The other day I found a missed call on my new Samsung Galaxy Pop mobile. It has become a regular habit for me to call each and every missed call. Sometimes, people with so many problems give me a missed call and I immediately call back to find out who is calling and what is their problem.
When I called back on that missed call, I heard a mysterious voice and I could not make out the sounds. I put down the mobile.
Much to my consternation, when the bill arrived I found the service provider Idea Cellular Ltd charged me Rs. 100 for the call I made.
I enquired with the service provider and was told that it was an international call emanated from Austria. The person in the Idea Cellular Ltd office at Vijayawada asked me as to why did I make that call without checking the number.
In effect, he is blaming for the fraud pulled by the service provider. It is a common practice for all guilty to blame the victim first.
I coolly asked him why did he charge Rs. 100 for 18 seconds international call. I also wanted to know the pulse rate to all the countries and to which country the charge is Rs. 100 per minute. I also wanted to know who is going to share the Rs. 100 call charge.
The poor fellow immediately backed off and asked me to lodge the complaint in writing and promised to take up the matter with higher-ups. So far I have not received any information from them and the bill included Rs. 100 to be paid. However, I refused to pay the bill for Rs. 100.
This issue would be taken up in the next meeting of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) with the Consumer Advocacy Groups (CAGs) and we are going to take the service provider to the task.
Attention! Mobile users! Do not call back to each and every missed call and check the number before calling.
You may be the next victim of the unscrupulous of practice of service providers.
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