| Name of Complainant | |
| Date of Complaint | December 10, 2018 |
| Name(s) of companies complained against | Airtel |
| Category of complaint | Entertainment |
| Permanent link of complaint | Right click to copy link |
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Airtel DTH is activating(by default) new channels for its customers under the name of promotional offers; free for first 3 months and chargeable thereafter. When I contacted customer care of Airtel regarding this, I was informed that the service(in the form of new channel- Miniplex) was activated for all customer by default. There was no opt-in process required at the customer end. A promotional offer which is chargeable after a fixed period of time, should be opted by the customer and not forced open the customer. The executive also informed me that the customers receiving this offer were informed through SMS. When I asked about the opt-out process owing to the charges, I was informed that all customers would receive a call from the company regarding the charges and steps for deactivation through call. Why not SMS? Everyday, lots of harassment calls in the name of marketing and advertisement are received by customer and it is highly unlikely that customers entertain all those calls. They’re exploiting this way by forcing customers to accept what they don’t want. When I enquired what about customers who have activated DND, the executive said they wouldn’t be informed. On asking further, where can this information be viewed on the My Airtel app which shows information regarding the package details, the executive said nowhere. Look at the irony here.
This is plain scam; on the very face of it. Look at the size of Airtel customer base. There are no free lunches and Airtel DTH is very conveniently trying to scam customers in this way.
The cost of the channel is Rs. 65 per month. As I check the details on my app almost on a daily basis, I noticed the price difference of my monthly charged being bumped up by Rs. 65. On contacting the executive, the charge was refunded immediately. Just imagine how many customers and noticing this- a very small fraction of the ones being scammed in this form.
I urge authority to take cognizance of such matters and malpractices. Any chargeable promotional offers should be via opt-in and not through opt-out. There are better ways to make money. This is morally wrong and ethically incorrect on the part of Airtel or any such entity that indulges in these forms of organized scam.
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