Top Up, Topped Up, Topping Up!!!

Following is an e-mail my friend sent to Hutch in the aftermath of "gross negligence" in their part!! Read on!!

-----Original Message-----
From: Shravan Srinivas
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 12:30 AM
To: ALEX MENDES
Cc: G.Dhananjayan
Subject: My Miserable Experience!

It started out when I headed back home from Manipal, Karnataka to
Coimbatore. I have a number from Manipal, 9886480614. Upon calling
customer care there in Manipal, they said I can topup in Coimbatore as
Hutch is now in Tamil Nadu. So, upon coming here, I bought topups worth
Rs. 60/- ( rs 30 + rs 30) and tried topping up! But the codes didn't
work here. I came to the Hutch office and they told me it was not
possible to topup from Tamil Nadu while Karnataka Customer Care told me
exactly the opposite. So, later, I called up Karnataka Customer care
from my landline ( num: 9886098860 ) and asked them what the problem of
topping up from Tamil Nadu was. They still said there wasn't any problem
and I should try a 'validity recharge' as topping up may have 'server
problems', he also added that I could call Karnataka Customer care FREE
of cost from my Hutch Karnataka number even though it was on roaming,
which i did later and lost the last rs. 3/- of my balance! My balance
being zero on the Manipal number and me having no option ( as all my
friends in Manipal too, have left for their study leave ), I bought a
new SIM card. Upon asking the shop keeper, he told me that is was the
'College Scheme'. I went ahead and bought the number 9843971347 and
topped it up, while submitting the required documents at the BPL / HUTCH
office, I did ask them to activate me as the 'College Plan'.


So now using the previous topup I had bought from you to recharge my
Manipal number, I topped the new number up happily assuming it was
anyway valid by default for 10 days as it was in the college special
scheme. When I rang up your customer care, to my rude shock, they told
me that the validity by default on the sim wasn't 10 days, but seven
days! They said I was in a Basic Plan and I could change to the "campus
plan" if I wished now. Upon arguing (that I asked the shop keeper for
the "college plan"), the customer care promptly told me that it was the
"Campus Plan" and not college plan. He furthur went on to tell me that
I should've looked for 'specially marked' packs which said "CAMPUS
PLAN". Im here for 10 days, and now after all this HUNGAMA, I only get
the TN sim for 7 days! Even then, I kept my cool and asked them if I
could exchange balance for validity, to which they replied the offer
wasn't there in Tamil Nadu! So, now if I've got to make the card work
for the remaining 3 days, I've got to recharge for rs.150/- as thats the
least denomination that gives any validity!

I have been cheated, exploited and mentally harassed by your staff,
retailers and customer cares lack of knowledge and plain INDIFFERENCE!.
I was cheated when:

- Karnataka Customer care told me I could top up using cards pruchased
in TN and later tell me to buy 'validity cards' because they 'think'
that the later might work! - what do they 'think', that I grow money on
trees!!! And if I did, you'd probably be in court by now!

- I asked for the College Plan - Am I god to know the difference between
College and Campus. If you've done your marketting right I think you
will read that "Customer is GOD". It wasnt my fault that I asked for it,
you bloody retailer should've had the courtesy to tell me that the SIM
didnt come with the CAMPUS plan and it was the tariff that I could
change later! As far as I'm concerened, all colleges have campuses! And
the plan too bloody well!

I would like you to at any cost give me the three extra days of
validity i.e. till the 28 of April.

And Hutch's Reply:

Dear Mr.Shravan Srinivas,

This has reference to your email dated 19/04/06 and the subsequent
discussion you had with our Executive, Mr.Movin regarding the extension
of your talk time validity.


We thank you for your valuable feedback and deeply regret the
inconvenience caused to you. Based on your feedback, we have extended
the validity by 3days - from 25-April06 to 28-April06 for mobile number
9843971347.


Trust this meets your requirement. We appreciate this chance to be of
service to you. In case you need further assistance, please do call or
email us. We'll do our best to assist you in any way possible.

Warm regards,
Usha Nandhini
Customer Service

:)