BSNLs Onam faux pas

Yet again, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has upset its customers with

thousands of users in the state losing money during the past month.

Customers allege that the BSNL’s customer care service misled them by giving wrong

information about their Onam offer.“I

received a message from BSNL stating that their talk time offer would be

available till August 31. On seeing that, I recharged for Rs 110 on August 31. However,

it was only later that I learnt that the offer was valid only up to August 30,”

said Abdulla Raseem, a BSNL customer.

Also, those who purchased the Rs 220, Rs 330, Rs 440 and Rs 550 coupons were

also cheated of the offer.“The

customer care service had earlier messaged that they w o u l d provide full

value top ups for Rs 220, Rs 330, Rs 440 and Rs 550 coupons. They specified that

the offer was from August 1 to August 31. My entire family was using this offer

throughout the month. Even on August 31, they recharged expecting full talk time,

but were in for a surprise. When we contacted the BSNL officials, they replied that

the customer care had provided the wrong information,” said a customer P

Mymoonath.“When

we demanded that the BSNL officials give us a refund, they refused,” he said.The

BSNL’s officials response to ‘City Express’, was even more surprising.

“It was only after we send five lakh messages across

the state, did we realise that we had made a mistake. The offer was only valid

till August 30, but we had mentioned August 31.”