Readers’ grievances addressed
One reader is charged for international roaming, unaware that the WiFi wasn’t working, while another says he had problems getting his credit cards cancelled
Overcharging for roaming
M y wife is overseas and she used her mobile phone to make BlackBerry Messenger Text calls, which are free calls as long as you have a WiFi connection. Unfortunately, if the connection is weak, they are automatically treated as data calls, while the caller is completely unaware that such calls are being charged at premium (international roaming) rates. We are now faced with an extra charge of Dh995, accumulated within a few days. My complaint to etisalat has been unsuccessful as they claim that since another country is involved, they cannot reduce the charge.
My request to them to remove their own charges is going unanswered. Ironically, instead of any reduction, they’re overcharging us, as such calls are loaded with additional charges. From Mr Jaweed Syed Dubai
The management of etisalat responds:
Thank you for bringing Mr Syed’s concerns to our attention. It is important to note that a customer can make free calls on the BlackBerry Messenger Text calls over a WiFi network, but when the connection is weak, it uses the existing data network. Subscribers are always notified when the data network is used for making these calls. We have now activated the hard cap on his connection to avoid similar discrepancies in the future. Mr Syed was contacted and informed on the same and as a special case, a specific amount was credited to his account. The issue is now resolved.
Mr Syed responds:
I received a call from an etisalat representative, who agreed to refund the money charged for data services and also told me that in the future, there would be no charge for data usage overseas, if it is outside a plan. They have refunded August 2016 charges after making a deduction of Dh400. Subsequently, I received a bill for September, which is a continuation of the August bill for the same subscriber, with data usage at Dh584. It was clearly mentioned by the etisalat representative that such charges would not apply, but they now are unwilling to refund the September charges. Please, can Gulf News forward this complaint to them to resolve the issue?
The management of etisalat responds:
Thank you for bringing Mr Syed’s concerns to our attention. The etisalat customer service team would like to apologise for all the inconvenience caused to him. In this case, the customer was refunded for both months — August and September — after deducting the amount of the minimum packages as per the October bill. Mr Syed has now been refunded and the hard cap is activated, therefore no charges will be made for data roaming in the future.
(Process initiation: October 9. Response from organisation: October 31. Process completion: December 15).
Delay in card cancellation
I am writing to Gulf News regarding my National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) credit card issue. I had three NBAD credit cards. Once I lost my job, I called NBAD customer care and requested to cancel my credit card. The representative said I have an outstanding amount of Dh10,360 for three cards. Already, my account had Dh9,763 and I deposited Dh600 extra, as per the request of customer care. At the end of May 2016, I called them and requested the cancellation of my NBAD card, but they did not do so. I visited a branch for the cancellation of my account and the representative gave me a blank paper for my signature.
After one month, I got a message from NBAD for a monthly credit card payment. I called their customer care hotline and they said they would cancel this amount. Still, they have not cancelled my credit card! In a week, I called customer care twice for the same issue. They are saying that they are working on it. I have visited the NBAD branch many times since then. Once, when I called customer care and explained the issue, they forwarded my call to the complaints department. I then got a call from the complaints department and the person there said that there was no need to pay and that they were working on this issue.
On November 20, 2016, I received a message from NBAD that they are going to report me to the credit bureau and Central Bank for further action, unless I pay more than Dh3,000. I called their complaints department and the agent said he was working on it. I already paid as per their request and have requested to cancel the credit card, but I have been waiting for more than seven months. From Mr Mohammad Aslam Dubai
The management of NBAD responds:
Thank you for your constant cooperation and communication with us in the endeavour to best serve our customers and resolve their issues. We have investigated Mr Aslam’s complaint and we are pleased to inform Gulf News that we have been in constant touch with Mr Aslam and have resolved the matter to his satisfaction.
Thank you once again for forwarding the complaint to us. Our customers’ experience is very important to us and we are thankful for the opportunity to respond.
Mr Aslam responds:
Thank you, Gulf News, for the help and support. Last week, I got a call from NBAD and they said that they would refund money to my account within six business days. Once again, thank you to the team for working out my issue.
(Process initiation: December 6. Response from organisation: December 7. Reader confirmation: December 14.)
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
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