you will get the option to talk to customer care exe..He shall try to convince you that the activation has been done you..after all persuations/threats to discontinue with your service…the line will get transfered to supervisor..then comes 72 hours time for deactivation..no respite even after 72 hours..repeat call at 121(50p/3 min)…..
And the saga continues..Sunil Mittal will laugh away with your money to MTN,Zain telecom…Now as per pravailing records of majority Indian..we will have to give a miss call at 121……
soumya February 25, 2010 at 10:56 pm
FRIENDS, WHEN IS UNINOR LAUNCHING IN REST OF BENGAL. ALL SAY ITS MARCH, WILL IT LAUNCH.
I WANT UNINOR, DOCOMO PLEASE GO, GO GO GO GOGOMO.
Fahad February 25, 2010 at 9:54 pm
@idrees
wah wah wah wah…u r right
Dun spit …
Why shd we loose our calcium by spitting on these operators better not to spit and maintain our health…
Airtel ka kya hai…
Woh aj b lootera hai ,kal b rahega aur destruct hne k baad b rahega..
ujjal February 25, 2010 at 9:51 pm
@kaushik
airtel should bring a top up to call unlimited with customer care.
kaushik February 25, 2010 at 9:48 pm
to get 75-100 min free u have 2 recharge with say Rs 18
then what will be ur answer ?
altaf February 25, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Man brush ur knowledge abt telecom… I DONT NEED TO MARK UR WORDS…. IT IS THE MATTER WHICH IS LONG PROPOSED TO CHARGE CUSTOMER FOR CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE..i have seen this news way back one months ago in ET NOW news and by the way everyone is yelling at airtel but the thing is each and every operator is going to introduce the same so everyone be ready to abuse(some people are already doing that in their mind) all the operators
Sayantan Saha February 25, 2010 at 9:33 pm
As every operator is charging hence nothing to say.But TRAI SHOULD MANDATE SHOWING AREA INFORMATION INSPITE OF ADD. In the place of CELL INFO DISPLAY.
zeeshan February 25, 2010 at 9:30 pm
MNP has been further delayed to May.@AmitS
saikat_banik February 25, 2010 at 9:22 pm
lets see how it goes.but it will certainly open gates to cheat customers in various ways.
kaushik February 25, 2010 at 8:56 pm
in kolkata Aircel and Idea has unlimited onnet packs
but calling to CC is chargeable
how funny ?
kaushik February 25, 2010 at 8:54 pm
calling to A-A at night @ Re 1 per 20 min is cheaper than this
User February 25, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Being a Leading Telecom provider they should’t have done it. Instead they should provided some free minutes per month(say 75 to 100Min) for every Customer. If the any calls made beyond the free minutes allowed then they can charged 50p/4min. What do u say about it
IG February 25, 2010 at 8:36 pm
please write your view about it whether it is good or ….
IG February 25, 2010 at 8:29 pm
yes….
Jigyasa February 25, 2010 at 8:14 pm
more than 110 Milion people’s Network Kuch to hoga hi naaa………..Dont cry
zareef February 25, 2010 at 8:09 pm
3g ke baat mat karo yar Airtel thik see 2g service bhi nahi provide kar saktaa
zareef February 25, 2010 at 8:08 pm
@Idrees
yeah good said
Vinayak Pai February 25, 2010 at 8:07 pm
@altaf
Just wait and watch friend!!!!!
Am sure other operators would start following suit in other circles within the next ten days i.e by March 7th, 2010. MARK MY WORDS
Idrees February 25, 2010 at 7:55 pm
3g auctions ke liye bheek jama(collect) kar rahe hai,nonsense step already there r countless issues wth airtel billing system, aise operator par me thookna(spit) bhe pasand nahe karonga..
motta February 25, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Any how it good news for call center executives.. They dont have to answer prank calls.. But their jobs are at risk.. As service providers don’t need that much exec as they needed before.. Hope this would increase the quality of call center.. I have given up calling call center a long back.. As they are not properly updated(forget about training) or don’t have that much interest in their jobs as most of them are there for their temporary requirements.. Less execs and if they are properly compensated that would be good for everyone.. For customers there are always other options like these websites(official ad others), forums etc and for those who are not familiar with internet there is stores and outlets who might help in case of inquiries and common complaints.. And for genuine complaints 50 ps for 3 mins is not a big deal.. And off-course service providers could reimburse it as a good will gesture in case of genuine complaints..
Gaurav jha February 25, 2010 at 7:39 pm
this is completely unfair bussiness practice,, in bihar airtel,, aircel, idea vodafone started this 1 month back itself. This scheme will bring trai a sheer loss of name as these unjustified rules are now been okayed by trai itself. THINK ABOUT AAM AADMI
Shinefire February 25, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Good to see Airtel introduce such a step!! They can further lose the customers now!! New players can now gain customers much faster!! They should have done this all over India!!
Avi H February 25, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Waise Delhi NCR me to ye loot abtak shuru nahi hua, aaj hi koll karke dekha,…
Dilli me kabse lootna shuru karr rahe ho Airtel???
|-|@r@m z@de kahike,……….
zareef February 25, 2010 at 7:14 pm
its Airtel Real face
altaf February 25, 2010 at 6:48 pm
How can u say that?
EmmKay February 25, 2010 at 6:43 pm
bilkul sahi customer care wale 8-10 minute tak call hold par rakhte hain, aur agar iske bhi paise katenge to customer khud hi call disconnect kar denge phir kya fayda customer care ka. e.g. Aircel himachal me customer care executive se ekdum baat ho jati thi, but jab se unhone customer care par call karne par paise katne shuru kiye hain tabse wo 8-10 minute tak call hold par hi rakhte hain aur kayi baar to khud hi itni der hold par rakhne ke baad disconnect kar dete hain. Phir customer care ka kya matlab reh jata hai.
Agnivo February 25, 2010 at 6:42 pm
@TANMOY
Then the best operator is your family I guess? Nonsense!
Agnivo February 25, 2010 at 6:41 pm
“Phoonwa-waalon ka phoon ka talktime lootne, main aayi hoon UP Bihar lootne!”
altaf February 25, 2010 at 6:35 pm
@ Vinayak Pai
This is a scheme???? man they are charging us for call to customer care
>> I remembering going through this scheme around 6months ago on Telenor Pakistan website.
TANMOY February 25, 2010 at 6:32 pm
AIRTEL IS MOST WORST PROVIDER IN INDIA.
MAX February 25, 2010 at 6:29 pm
These **** s*ckers r very very intelligent.. when they came to know tat they cant earn money from normal call charges they simply started tis but don worry friends in future tariff war operators will start mentioning ter tariff chart in tis manner =calls to home network 30p others 50p & customer care only 10p/3mins
& one day ter ll be a big competition in reducing customer care callrates 
kunal February 25, 2010 at 6:28 pm
is airtel on its way to bankruptcy?what made airtel to take this step ?
Shoeb February 25, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Only Reliance and Tata are not charging in maharashtra for calls to customer care.
Prasath J February 25, 2010 at 6:25 pm
FURTHER WHAT WILL BE THE CHARGE FOR CALLING CUSTOMER CARE WHILE ROAMING??? Just Rs1.50/minute???
tariq February 25, 2010 at 6:23 pm
this is rubbish….dont they have any shame…..
Prasath J February 25, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Airtel is showing its REAL FACE now… Airtel is having good names for polite CallCentre executives and they have ability to solve customers’ problems than anybody else… BUT THIS SCHEME WILL ENTIRELY SWIPE AWAY THAT GOOD NAME…
Now CC guys can make its callers to wait for so many minutes, so that the customer himself will disconnect his call and THEY NEED NOT SOLVE ANY ISSUE AT ALL…
BUT THE NET-RESULT IS FRUSTRATED CUSTOMERS, which is NOT AT ALL GOOD FOR AIRTEL..
EmmKay February 25, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Thodi to sharm karo airtel aur aircel walo. Agar koi aur tarika nahi mila lootne ka to customer care par call par bhi charges laga diye. Ab to customers ke paas yahi rasta hai ki consumer court jayen ya phir April se TRAI jo online complaints ke liye website launch kar rha hai wahan par inki complaint ki jaye.
Sajid February 25, 2010 at 5:42 pm
hum aaye hain U.P. Bihar lootne…………
Fahad February 25, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Competing with international brands…
Bangladesh mei kadam rakhe nahi aur lootna start ho gaya….
Hari February 25, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Bihar mai v airtel lut raha hai
rajiev February 25, 2010 at 5:26 pm
in bihar and jharkhand all operators also charged.
mandeep February 25, 2010 at 5:20 pm
mnp shuru ho jaane do fir dekhana airtel 1 no. par rahega ya nahi
krish Sriram February 25, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Got a clarification from the operators customer care that for any complaints they can call a different number which is not chargeable and only normal calls to customer care is chargeable which i think is “fair” , your comments pls
IDRIS February 25, 2010 at 5:09 pm
IDEA /AIRTEL/ AIRCEL /already charging 50p /3mins in Mahrashtra they resolve no problems.
RDB February 25, 2010 at 5:00 pm
So Guys from now, go to ur nearest Airtel or whatever is ur operator’s shop and clarify things
hits February 25, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Better way is to log a complain in consumer court or in TRAI. Nobody can Loot their customers like this
vineet February 25, 2010 at 4:59 pm
vodafone,aircel has also started lootig customer like airtel.
zaheerkhan February 25, 2010 at 4:49 pm
acha tarika nikala hai lutne ka wow
Sajid February 25, 2010 at 4:35 pm
@IG
Good idea ! The looters will just love it. muahhh…
hits February 25, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Airtel Rajasthan is also looting customers in this way.
B Gupta February 25, 2010 at 4:16 pm
They have sensed that it is high time to loot people as MNP is being delayed again and again.
Vinayak Pai February 25, 2010 at 4:15 pm
I think this is going to be followed by other operators too. It is actively followed in other Asian countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan. I remembering going through this scheme around 6months ago on Telenor Pakistan website. I think this would be soon initiated by the incumbents definitely slowly followed by the newer operators.
AmitS February 25, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Also in UP west, Airtel published this notice in newspapers. another bad step by airtel that may lead shifting to another operators. waiting for MNP.
IG February 25, 2010 at 4:02 pm
why will not there be charge for missed call….
kaushik February 25, 2010 at 3:52 pm
aur kitne tariqe hain lootne ka ?