‘I should be compensated... for my time and money’

Readers’ issues raised successfully with telecom service providers and a bank

Out of order

O n October 3, I ordered an iPhone 6s from etisalat. Then, I received a call on October 12 from etisalat asking me to select a new number to which the plan of the device would be applied, as the number I chose was “unfortunately no longer available”.

I informed him that I purchased the plan on my existing number and it was confirmed to me by the page displayed before purchase, summarising the order. The number was not actually selected, rather, I searched for it.

And the fact that it’s no longer available is the evidence. In addition, the Dh1,000 I paid was credited to my existing number. The agent said he would send the case to the concerned department and would come back to me soon. Since then, nothing has happened. I sent numerous emails to etisalat and approached them through the chat. I always get the same answer — “Wait till we call you”.

Would Gulf News please convey my case to the public and those concerned? I was unable to reach anyone to tell me what’s going on in etisalat and I was wondering if I was the only one. From Mr Saeed Othman Dubai

The management of etisalat responds:

Kindly note that the customer’s issue was resolved and the customer has already been updated.

Mr Othman responds:

Yes, the issue Thanks.

(Process initiation: November 15. Response from organisation:

has

been

resolved. November 19. Reader confirmation: November 23.)

New Sim, old number

I was using a Smart 150 plan with du when a representative visited my office on September 8 and offered me a Smart 300 plan with the following benefits: Dh225 monthly charges. 600 flexi minutes. 300 local minutes to any special number. 12 GB data pack per month. Free incoming international roaming.

However, I told him that I didn’t want to change my number, so this package should be given on my old Sim card.

He confirmed to me after talking to his manager that it could be done, and that my old plan will be deactivated. Once the new Sim is in the phone, I could expect it to have the same number. He also mentioned that the process would be complete within a few hours and said I would get a message. He mentioned that I should use the new Sim, since it is a 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Sim and I would receive a faster internet speed.

To date, my old package is still activated and the new package is also active on the new Sim. I also paid him Dh125 as subscription fees.

The du technical team called me and said that they have filled in the form where the new number is mentioned and according to them, it means I agreed to get a new number in place of the old one.

However, I copied the same form on that day and the new number was never mentioned on it. I still have the copy and I have sent the copy to du customer care and also gave the copy to their Hamdan Street Office in Abu Dhabi.

The sales representative put the number in after he left my office. This is a clear case of cheating and fraud by that person. I should be compensated for all this fuss and wastage of my time and money.

I would like the following actions from du:

Transfer the Smart 300 plan to my old number and cancel the Smart 150 plan.

If the above transfer is not possible, cancel the Smart 300 plan and reverse all charges, including the Dh125 subscription fee.

Take strict action against the sales representative. From Mr Mohammad Shafqat Omar Abu Dhabi

A spokesperson from du responds:

In response to Mr Omar’s query, following an investigation into the matter by our team, we found that the sales agent had given a special price with added benefits to the customer for taking a new du line. Upon the time that Mr Omar approved the transaction by signing the digital form, he was under the impression that the new plan would be migrated to his existing number. While the sales agent had acted accordingly, there was a gap in communication with the client. We explained the source of the miscommunication to Mr Omar and duly compensated him with a goodwill voucher which he accepted. The customer was satisfied with this resolution and the case is now closed. We apologise for any inconvenience he may have faced.

(Process initiation: October 7. Response from organisation: November 7. Process completion: November 25.)

A points problem

I n June 2015, I submitted a request to obtain a credit card from Commercial Bank International (CBI). My primary condition was not to pay an annual fee. CBI issued a credit card with an annual fee of Dh500 and the agent promised that the equivalent amount of the annual fee would be reversed in the form of reward points. I started to use the card and am now eligible to spend reward points worth Dh500.

However, when I tried to spend it on my utility bill, I received a technical error. I escalated the issue to the CBI call centre on October 22 with all the screenshots.

CBI told me there was an internal issue and that they were working on this. They also promised me that within one or two working days at the latest, it would be resolved.

Since the beginning of the week, I have been trying to find a solution, but each and every time I contact CBI, their staff members are reluctant to help me. I raised a complaint and it was closed without my knowledge. I would like to share this experience with Gulf News readers. From Mr Harun Soylu Dubai

The management of CBI responds:

The complaint raised by the customer to CBI was due to a technical issue with our redemption partner, while the customer was redeeming his reward points on his credit card. We are pleased to inform you that we have contacted our customer and closed his complaint on November 2.

We thank you for helping us serve our customers better.

Mr Soylu responds:

Thanks for the feedback. After Gulf News’ intervention, CBI management called and the issue was solved immediately. A big thank you to the newspaper.

(Process initiation: November 11. Response from organisation: November 15. Reader confirmation: November 25.)

Editor’s note: Do you have similar issues that you would like to raise with us? You can write to us at readers@ gulfnews.com