[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Has anyone faced a similar issue - what is the way out ?

I am thinking of surrendering the broadband connection and moving to 4G dongle - any thoughts ?

Rohan

I had an electrician and airtel guy change the internal wiring last year. I upgraded to 40Mbps plan and the existing wiring was not supporting it. However it was not easy. From the airtel box outside my flat in the duct, I had to retrace the wire and change the modem to a different room to have a direct wire to modem instead of daisy chained to all rooms. From the modem then the wire was looped back to the duct and then daisy chained to other rooms.

Last week, I moved to Optical Fiber 100Mbps plans and had to again do internal rewiring. This time they had no choice but to drill through the wall into a junction in the bedroom. Luckily, the Tata sky guys had drilled there few years earlier so they made use of the same junction to pull the Fiber cable.

[Aiel]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Now he has declared the problem as internal wiring issue and Airtel customer care has asked me to get it rectified through an electrician.

I stay in a 20 storey apartment which has concealed wiring.

Has anyone faced a similar issue - what is the way out ?

I am thinking of surrendering the broadband connection and moving to 4G dongle - any thoughts ?

Rohan

I had the same issue with Airtel and changing the cable worked like a charm (this is in a 10 storey building). An electrician would be able to change the cable without any issues.

[Sebring]

I made the mistake of paying 6 months in advance, but what I thought was a sweet upgrade in speed (which every service provider provides today) I have been slapped with an additional charge of close to 3K. I'm trying to get this either sorted or disconnected, but Airtel is just not disconnecting my line. I'm not continuing with such a Company. What I need to know is; Will the matter reach the courts if I'm not paying, and how are these matters resolved generally?


(Their standard reply to ACCOUNT 08043757513, as below:
As per our records, kindly note that your account has been activated under in the bill plan of Airtel-Auto ARP-UL-(6 Month Plan)KK ZOOM 5100 100GB (40Mbps/1024Kbps) COMBO Plan for the periods 30-06-2018 to 29-12-2018.
However, your bill plan has been changed to Airtel-Auto ARP-UL-(6 Month Plan)Super Velocity 5100 65GB (100Mbps/1024Kbps) COMBO Plan on 13-09-2018 for the periods 13-09-2018 to 12-03-2019. Hence, your bill dated 24-09-2018 has been charged for Rs. 2507.50/- on pro rata basis (29-12-2018 to 12-03-2019).

Since the charges were found to be appropriately levied as per your bill plan, we are unable to initiate a reversal of the same.)

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by Sebring

What I need to know is; Will the matter reach the courts if I'm not paying, and how are these matters resolved generally?

Welcome to an endless loop of "Yes sir, your request for de-activation is accepted and it will be done in 10 working days", to a collection agent calling you 5 times a day saying "Sir, your amount is Rs.xyz (times number of months), please pay up" to "Sir, there is no current request for de-activation, I can take another request". Imagine now, that I suffered this unending loop of bureaucratic, robotic, extremely customer-unfriendly conversations that ended with them asking to pay for the month that has lapsed or outright refusing to believe that a disconnection request was taken, for 3 months.

In time, I managed to enjoy this circus and better comprehend the pure greed that Airtel has.. where logic, humanity and every ounce of business ethics flies out of the window. We stood our ground and refused to pay as each month went by. By the 3rd month I managed to find the appellate number (regional, not circle) and a few points were in my favor as I spoke with them :

1) I had not used a single kb of data for 3 months, (yes they monitor that very closely) and they acknowledged the same.

2) Apparently the 6 times that I'd tried to tell them to deactivate the connection, that was in record and that was acknowledged too.

3) After the customer miscare people tempted me several times to continue with the connection by offering freebies and upgrades, the appellate did no such thing, a disconnection request was taken and an assurance was given that the line will be cut for good this time.

4) The bills were neutralized and the connection cut after 3 months.. good riddance, finally.

This was Airtel when they were in their prime.. with no cable broadband, or fiber connections in sight they had a monopoly romp which very few companies enjoyed. Today they have been flattened thanks to fiber and direct cable broadband as also the entry of Jio which has shattered their profitability.

In my experience with customer care, I'd say that nothing comes close to the harassment that Airtel is capable of doing (I got a legal notice for it which upon reading I laughed my lungs out, before tearing up and throwing it into the bin, that paper wasn't even having a seal or endorsement lol).

Talk directly to the appellate, write them a strong email with great grammar and use of complicated terminology explaining the situation to them in great detail (use every damn past bill, date and closure request as references, scan and upload if necessary), they will crack one day and oblige with the cancellation. Post then, don't even think of their company.. it is a hole you wouldn't want to fall into ever again.

[Sebring]

Wow! They sure rubbed you the wrong way. Your comment drips sarcasm from every letter, but I feel the pain buddy. Thank you for this great advise. When you say Appelate, what do you mean and how do I write to them? Can you PM me with the ID please. Thank you in advance and for sure I'm never falling in that hole again, alrite!

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Talk directly to the appellate, write them a strong email with great grammar and use of complicated terminology explaining the situation to them in great detail (use every damn past bill, date and closure request as references, scan and upload if necessary), they will crack one day and oblige with the cancellation. Post then, don't even think of their company.. it is a hole you wouldn't want to fall into ever again.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by Sebring

When you say Appelate, what do you mean and how do I write to them? Can you PM me with the ID please. Thank you in advance and for sure I'm never falling in that hole again, alrite!

Alas the circus created by Airtel itself is so unbelievable that even narrating the story would seem like sarcasm.

The appellate authority is a level above customer care.. appellate circle is the one dealing with the city/state you are in, and appellate regional is the one dealing with the zone (south, east etc). I don't think numbers are available but if you google these terms along with the city you are in (Airtel broadband, appellate, Bangalore for example) you should easily find all the information required on their website.

The customer care executives are under tremendous pressure to retain customers, so they apply fake requests for disconnection only to recall it the next day and take credit for customer retention. The appellate authorities are more customer centric and can help you in the disconnection proceedings. Just write it such that they are forced to disconnect the line (usually saying that you are moving helps, but why lie? Just say that you are totally disgusted by their antics and won't be a customer anymore). Should they send a so called legal notice (which they will if you don't tackle them head on) just ignore it and keep updating the appellate on the same. As long as you have proof of no usage, disconnection reference docket numbers etc, they will have to break their cycle of despair.

[Miyata]

Happened with me as well. I changed apartments and requested airtel to transfer the broadband connection. They suggested I can cancel and re-apply - which I did, after settling all bills. Three months into the new place, we start receiving calls on payment due on the older connection for the last 3-months! The cruds come out of the woodwork!

I had no written communication from them; had no sms text regarding the cancellation confirmation. I respectfully explained to them how it's not possible for me to live in two different places so clearly they have messed up somewhere and need to pull out their calls recorded during the period of my request placed.

Logical conversations and airtel just don't mix. When their tone got threatening, I challenged them to bring their best. My lawyer suggested a few simple things - recording their conversation; asking them few pointed questions; and if necessary to ask them to contact him directly to take matter legal. Soon enough the calls stopped.

From then on, I always try and have proof of written communication with them in addition to making sure I record my phone conversations as well.

Be cautious though, at times, after a phone call they will agree to sms you a reference number for whatever request you've placed - it rarely ever comes. Before disconnecting, take down that reference number and certainly call back at a later time to confirm it.

They are a giant pain in the neck to deal with! Why do I continue taking their service? For lack of better competitors that can provide reliable broadband and cellular network.

[Sebring]

Airtel is just not able to compete in the marketplace. Either that or they're too greedy! Look at the offers from ACT, Fibronet or Hathway in Bangalore. They're leagues ahead. I just clicked a pic of their competitor and asked them to match this offer. If you see my Airtel plan, they gave me 30 MBPS speed and very minimal downloads for Rs.1300. The competition offers double and unlimited downloads! Airtel, wake up and smell the coffee!

Originally Posted by Miyata

Why do I continue taking their service? For lack of better competitors that can provide reliable broadband and cellular network.

[drmohitg]

I am so glad that I came across this thread at the right time. I have shifted my apartment and it was more convenient and economical to just get a new airtel broadband connection than get the old one transferred. And yes as per the agent, you cannot cancel and re-apply in your name. They will ONLY transfer it, even if it out of state. Post the request to termination, I have got atleast 5 calls on as many days asking about the same thing like why you disconnecting and please retain or transfer etc. The alarming thing was that in the last call that came yesterday, the lady said that your billing will stop but connection will stay active for sometime so that if you change your mind in future, you can use it again or transfer it to a friend/family. Reading this thread, I am going to mail them today to get a written acknowledgement of the request to terminate rather than risk getting billed later.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Look at the offers from ACT, Fibronet or Hathway in Bangalore.

Have tested the waters with Hathway. From what I gather through other people I know that use Hathway, they can be the epitome of reliability most places, unfortunately my place is not one of them - The few months that I had, there were multiple drops and at times, even a 30-min webex session would be impossible without interruptions.

Did call up ACT to check if they serve this area, apparently they are expanding fast and should be here within the next 6-months. They promised to call back and set things up when they are here.

Will have to check Fibronet. Didn't come across them when searching earlier.

Thanks for the info.

[Sebring]

Guys, a great miracle has happened! Airtel has finally promised to withdraw all the additional charges and put me on an incredible plan which no competitor in Bangalore can match, currently. What I did was put out the messages on FB and Twitter at the same time, while also putting pressure on immediate disconnection. I have taken pictures of all competition offers and challenged them to match it since they're the largest in the country. Moreover, since I'm also on the Building Committee, there was no way we would have let Airtel continue in my building with close to 600 Apartments. We got JIO/HATHWAY cabling as well. I thank everybody on this thread for all the advise.

My turn to advise; Please be very articulate (don't stray from the main point) and use language/grammar very carefully, keep the tone non-threatening, and they will listen to you. Broadband is anybody's game right now!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Miyata

...Did call up ACT to check if they serve this area, apparently they are expanding fast and should be here within the next 6-months. They promised to call back and set things up when they are here. ...

Curious observation about ACT, it may be location specific but please verify before signing up. Their customer care number only seems to work for the new customer line, while the existing customer line just loops the 'nobody's available to talk to you' message until you give up, then sends you a link to their chatbot that isn't worth any real help. I got around that by calling the new customer line and insisting they transfer the call, which they reluctantly did after a few tries.

I tried taking a connection being sick of Hathway but backed out, skeptical of signing up with a company which won't even give me a working customer care line, useless as they may be. Online reviews indicate my experience isn't an isolated one.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Curious observation about ACT

I typically have them calling me and try saving a number that I can call directly!

What I did was to get online and put in my basic information on their respective sites- essentially broadcasting to the service providers that I am looking for a new broadband connection.

They normally call on the provided number within 2-3 hrs. I try and screen numbers from there - hold on to a non-toll like number and let them know I'll call back for further questions and clarifications. Once I have a decent comparison, I followup on the ones most likely to serve me better.

One more I had looked into was Tikona. Looks like they have just started providing their service in this area. They slipped in this (below) info and called back in response to my earlier inquiry with them -

As long as we have them on the phone, I also try and get contact info of various people locally in-charge. That typically has worked out more useful in the longer run.

[Sebring]

I have moved to JIO Broadband from Airtel, in Bangalore. Have Airtel connection as a backup until I am sure I have - no 'down time' on JIO. Recently I read somewhere that Airtel will concentrate on high-end and paying customers, but it is actually the reverse. They harassed me and I had to put up a stiff fight, to the point of 'near disconnection' and then they budged. Hope JIO experience is good.

[IamNikhil]

Reviving an old thread, couldn't get any other hits for Airtel Broadband.

Wanted to opt for an Airtel Fiber connection, especially since they have started offering really good plans and have been hearing rave reviews from everyone using it in Mumbai. Over the past few months, Airtel and Tata Sky teams have installed the requisite infrastructure in our society and the major wiring etc has been done. JioFiber is nowhere in sight though.

I have been using a 75 mbps connection from a local ISP, but with frequent kinks and sometimes just randomly unprofessional behavior, I am finally looking to make the switch to either of the biggies. Out of 125 flats, about 82 have switched to either Tata Sky or Airtel and the reports are really encouraging. Local ISPs used to be really good, but have become an unqualified headache these days; also there's some talk in the society that there will soon be a mandate introduced to switch over to either of the 2 providers mentioned above, because the local ISPs have done a mess with their hotch-potch wiring etc.

Any BHPians using Airtel or Tata Sky in Mumbai, please share your thoughts. Thanks